About this vendor
Located in Gilroy, CA, Fortino Winery is a historic vineyard and winery venue that hosts weddings and other milestone occasions. Since its opening in 1970, three generations of the Fortino family have operated this business. The rolling hillside, cultivated landscape, and magnificent redwood trees comprise scenic surroundings for your wedding festivities.
The property they attend to features a number of amenities and facilities to enhance the enjoyment of your celebration. Outdoors, you can exchange your vows at a gorgeous redwood pavilion with surrounding redwoods and swaths of lush vineyards. Indoors, this venue includes a large get-ready room for to-be-weds to prepare and relax on their big day. Additionally, guests may enjoy the historic Barrel Room and the Tasting Room, suffused with old-world charm. Further amenities include a covered bar, a dance area, and wheelchair-accessible features.
Wedding services offered at Fortino Winery include venue booking as well as in-house catering and bartending. Outdoor ceremonies and receptions for up to 300 guests can be accommodated in the Redwood Terrace, with grassy sites, a raised bandstand, and a bar area. Indoors, the Tasting Room can host up to 30 guests and the Barrel Room up to 100 guests. You and your guests may enjoy a full menu of Italian cuisine then fill the night with dancing and laughter.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Ceremony Types
- Commitment Ceremony
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
- Second Wedding
- Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
- Barn
- Historic Venue
- Mountain
- Trees
- Vineyard & Winery
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Se Habla Español
- Wedding Design
- Rentals & Equipment
Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.014 reviews
Getting married at Fortino Winery was an easy decision, both when booking and in hindsight. This all inclusive style venue took the stress out of wedding planning and left me the ...
more fun parts. I really appreciated getting to focus on design and personalizing the wedding day, rather than tending to things like finding table and chair rentals or tracking down linens. From beginning to end, the staff at Fortino Winery made the whole wedding process feel smooth, doable, and magical.
My two absolute favorite features of this venue are the scenery and the food. First, the scenery: the redwood trees are absolutely beautiful, both in person and in photos. They provided a surreal backdrop and feel for our ceremony (and reception), and every time I see photos or videos from our day, I’m still in awe of the trees. Then on another side, you have rolling hills of the vineyard, golden and effortlessly beautiful. Our sweetheart table sat in front of the vineyard, and we took our bridal portraits there too. No matter where you look, the scenery is natural and inviting.
We had about 200 guests, and everyone that I’ve heard from (including my husband and I) loved the food. We did a tasting beforehand of course, so I knew how good the food could be, but buffet style can be hit or miss. HOWEVER, believe me when I tell you, Fortino does not miss. Everything they served was great, even for an event this size. I’m not kidding, so many people went out of their way to tell me how impressed they were with the food.
One thing that was more of a happy coincidence: I love that the winery is a place I can visit anytime. The first time my husband and I went back after the wedding, it was like reliving a really good dream. Getting to sip wine, walk around, and reminisce was so much fun. I hadn’t considered this before the wedding, but in retrospect, I’m really glad the venue we chose is easy to visit, and I can’t wait to do this for years to come.
I also want to credit the staff for making the day of operations go so well. Any hiccup they encountered was handled swiftly, quietly, and confidently. Fortino gave me the gift of trusting them, and in turn, I was able to be present and enjoy everything. My wedding day at Fortino Winery was one of the happiest days of my life, and I’m very thankful for the role they played in making it so.
I had the pleasure of providing DJ services at Fortino Winery, and it was an absolutely fantastic experience! The venue's ambiance is perfect for any event, with its spacious layou...
t, stunning lighting, and top-notch acoustics that enhance the overall vibe. The staff was incredibly friendly and professional, making coordination smooth and stress free. I truly enjoyed working with such a great team, and the guests were an energetic crowd, which made the night even more memorable. I highly recommend Fortino Winery for anyone looking for a venue that offers both style and seamless service for their next event.
We found Fortino Winery after an extensive search for venues in the Bay Area. I wanted to get married in the redwoods but due to a family member’s health condition, elevation becam...
e a challenge which limited the venues significantly. We decided to check Fortino Winery out since they mentioned on their website that their ceremony area had redwoods. We met with Becca in September of 2021 and she gave us a tour of the facility and a basic rundown on how things would work if we booked them. We were impressed not only by the size of the event center but also how beautiful it was. We also loved that the caterer was in house, which really saved us stress in trying to find a caterer. Another huge aspect of why we went with Fortino Winery was that a day-of event coordinator is included in the cost of the venue! For an extra fee, they even decorated the entire venue for us, which allowed us to save money on a wedding planner and still have our bridal party have a relaxing morning with out errands and chores to do the day of. We were a little concerned when we were notified that the event coordinator we had been working with, Becca, relocated to Southern California. The new event coordinator, Esther, did a great job picking up where Becca left off. She was in contact with us regularly, and was diligent answering my incessant emails. She went out of her way to accommodate our requests like finding coupe glasses for our champagne toast. She was very transparent about the amount of alcohol we would need and cautioned us against ordering an additional keg, which was great advice! The morning of the wedding, Esther was constantly checking in on the bridal party, making sure we had everything we needed. The decorations came out incredible with only a few small signs not making it out, which was no big deal. Additionally, the staff was incredibly helpful and accommodating. Esther even served my husband and I dinner personally, so we would not have to wait in the buffet line. They even did all the clean up! We can not recommend Fortino Winery enough! If you want a stress-free wedding (as much as possible) and have a beautiful venue, you can’t go wrong with Fortino!
