Taste of the Mountains wine walk makes a return visit to downtown Menlo Park

The 2nd annual Taste of the Mountains wine walk will take place Saturday, December 3,  from 2:00 to 5:00 pm along Santa Cruz Avenue in downtown Menlo Park.

Organized by the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association, the event showcases nearby wineries, with all ticket proceeds going to the Menlo Park Atherton Education Foundation (MPAEF.) Participating wineries include: Bargetto Winery, Big Basin Vineyards, Byington Vineyard and Winery, House Family Vineyards, Left Bend, Mindego Ridge Vineyards, Portola Vineyards, Roudon Smith, Russian Ridge Winery, Woodside Vineyard and Wrights Station Vineyards.

Participating Santa Cruz Avenue businesses are Cheeky Monkey Toys (an MPAEF Business Partner), Fleet Feet, Menlo Hardwoods, Peabody Fine Art, Gitane, Harvest, Rococo & Taupe, Bow Wow Meow, Brogue, Ceci Wong, and The Oriental Carpet.

Tickets are $49 and can be purchased online. They can also be purchased the day of the event at the temporary paseo on Curtis St.

Menlo Park resident Jamie D’Alessandro spearheaded bringing this event to Menlo Park, and he hopes that the event is one that will become a Menlo Park tradition for many years to come. “I have friends who had similar wine and stroll events in their towns,” he said. “We want to stress that it’s for the whole community. Not only do people get introduced to new wines but it brings foot traffic to Santa Cruz Avenue and the local stores downtown. The retailers were particularly pleased last year, and we got a great return rate.”

Jamie added that there will also be a bottle booth at the event where people can buy the various featured wines. “Four restaurants — Bistro Vida, LB Steak, Left Bank and Galata Bistro — are waving their corkage fees that night, so it gives people a reason to stay downtown and dine.”