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17 reviews for Pietra Santa Winery
17 reviews in English
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Review from Rachel A.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/7/2011 2 photos
We redeemed our Groupon here on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Sarah took us through the tasting and a short tour of the facility. All of their grapes are estate grown, so you can see them right there on the property! An extremely surprising find in Hollister. We actually really enjoyed just about every wine they offered (which isn't always the case). We got a little taste of their '10 pinot noir and can't wait for that to be bottled. It will be worth the ~2 year wait! The other staff there were great and made us feel very welcome and appreciated. Their olive oil, although pricey, is also estate grown, organic and really good! I'm looking forward to enjoying some today. I would love to have some of the infused oils as well.
The property is beautiful and there are a few tables for picnics outside (if it's not cold and rainy!). -
Review from Hannah W.
Mountain View, CA
Updated - 1/11/2012
I'm so glad I was persistent in trying to use my groupon to Pietra Santa, because we had a VERY lovely afternoon tasting the delicious wine and enjoying the general beauty surrounding the estate. I have to admit that without the Groupon I would never have stumbled upon this hidden gem, especially since it's location in Hollister makes it far off our usual path. However, the windy road drive made our journey to Pietra Santa all the more worthwhile.
We had perfectly sunny but not too warm weather which made it a great day to wander about the estate. The tasting pours were very generous. Come early and they'll give you more to taste while you wait for your tour to begin. Truly enjoyed being able to see and learn the entire process from beginning to end: the history of the estate, lesson on the grapes grown, the various crushing and fermenting machines, the aging barrels and even the bottling, labeling and packaging. All interspersed with sips of delicious wine (the Signature Reserve Chardonnay was truly one of the best I've had). We also got to see the olive oil press and learn how they made their various olive oils.
The staff was all very friendly, personable and helpful. As we moseyed about the store, they were helpful to let us taste various wines to narrow down what we wanted to use our Groupon purchasing credit on.
Would never have found this place if not for Groupon, and it's a bit of a trek to get to, but with another Groupon or a beautiful sunny day, D and I might be back! D really enjoyed the drive and was sad that he was stuck driving my dinky little commuter instead of his swanky stick-shift on the windy roads there.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/30/2011
Note** This is a preliminary review and a heads-up to other Yelpers.
DO call ahead to make a… Read more »
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Review from Tee S.
Santa Cruz, CA
10/9/2011
Had a wonderful tasting experience here on Sunday. The pourers, Sonja and Toni (?) were very generous, knowledgeable and sweet. The wine varied somewhat, but in general was very good; the reserve wine were excellent. I found the Italian varietals the most to my liking. The grounds and architecture are amazing and appear to be quite old. I was surprised when I was told the building was built ten years ago; although the roof tiles were shipped from an old church in France.
The only thing that marred my experience was a guy who happened to be tasting the same time as me. I'm not sure if it was because I had not heard of the winery he labors at (Bradley?), but he typified the "wine snob" one often hears about but seldon sees. Anyway, this is not Pietra Santa's fault, so I have not deducted from their rating because of it.
Definitely check this winery out. It's a gem in the middle of (almost) nowhere. -
Review from Lauren A.
Campbell, CA
1/29/2012
I love this place. A bit of a trek from the South Bay, but well worth the drive. The staff is great, the tour was fun and the unpretentious staff taught us a lot about wine (people under 30 don't always get great service at wineries!). We joined the wine club and have enjoyed each bottle sent.
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Review from Jill D.
Santa Clara, CA
10/9/2011
Spent a great Saturday afternoon at Pietra Santa Winery. It was a bit of trek making it out to Hollister, however the excellent tasting experience definitely made up for it.
The tasting room staff were super friendly and very generous with their pours. I dare say that I tasted a wine that I did not enjoy and consider buying a bottle of. -
Review from Laura B.
Concord, CA
10/4/2011 7 photos
Could not have had a better time on a Saturday afternoon in Hollister. General tasting had 7 (7!!) tastings. I drove there, but the bf had to drive back. ;)
Left with a bottle of the Pinot Noir, though every single wine we tried was drinkable and delicious. Noshed on a plate of fruit, cheese, and salami ($5); wines all paired great! The ladies behind the counter were hilarious, and we got a great tour of the winery and olive oil press.
Vineyards for acres, olive trees, and a beautiful (if newly built) Spanish-style main room. The upstairs tasting room has the best views, and everyone there (plenty of locals/ wine club members) was extremely friendly and talkative. Completely unlike the touristy side of Napa.
For those classier folks, I recommend hitting the Taco Bell on your way out of town. Nothing better than some Pinot with your pintos.
Go! -
Review from dina b.
San Jose, CA
9/4/2011
Wines were good however John was a stick in the mud and ruined our fun. Thank god for Andy! He was a blast and
saved the day! -
Review from Micha J.
Monterey, CA
5/26/2011
My husband and I had the pleasure of touring Pietra Santa and would strongly recommend it!!!! The grounds were beautifully breathtaking, the pourings were generous, the wines (both reds and whites) were wonderfully complex, and the organic extra-virgin olive oil was one of the best we've tasted from a CA grower.
Anna (our tour guide) was extremely knowledgeable and kept us laughing the whole time - it was a great way to spend an afternoon! Unlike the unfortunate experience of one of the previous reviewers, the spread we were served to accompany our wine tasting (bread, fruit, cheese, and meats) was fresh and without a swarm of flies. We found the wines and oils to be fairly-priced especially considering that the vast majority of the varietals sold were organic.
