Last weekend, South Valley was bustling with wine lovers as visitors to the Wineries of the Santa Clara Valley Passport Weekend made their way to the area for the two-day event. Wine tasters arrived and ventured along the trail as they got to visit and taste at any of the 18 participating local wineries, and got their passports stamped to denote those they visited.
Some wineries with tasting rooms out of the immediate area such as J. Lohr in San Jose and Wild Eye in San Juan Bautista, took the opportunity to pour at restaurants in downtown Gilroy and Morgan Hill, no doubt boosting traffic to the local restaurants and establishments as well. Most of the wineries provided some combination of live music, food and special discounts on wines for passport holders.
The event drew crowds from not only Morgan Hill and Gilroy, where most of the wineries are located, but also from San Jose and the greater Bay Area and peninsula. Some people came from even further away to partake in the festivities, such as the visitors from Las Vegas that Lightheart Cellars in San Martin tweeted about Sunday. Many of the wineries stated they saw lots of first-time visitors; a good sign to the wineries association that organizes the event twice a year. All the wineries I spoke to saw an increase in visitors from previous events, though no official number has been released.
Participating tasting rooms are accustomed to large limousines and busloads of patrons that accompany this type of event, and this was no exception. Groups of limos and buses came and went—some containing as many as 50 in a single vehicle.
On Saturday, Kirigin Cellars in Gilroy saw many visitors, especially those in limos.
“Our huge parking lot at our Watsonville Road driveway nearly filled up during the peak period of 1:30 to 4:30 p.m” said Dhruv Khanna, owner of Kirigin. Several wineries also provided some sort of incentive for having a designated driver, which could account for the uptick in chartered vehicles.
This rise in traffic was no doubt bolstered by the recent installation of wine trail signs by the County of Santa Clara in conjunction with the Wineries of the Santa Clara Valley. The signs, placed earlier this year, provide a boost in the recognition of our area as a premium wine-growing region. The signage helped visitors navigate to some of the small or lesser-known wineries.
Employees of Ross Vineyards in Morgan Hill were thankful for the event and trail signage as they opened their doors for their second Passport. They hosted 100 Passport Weekend guests, in addition to approximately 100 regular visitors to their tasting barn. They credit the Wine Trail signs and the promotional efforts of the WSCV for this boost in attendance. As one of the wineries off the beaten path, they rely more heavily on signage and the maps given out by the association to draw visitors to their location.
The fall passport event had previously been held in the beginning of October, in the heat of the harvest season for many. This year, organizers voted to move the event to the beginning of November instead. The previous schedule was a difficult task for some smaller wineries with mixed tasting and production facilities. These producers were attempting to host about 300 people a day in some cases, while taking care of fermenting wine with a small staff; and it proved a difficult and frustrating task. The move to November made the much more comfortable for boutique producers to accommodate visitors and provide them the hospitality and attention they deserve. Over the next couple months the WSCV will decide if the switch to November will remain for future fall events.
The next Passport weekend is scheduled for the last weekend of March 2015. For more information on Passport Weekend or the Wineries of the Santa Clara Valley, visit SantaClaraWines.com.
Alicia Cuadra-Cutler is passionate about the world of wine. She is a Certified Sommelier and Assistant General Manager of Sycamore Creek Vineyards in Morgan Hill. When not studying wine, she can be found creating works of art in various mediums or taking her dog Sissy to the beach. Follow her on Social Media @AliciaSeesWine, or contact her via email at
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