Gilroy Tasting Room: 3200A Dryden Avenue, Gilroy, CA 95020. Located in the former Thomas Kruse Winery on a 12-acre vineyard. Tasting room open Friday-Sunday 12pm-6pm. Weekday tastings with winemaker available by appointment. Outdoor seating, picnicking allowed. Sells charcuterie trays and non-alcoholic beverages.

Note: Saratoga tasting room (23000 Congress Springs Road) permanently closed as of March 31, 2025.

Mercury Rising - Flagship award-winning Bordeaux blend. Best of Class 2026 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. The winery also sells refillable 'growlers'

(from the Cinnabar web site) Founder Tom Mudd’s first career was in science. A Stanford grad, he received a master’s degree in environmental engineering in 1977 and a Ph.D. in civil engineering in 1980. From 1977–82 he was a research engineer at SRI International (Stanford Research Institute). Exposed to the wine business in the early 1970s, he planted a one-acre mountain vineyard in 1974, and took viticulture and enology courses at the University of California Davis. Tom made wine under a home label until he founded Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery in 1983. “When interesting research projects dried up at SRI in the early ‘80s,” said Tom, “I decided it was time for a career change.” Tom’s quest for vineyard property mirrored the scientific methodology he employed at SRI — he conducted a thorough search of parcels suitable to growing quality wine grapes. “I spent a year looking for the perfect site,” he said. When it was time to plant the Cinnabar vineyards, Tom sought cuttings with a proven record under local conditions. “Our first planting had bloodlines traceable to France’s elite classified growths,” said Tom. “The cabernet sauvignon was derived from cuttings taken from Chateau Margaux while the chardonnay descended from Burgundy’s Corton-Charlemagne.” Twenty-two acres of estate vineyards were planted in the summers of ‘84 and ‘85. The winery building and three caves were completed in 1987, the latter providing a year-round temperature-controlled environment (58° F.) for aging Cinnabar wines. Eight acres of estate vines were added in 1991. In the late 1990s, however, most of the pedigree vines were replaced with certified clones and rootstock better suited to the cool mountain conditions.