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Local fans of Byington Vineyard & Winery, located high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, can now access the wines closer to home at a new tasting room in downtown Los Altos. The wine room soft opened last week at 366 Main St., owner Benny Madsen confirmed.

Byington’s main focus is pinot noir, but the winery also makes petit syrah, sangiovese, chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, petit verdot, cabernet franc and blends. Byington wines are made naturally, with no chemicals.


Byington Vineyard & Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Photo courtesy Byington Vineyard & Winery.

They can’t guarantee all Byington wines will be available at the tasting room, but “(we’re) trying to have as much as we can,” Madsen said.

Madsen and his wife Amy live in Los Altos.

Tastings will come as five 1-ounce pours, according to Amy. The current tasting list features a series of 2013 wines: a sauvignon blanc, two pinot noirs, syrah and zinfandel.


Byington Vineyard’s new tasting room on Main Street in Los Altos. Photo by Vince Robledo/courtesy Byington Vineyard & Winery.

Plans are also in the works to serve small bites like cheese plates and charcuterie.

The tasting room is now open on weekdays from 3-9 p.m. and weekends from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Head there this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, June 17-18, for half-price tastings and live music from 2-4 p.m. for a grand opening.

Byington Vineyard was first established in 1987. The winery makes about 20 wines from grapes grown at both the Los Gatos winery as well as a 240-acre ranch in Alexander Valley in Sonoma County. The Alexander Valley wines are marketed under a second brand called Tin Cross.

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