WINE & DINE
Page 8 - November 13, 2013
Morgan Hill Life - www.MorganHillLife.com
Martin Ranch focuses on traditional method of making fine wines
Self taught, couple has been making
excellent wines for almost 20 years
MARTIN RANCH WINERY
Location: 6675 Redwood Retreat Road, Gilroy.
Hours: Open every third weekend from noon
to 4 p.m. for tasting, barrel sampling and picnicking with vineyard views. Also open 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Mon-Fri for wine club pick up and
purchases.
E
By Staff Report
very third weekend of the month, many
South Valley wine lovers make a pilgrimage down Redwood Retreat Road deep into
the Santa Cruz Mountains to reach the Martin Ranch
Winery near the end of the bucolic country lane. In
the boutique winery’s rustic setting, they eat a picnic lunch and sample award-winning wines under the
Therèse Vineyards and J.D. Hurley labels.
Dan and Therèse Martin planted their first grapes
on the property in 1993 and had a small harvest by
1996. Their original intention was to simply provide
the fruit for other winemakers. But in 1997, a surplus
of wine grapes nudged them to become winemakers
themselves.
“We experienced a scary situation with us possibly
not being able to sell all our fruit because we had a 50ton crop,” Therèse said. “That’s when we began to talk
about the necess