Buck's Vineyard
A passion for pickles
Pickle producer Jeff Solinger takes a whiff from a freshly opened jar of Pookie’s Pickles.
Photograph by Lane Johnson
Since 2003, a Los Gatos company called Buck’s Vineyard has been producing pickles that win rave reviews from customers. Fresher, crispier, and with less sodium than typical grocery store pickles, Pookie’s Pickles—the company’s signature product—are hand-packed by owner Jeff Solinger and his crew year-round. The team personally distributes the tens of thousands of jars packed each year to gourmet groceries throughout the Bay Area. But what really makes these pickles special is the heirloom recipe.
“This is a seventh-generation family recipe,” says Solinger. “I used to eat [these pickles] with my grandmother and my great-grandmother, then my mother made them, and my wife and I used to make them a jar or two at a time just for ourselves.”
The recipe creates an Eastern European-style, half-sour pickle that has won many fans because it is so different from what most pickle-eaters expect.
“The difference between a whole-sour pickle and a half-sour pickle is the lack of vinegar,” Solinger says. “Our pickles are in a salt brine with spices and herbs, they are cold-packed, and they are cured in the jar.”
In addition to Pookie’s Pickles, the company makes a spicier pickle called Cole’s Chili Cukes, as well as Rooney’s French Onion Soup. Solinger’s children were the inspiration for the pickles’ names, and Rooney is the nickname of the family’s favorite dog, Buck, whose portrait graces the jars’ labels.
While Buck’s Vineyard garners praise for its pickles, the company started out canning tomato sauce. Pickles were an off-season item, Solinger says, and almost an afterthought. Now, for some devoted customers, the pickles are a near addiction.
“We have a lot of customers who call us up in transit, playfully cursing us because they have eaten the whole jar on the way home and now they have to drive back and go buy more,” Solinger laughs.
Buck’s Vineyard’s products are available at gourmet groceries throughout the Bay Area, including many Andronico’s, Lunardi’s, New Leaf, and Whole Foods Markets. Visit www.bucksvineyard.com for a complete list of stores.
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