My daughter had her wedding on Sept. 3, 2022 at Fortino Winery. The entire experience with Fortino and their staff was excellent! The wedding coordinator Becca in particular was ...
amazing… professional, responsive, creative and resourceful! She coordinated all the vendors for the day of, and organized and directed the bridal party for the wedding ceremony. The wedding went off without a hitch (except for the 100+ degree weather!:). The beauty of Fortino is that it offers a blank slate for events and weddings so you can do just about anything creative that you can think of. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and had many guests compliment the selection and how good it was. We used several of the winery’s preferred vendors and they did not disappoint. My daughter was going for a rustic but elegant wedding vibe and Fortino fit the bill perfectly! I can’t recommend Fortino enough if you are thinking of choosing this spot for your event or wedding!
the staff was helpful and made our special day easy. Becca was awesome.
We had our wedding at Fortino Winery on November 13, 2021 and we are so happy that we did! We worked with the events team (Breann and Becca) who were experienced, professional, and...
easy to work with. The venue has beautiful spaces for ceremony, reception, and photos that are conveniently close to each other and beautiful especially at golden hour and in the evening under the string lights. Our guests were highly complimentary of Chef Daniel's food as well. On the wine side, I recommend the pinot grigio and Maribella red blend. The only critical feedback I'd give was that email responses were a little slow during the busiest parts of the wedding season, but all details were carefully taken care of in the end. We'd definitely recommend Fortino Winery to take care of ceremony venue, reception venue, food, and drink all at once! Parking, rentals, and security are also taken care of as part of their wedding package.
Fortino was amazing, the staff were so attentive each time I visited the venue, even when I just showed up to have wine. Breann is the best and was so helpful to me and always answ...
ered all of my questions. The bridal room was the perfect size for me and my girls to get ready in!
I had my wedding at Fortino and I could not be happier. The venue is so gorgeous, the staff are so helpful, Breann is super knowledgeable and amazing, I just can't believe how perf...
ect our wedding was. I love the feel of the winery, it's so classic but also not stuffy which I love. Breann made the entire process so easy. The whole wedding was outdoors, the weather was perfect (October 10) and the vibe was absolutely magical. I'm so so happy with Fortino and am so happy to highly recommend this venue to anyone.
We are so incredibly happy that we chose Fortino Winery to have our reception. From the very beginning Debbi was with me every step of the way, even having meetings via FaceTime as...
we were planning our wedding from Boston (3,000 miles away)! Having everything onsite- the linens, tables, flatware, catering, etc was a huge plus for us as it took the guess work and time and energy out of having to find separate vendors for each and every thing as we were planning from so far away. The food was excellent and all of our guests were very happy! Debbi took the time to understand my husband, myself, and our families and what type of vibe we were going for. The day of went smoothly with Debbi behind the scenes- it literally felt seamless. Although it rained on our wedding day and we didn't get to take advantage of the landscape around us as much as I would have hoped, Debbi helped us improvise and take some beautiful photos in the tasting room and outside the barn doors. I would highly recommend Fortino Winery for any occasion and my husband and I look forward to returning for some tasting on our next trip home. ( p.s. The wine was excellent!)
What I loved about it:
-It is set in a beautiful, large space, overlooking vineyards and the hills.
-Debbi (the event coordinator) is super detailed-oriented, a great planner and...
very kind.
-Debbi is also very open-minded. We had a less-traditional wedding, and she didn't make us feel uncomfortable about it. Also, she is there the day of the wedding, coordinating everything, which made my day stress-free!
-They have their own catering, which is amazingly delicious (and stress-reducing).
-They also have all of their own linens, tables/chairs, serving-ware, etc.
-They have a variety of packages, which are all at great values.
-My list will be too long, if I keep adding things.
I loved the patio where are ceremony and reception were held. The view of the vineyards was amazing. There is a mesh canopy over the reception area which came in handy since it was...
95 degrees! The food was amazing. Since they do their own catering it was nice to not have to find a caterer. There were a few complaints. There were wasps everywhere! We had a few people get stung during the reception. Also the reception area was not ready until two hours before the ceremony which put the whole day behind schedule because we were scrambling to get set-up. We were very happy with the coordinator and she helped in any way she could. She was very prompt with her responses by e-mail or phone. We would do it again in a heartbeat.
I got married here Oct 15, 2011 and loved everything about the place! Especially Debbi Sanchez! She is the event coordinator there and works so well with the wedding party. She's v...
ery organized and prompt and you really feel that she cares about your wedding personally. There is a beautiful patio where you can fit I believe close to 300 people for the reception, along with dancing space too. I had 215 guests and the place was perfect. It's very romantic with the vineyards as landscape. A dream come true! It was the most reasonably priced vineyard in the area.
I just had my wedding at Fortino about 3 weeks ago. The winery is awesome. The view of the vineyards was picturesque and we took some great photos. I was pleasantly surprised wi...
th how the food turned out, everyone raved about it. The wine was great, particularly their pomegranate fruit wine mixed with their extra dry champagne. Debbi, the onsite coordinator, was fabulous. She always answered my questions and was able to accommodate my requests. On the day of, she was able to set up the decor exactly as I had envisioned it, while I relaxed and did not lift a finger. I am so glad that we had our wedding at Fortino, it was an unforgettable day!
I wasn't expecting it to look so good. It actually turned out to be beautiful. Very good for the price. The food was good. I even got compliments on it. I would have liked mor...
e places for photos though. But overall, pretty good.
Contact
4525 Hecker Pass Hwy, Gilroy, CA
