For many Santa Clara County residents, thoughts of wine-tasting
often lead them to pack the car and head north to Sonoma or Napa
counties.
Ted Medeiros, however, wants them to stay closer to home.
For many Santa Clara County residents, thoughts of wine-tasting often lead them to pack the car and head north to Sonoma or Napa counties.
Ted Medeiros, however, wants them to stay closer to home.
Medeiros is president of the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley, an organization holding the annual Passport Weekend Saturday and Sunday. During the Weekend, visitors can, among other things, tour or drink at 24 South Valley wineries, nearly 20 of which are in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and San Martin.
A ticket, or “passport,” for the Weekend costs $25, granting wine lovers access to tastings and other events at the participating vineyards.
“This is one way to help open some eyes and give them a reason to come out here,” said Medeiros, winemaker and general manager of Sycamore Creek Vineyards in Morgan Hill.
Each vineyard will run its own activities, though many, if not most, will offer food tasting, music and limited edition wines. Many of the vineyards will also have barrel tasting, where visitors can dip a thin, 12- to 18-inch glass tube into a barrel of aging wine, then capture some liquid by sealing the top of the tube with their thumb.
Passport holders are responsible for their own transportation.
Passport Weekend is held twice a year and drew 900 people when it was last held in late March, said Jane Howard, executive director of the Gilroy Visitors Bureau, a sponsor of Passport Weekend.
To promote the two-day event, Medeiros said there have been radio advertisements, announcements on the social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, and ads in a pair of wine-related magazines. In addition, the Gilroy Visitors Bureau has information on its Web site, is selling passports from its office and is doling out press releases, Howard said.
She added that most of the promotional work is targeting the Bay Area, since most attendees will probably come from that region.
Local officials expect a surge of visitors. Teri Fortino, an owner of Fortino Winery in Gilroy, said 400 to 500 people will likely visit her vineyard this weekend, compared to the roughly 200 on a typical weekend.
The vineyard’s retail sales also jump by 30 percent to 40 percent during Passport Weekend, she said. However, Fortino would not say how much actual money the winery brings in.
Despite its ability to bring business, Passport Weekend did miss at least one year when the group that used to run it, the Santa Clara Valley Wine Growers Association, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2003 and shut down, local winery and tourism officials say.
With the event now revived and several years strong, local business officials say they are excited for the weekend and the spike of visitors it will bring to South County.
Larry Spivak, tasting room manager for Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill, said his winery normally gets 40 to 50 visitors a day, but during March’s Passport Weekend, that figure roughly doubled.
Spivak could not immediately confirm how many bottles of wine were purchased that weekend, but participating in the event was “definitely well worth our while,” he said.
Passport Weekend
What: A weekend of wine, food, music and fun
Where: 24 local wineries
When: 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Cost: $25
Tickets: Available at participating wineries
Details: www.santaclarawines.com
Read more about the growing wine industry in the South Valley:
From garlic to grapes
The science of Sarah’s Vineyard
