In the barrel room at David Bruce Winery, samples of wine are retrieved for founder Bruce, center, using a "wine thief."Among California wine regions, the Santa Cruz Mountains winemaking district is the razorback boar. Rugged and dark, it slumbers between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Clara Valley south of San Francisco, stretching from the posh enclaves of Palo Alto to the strawberry fields of Watsonville. Redwoods bristle along its spine, poison oak flares through its lower reaches. Every once in awhile it shudders awake, sending ripples of fear through residents tucked into its folds and scattered on its ridges. That's the San Andreas Fault, which with the persistent threat of wildfires and the challenging terrain help explain why the Santa Cruz Mountains area is recognized for drawing vintners as fiercely independent as they are determined. "There are no ordinary grapes planted any place in these mountains There are no jug wines, no winemakers with any kind of casual attitude toward their vocation," wrote California wine historian Charles L.