Amesti, CA

Amesti is a small stretch of Santa Cruz County ranch land between Watsonville and the Corralitos hills, and its name honors Jose Amesti, grantee of the old Rancho Los Corralitos. The older roads and a few big parcels still follow the shape of that land, and Green Valley Road is the main line through it. Amesti is also the part of the county where the farm calendar still decides when the roads are busy. The area is compact and sits low, which makes it a handy middle point, with the wine hills of Corralitos on one side and the grocery stores and cafes of Watsonville on the other. Houses here are mostly single-family places set back from the road. Some are older farmhouses, and others are newer builds on bigger lots than a city grid allows. There is very little of the tract pattern you find in the middle of town. The wine country is the biggest reason people from elsewhere come through. Eight family-run wineries make up the Corralitos wine trail, and the route runs through Freedom Boulevard before it climbs the hills. Windy Oaks Estate sits highest, about five miles up a curving road. Because those hills have few restaurants, picnic packing is part of the plan. For everyday eating, Lito's Community Cafe and Market sits on the line between Corralitos and Watsonville, and its bagels with sun-dried tomato spread are a regular order. Corralitos Market and Sausage Company, a country store with a deli, is a short drive up the road and is the stop that wineries send guests to for lunch. Getting around is by car, and Highway 1 is the route to Freedom Boulevard and the wineries. Amesti rewards a slow drive along Green Valley Road, where farm gates and the first vineyard slopes sit close together.