Mario and Carlo Fortino operate the family winery

Published in the Jan. 21 – Feb. 3, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life

By Robert Airoldi

Photo by Robert Airoldi Carlo Fortino, left, and his father Mario Fortino, who founded Hecker Pass Winery.

Photo by Robert Airoldi
Carlo Fortino, left, and his father Mario Fortino, who founded Hecker Pass Winery.

The quality of Hecker Pass Winery’s wines is born in the vineyard fields where grapes grow on vines brought to the United States from Italy 65 years ago. Hecker Pass Winery founder and owner Mario Fortino proudly avoids using herbicides, pesticides or an irrigation system, relying simply on what Mother Nature provides. Growing fruit from older vines and no irrigation makes the vines produce smaller and fewer grapes, but the intense concentration of flavor makes a more pleasing wine drinking experience for customers. he said.

“It just imports so much flavor to the wine,” said his son Carlo Fortino. “It’s really incredible.”

Hecker Pass Winery was founded in 1972 after Mario and his brother Ernie Fortino had different visions on where to take Fortino Winery. Mario — the winemaker — wanted a small, family-owned business, while Ernie — the salesman — was seeking to expand.

They agreed to split the property. Ernie took the winery building and Mario got most of the vineyard.

While working at San Martin Winery, Mario built the buildings on his property that now include two homes, the winery, tasting room and a 10-year-old event center called La Vigna, Italian for “the vineyard.”

Centuries-old practices of dry-farming, head-pruning, and hand-picking only the best berries create the foundation for premium, well-balanced wines. Within minutes of harvest, the grapes are de-stemmed and crushed, then sent to open-top oak tanks where the natural fermentation process starts.

After fermentation completes, the juices are extracted using an old-style wooden basket press, which has been used since the winery’s first harvest. The wine is then matured to perfection with the proper balance of aging time between redwood tanks and premium French Oak barrels.

“We keep the old tradition of everything natural,” Mario said. “Our wines are aged longer in the barrels. We use no herbicides or pesticides. That was my goal then and it still is today.”

“We maintain our quality throughout the process and our consistency is incredible,” Carlo said.

This philosophy in wine making has its roots in 150 years of family history and experience, beginning in the early 1800s in the southern Italian region of Calabria. After learning the art of wine production started by his great-grandfather, third-generation winemaker Mario, carried the family values to California in 1959.

He chose the southern Santa Clara Valley for its rich soil composition and weather patterns of hot summer days followed by cool nights, which make this area ideal for producing the rich, premium full-bodied wines of his Italian heritage.

Hecker Pass Winery’s signature product is the Petite Sirah, a full-bodied red wine.

Mario also produces about a dozen other wines, ranging from whites, medium dry whites, full dry reds, medium dry reds and several dessert wines. His wines have won numerous medals and awards over the years.

“People know us for our full red wines,” Carlo said. “We don’t produce run-of-the mill wines. We’re more old school, European style.”

And if someone might be looking for a venue in a bucolic setting at the heart of Hecker Pass, the La Vigna Event Center can accommodate a special business or family occasion. La Vigna is an all-inclusive event center available year-round with all the amenities needed for that memorable wedding day, birthday, anniversary or corporate event.

The banquet room features a grand polished granite bar, hardwood floors, picture windows and French doors that lead out to an expansive outdoor patio that might feel like stepping out into a Tuscan sun.

The covered deck and open dance floor offer unobstructed views of the vineyard and the surrounding hills, making it a natural backdrop for dramatic photos and lasting memories.

Hecker Pass wines are available in a few South Valley stores and restaurants, but 90 percent of sales come directly from wine connoisseurs visiting the winery’s tasting room.

People often visit the winery for tasting and ask what is “the best wine” offered. Both Mario and Carlo tell them there are “many” best wines, causing customers to laugh at their joke. After tasting several samples, inevitably, Carlo said, they find it difficult themselves to choose just one they like.

Depending on the yield of each harvest, Hecker Pass Winery produces between 2,000 and 3,000 cases a year, focusing on quality and not quantity, said Mario.

The winemaker has tried to retire several times, but his love for the land keeps him working and making vino.

“I like what I’m doing. It’s a beautiful area and I’m the boss,” he said.

HECKER PASS WINERY

Location: 4605 Hecker Pass Road, Gilroy
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
Contact: (408) 842-8755