$10/person
Fortino Winery is at 4525 Hecker Pass Highway, Gilroy, CA 95020. Phone +1 (408) 842-3305. Tasting fee $10/person. Wines: Pinot Gris, Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
About
Fortino Winery has anchored Hecker Pass since 1970 as Gilroy's wedding-and-BBQ headquarters, complete with redwood groves and estate Merlot vines that serve mostly as backdrop to the main event: large-format celebrations. The family still makes their wines here—Syrah, Pinot Grigio, sparkling, plus fruit wines—but they've built the business around hosting crowds. Expect live bands on Friday nights, food trucks in rotation, and enough barn space to accommodate line dancing instruction. The $10 tasting is bare-bones (sometimes literally one barrel pour), but nobody comes here for the tasting bar—they come because Fortino will cater your 60th birthday cowboy party with tri-tip and house wine, then let you throw horseshoes until dark. Open Wednesday through Sunday, walk-ins welcome, chaos likely.
The Oxto Edit
Oxto AIFortino runs hard toward the party end of Gilroy wine country—this is where you go for pizza weekends, chili cook-offs, and line dancing lessons, not quiet vertical tastings. The Merlot vines stretch across the hillside, but the real action is the event barn where they've been throwing Italian-style gatherings for 50+ years.
Visit Snapshot
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Fortino Winery
4525 Hecker Pass Highway
Gilroy, CA 95020
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