Two local wineries received planning commission approval last
night to expand their tasting rooms and host large-scale public
events.
Two local wineries received planning commission approval last night to expand their tasting rooms and host large-scale public events.
Leal Vineyards, located off of Fairview Road, received approval to hold tastings and special events for up to 275 people. The tasting room will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and the special events area includes a gazebo, barbecue pit, concrete slab for a temporary tent and restrooms. Pietra Santa was also approved to host up to 100 people daily for tastings and large public events. The winery, located along Cienega Road, will now be able to hold up to 30 events with 350 guests, 30 events with up to 150 people and 12 wine maker dinners with 50 guests annually. The expansion allows the wineries to add weddings, banquets, larger tastings and other venues to their list of amenities.
The projects still need final approval from the county Board of Supervisors.
Sue Marsh, director of sales for Leal Winery, said their expansion will result in increased tourism for San Benito County.
“If two couples come for the weekend to tour the wineries, you figure they’ll tour during the day, then have dinner somewhere and then stay the night, maybe followed by breakfast and shopping downtown the next day,” she said. “That alone will bring great revenue to the city, and if they go home and each tell a friend, you have eight more people coming.”
Leal Winery is already talking with many local nonprofits about holding their benefits at the winery for little or no cost.
“Everyone has seen the vets’ hall and Ridgemark,” she said. “It will be nice for people to be able to hold their events somewhere else.”
Pietra Santa did not return calls by press time.
Theresa Kiernan, executive director of the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, said having the larger venues will be great for the county.
“Based on the economy right now, I think a lot of people agree that being able to draw people to San Benito County for large events is great,” she said.
Plus, Marsh said, Hollister’s location as a gateway to the Pinnacles already draws a large number of people through the area.
“Usually people just drive through a gateway on their way to something else, but with the wineries here, they’ll have a reason to stop and that will bring the city much more tourism,” she said.
The wine industry has been growing in the county for years. Currently, there are 3,163 acres of wine grapes in the county. Each acre produces roughly 204 tons of grapes a year. But County Agriculture Commissioner Paul Matulich said this isn’t the first time San Benito County has produced a lot of vineyards.
“During the ’70s there were a lot more vineyards, but 75 percent of them were owned by Almaden Winery,” he said.
During the early ’80s, Matulich said, there were too many grapes and the wine industry took a plunge. It wasn’t until the ’90s that people began to plant again.
“The acreage is smaller, but there are more wineries which offers different types of wine grapes,” he said.
Even though there are less grapes than before, Marsh said, one of the reasons this region has such high quality is because of the many wineries.
“Instead of large commercialized wineries, we have more of a boutique style here, and the people who run them are passionate about what they do, which is important,” she said. “The last thing we would want is someone to come to the area just because they think they can make a lot of money here.”
The Central Coast is known for quality wine because of the cool, coastal air at night and the moderate heat during the day.
“We have a really long grape-growing period here,” Marsh said. “The coastal air at night allows the grapes to cool down from a warm day and they can stay on the vine longer, which then allows them to become more concentrated.”
