The 'Guide Me Home to San Jose' Blog

The word for grapes in Spanish is uvas, so it is appropriate that one of the country roads that winds through southern Santa Clara County’s wine district, is called Uvas Road. The other main corridor is Hecker Pass Highway, or Highway 152 (only a 2 lane in this area), where it travels west from Gilroy. The Hecker Pass road bisects fertile valleys that trace their agricultural history to the early days of the Spanish settlers. In the 1920s many Italian immigrants found this area to be perfect for growing French and Italian varieties of wine grapes. If you continue West on highway 152 you will drive through dense redwood forests, to a summit of about 1000 feet, and then on through Watsonville on the coast with its fields of strawberries and orchards of world-renowned apples. On and off throughout the year, fog makes its way from the Pacific Ocean and over the Santa Cruz mountains to cool the vineyards of this area. The wineries of this beautiful region have won many awards for their Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, and Zinfandel wines among others.

Some wineries of note: Solis (SolisWinery.com), Sarah’s Vineyard (SarahsVineyard.com), Clos La Chance (ClosLaChance.com), and Jason-Stephens (JStephens.com). In addition to lovely tasting rooms and shady patios, many of these wineries feature picnic areas and bocce courts. Summer evenings often feature local musicians. They offer a truly unique, personal, and special way to spend an afternoon or evening!

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

A Taste of Morgan Hill, sponsored by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27th, in the heart of Morgan Hill’s historic downtown. In addition to providing the community with a fun, family-friendly festival, the Taste of Morgan Hill supports the local Chamber of Commerce and its programs that support the businesses and residents of this Silicon Valley small town.

Just 30 minutes from downtown San Jose, yet a world apart, Morgan Hill is “the countryside of Silicon Valley” and home to producers of everything from mushrooms to wine! This year’s festival will feature local food and wine, a Custom Classic car show, a Quilt Show, Arts and Crafts, live entertainment, a MicroBrew Beer Garden and much more!

Although you may not think of Morgan Hill and Gilroy as “wine country,” the area is home to numerous local vintners, many dating back to pre-prohibition days and early Italian immigrant families. Although 1510 acres of wine grapes were harvested in the area last year, mushrooms and garlic are probably still its better-known agricultural products.

In recent years a new generation of wine growers has brought new life to this valuable regional resource.

First among Morgan Hill’s wineries is Guglielmo (Goo-yell-mo) Winery. Founded in 1925, now run by a third generation of the same family, this winery has won gold medals for many of it cabernet, sangiovese, and zinfandel wines. Guglielmo, Sycamore Creek and other local vintners can be found at the Wine Tent during the festival. More about other wineries in the Morgan Hill and Gilroy area of southern Santa Clara County in future posts! In the meantime, you can check out the Santa Clara Valley appellation for yourself any lovely Fall weekend, or go to SantaClaraWines.com for more information.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

San Jose, California’s 3rd largest city (behind Los Angeles and San Diego), ranks at or near the top of a surprising number of diverse metrics - all positive- year after year. It has long been one of America’s safest big cities, is known for its highly educated (over 35% have graduated college and/or have advanced degrees), and well-paid (median income approximately $77,000 according to 2007 Census Bureau) workforce.

An attractive natural and job climate brings people to San Jose and Silicon Valley from all over the globe. Many stay, raise families, and retire here. Two national magazines, Forbes and U.S. News and World Report, ‘found the way to San Jose’ this summer. Forbes (July 09), found San Jose to be ‘the country’s most affordable major city.” High incomes and a wide range of housing options, from apartments to high rise downtown condos to suburban homes and estates, provide our area with something for nearly everyone. U.S. News and World Report (9/2/09) asked “ If you could create the ideal community to raise a child in, what ingredients would you include?” and named San Jose “one of the 10 Best Places to Grow Up”, ranking it third nationally behind Virginia Beach, VA and Madison, AL.

Our natural, educational, and recreational resources are abundant. With 9 square miles of green spaces, San Jose is home to hundreds of parks: dog parks, neighborhood parks, skate parks, and water parks! We have museums: Art , Tech, Children’s, and Egyptian, to name but a few, and of course, we have hockey, the San Jose Sharks of the NHL.

It is no wonder that San Jose continues to attract the best and brightest and keep them here!

Posted by:Colleen Badagliacco