The winery itself is modeled from a church in Tuscany - it's gorgeous!!! All of the staff were friendly and welcoming - we even met the wine grower! If you're ever in Hollister, please pay them a visit - and make sure to ask for Anna! -
Review from Julia W.
San Jose, CA
3/1/2006 1 photo
Update: Was there for the Hollister County Passport Weekend and all I wanted to know was who did I have to kill to live there! Perfect picturesque Italian setting in the rolling hills of 'who would have guessed' Hollister. The 02 Chardonnay, the Sassoliono, and the Zinfandel were fabulous --- they don't seem to make an undrinkable wine. Their Olive Oils aren't shabby either.
The 2001 Zinfandel is spicy and a pleasure to drink as a stand alone - like candy! -
Review from Wes M.
San Francisco, CA
4/20/2007
In my mind Pietra Santa stands like a symbol for the entire San Benito area: beautiful and criminally overlooked. Ok, so maybe a few people who've seen Vertigo have pulled off the 101 for a few minutes to check out the San Juan Bautista mission and wonder where the damn bell tower is (hint: Hitchcock faked it). But other than that, even notorious county name-droppers (Mendocino & Humboldt, anyone?) have rarely heard of San Benito.
I happened to come through here once in the LA era on the way back from one of my semi-annual SF pilgrimages. Maybe I was in one of those "anything but I-5" moods, or maybe I just wanted to put off getting back to SoCal for as long as possible. At any rate, I drove the entire length of Highway 25 before reluctantly rejoining the 5 at Coalinga. The whole valley was amazingly beautiful and remote, but Pietra Santa was definitely the highlight.
First of all, the winery itself is an incredibly beautiful mediterranean-style building. They clearly financed this place well. Secondly, over half the wines we tried were worth buying, which in my experience is well above average. I remember the Sauvignon Blanc especially being irresistible. Ultimately, though, we went with a case of Sasso Russo (the first case of wine I ever bought), as it was on a great sale for less than $100. Also, the pourers were very friendly and informative and even went out on the patio with us to overlook the vineyards and discuss some of the winery's history. Last but not least is their olive oil. You get to try some of it with the wine tasting, and they have several grades going up to $50 a bottle.
Highly recommended if you're in the area. In fact, the area itself is highly recommended as a weekend destination for anyone looking for a quiet place to sip wine and hike. -
Review from William A.
Healdsburg, CA
9/6/2008
3.5 stars, rounding up
5 stars for the winery and 4 stars for the service. I found their noble reds (cab and merlot if I recall) to be tannic despite not being young and a bit pricey for the quality. Their inexpensive sangiovese isn't bad, and can be bought at the local Safeway for $4 less. (standard for distribtion.)
There was a wine club event going on, so they weren't pouring from the tasting room upstairs, but in the main where they had tables setup, some food. It was a well done event, and they made non wine club members welcome. We did get some pressure to join from one lady that bothered me a tad, but that was the only negative.
The building and grounds are gorgerous, its definately worth a stop. -
Review from Steve E.
Tacoma, WA
2/19/2011
This was the best tasting experience I have ever enjoyed. The grounds are beautiful, the staff knowledgeable, warm, & funny and the wines superb. I far prefer reds, but the pinot grigio was the best i've ever tasted. Simply sublime. This is a must-do for wine lovers.
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Review from Melanie M.
Las Vegas, NV
12/30/2010
What a great winery. The wines are good to great in all selections. The location is beautiful and a great drive. My mom has been a member for years and just took us there today. It was a great stop for the southbay. Worth a drive and a taste.
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Review from Danielle H.
San Jose, CA
6/27/2009
We saw this place when we were on the course at Hollister Hills and it is beautiful! The staff is HILARIOUS. The 3 ladies working that day had the 4 of us cracking up. The tasting room is so cute and has an awesome view. We tasted everything and found a number of wines we liked and bought a few bottles. They have free recipes available that pair with the wines and they also sell olive oil. The winery is also open later than a number of the others in the area.
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Review from Chris O.
Berkeley, CA
3/3/2009
Great wines, great tasting experience. Especially loved the Dolcetto, Sangiovese and Merlot. I noticed a few negative reviews on here but I've tasted at literally hundred of wineries. I thought this was great. What do people expect from a tasting anyways? It's not a 4 star restaurant. Ever been to any of those dive tasting shacks out in the Russian River with Pinot's to die for? The room here at Pietra Santa is beautiful and the emphasis on Italian varietals is unique for CA. I just wish they would plant some Nebiolo.
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Review from Elizabeth C.
Morgan Hill, CA
2/12/2009
The winery was gorgeous, the surroundings were superb, the tasting room is odd and small and the wines were not our favorite. The scenery is worth the trip and DeRose is on the same road for good wines.
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Review from Joshua D.
Morgan Hill, CA
12/10/2008
I would say 2.5 stars for the wine without factoring in price (the last few were decent), but about a negative 10 for the winegoing expierience. I live locally and belong to a number of wine clubs in the area, some admittedly more for the environment and events than the wine. After a wonderful day tasting at Calera and Derose with some out-of-town family, we stopped here and could not have had more of a buzz-kill (other than the extremely gracious pours). Where to begin? Other than the fly-infested bread (and i'm talking hundreds of flies on a single basket of bread that we were directed to taste with their olive oil), the wine varied from very poor to quite good, but the decent wines were way overpriced in the $35-55 dollar category. This is one winery in the area I will not be heaidng back to in the near future, not to take away from my typically extremely positive Santa Clara Valley and San Benito County wine experiences.
