We drove out to the River Road Wine Trail for the opening party of the new Rustiqué Wines tasting room. River Road runs through the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA and several wineries have their tasting rooms along this route.
Rustiqué Wines is family-owned and operated and named after Rusti, the matriarch of the family. While the family has been making wine since 2006, they only opened their public tasting room in 2021.
Rustiqué is located directly off of River Road in a rustic, converted barn. The tasting room has both indoor and outdoor seating. For the event, Rustiqué was pouring two Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs to taste and live music.
For those not familiar with Monterey Wine Country, the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is best known for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These two varietals are also the ones you’ll find on the menu in the local tasting rooms most often.
Another fun fact – one of the key features of this appellation is the strong afternoon winds. These winds keep the temperature cooler and contributes to a longer growing season.
Unfortunately, the Salinas Valley winds blew one of my glasses over, but the staff were nice enough to repour the taste. If you look closely at this photo I’m not holding my hat to be cute, I’m trying to keep it from blowing away again!
I enjoyed sitting outside at the foot of the Santa Lucia mountains, listening to live music and enjoying a glass of wine.
I’m looking forward to visiting again.
Rustiqué Wines
1010 River Rd
Salinas, CA 93908
Phone: (831) 320-8174
Website: www.rustiquewines.com
Instagram: @rustiquewines
