What started as a family owned fruit stand hoping to reach a customer base for locals and people traveling over Pacheco Pass in the 1940s, has now turned in to a popular destination on the edge of San Benito County called Casa De Fruta. Owned and operated by the Zanger family, wine production started in the 1960s with their tasting counter opening in 1969. Of the wines being produced today, Casa De Fruta’s fruit wines are the most popular. “We’re known for our fruit wines. Our fruit wines are one hundred percent the juice of the fruit,” Max Sparrer, a wine steward at Casa De Fruta, said.
As Joe Zanger, one of multiple family partners in the business said, “Fruity wines appeal to customers more”. Of these wines pomegranate has been designated as the crowd favorite. “Pomegranate and blackberry are my favorites,” said Cheryl Weggeland who currently lives in Gilroy but was raised in San Benito County. Weggeland further said the reason she preferred these wines was, “you can actually taste the fruit flavor – the sweetness of the fruit, with a natural tang. It’s delicious”.
Apricot, Pomegranate, Santa Rosa Plum, Raspberry, and Blackberry are some of the fruit wines they produce. All wines according to Sparrer contain twelve percent alcohol and can be consumed as is or can be used to enrich a cooking recipe.
One such recipe described by Sparrer included using a fruit wine, such as blackberry or pomegranate, with pound cake and vanilla ice cream to create a decadent desert. To make this dessert a person must, “warm the wine/reduce it and then pour it (the wine) over the pound cake and vanilla ice cream”. Sparrer described how the pound cake absorbs the wine and the combination of flavors is both refreshing and unique.
Casa De Fruta’s tasting room, which is open seven days a week, is not just about tasting wine, but having an experience. Zanger described Casa De Fruta as a “destination” that is, “much more family oriented,” than what is found at other wineries and tasting rooms and as a result there are local families who regularly come out on the weekends to visit. Sparrer agreed saying, “In the spring and the summer people will buy a bottle of wine and enjoy it on the patio”.
Locals are not the only people who stop at Casa De Fruta. “We meet people from all over the world,” Sparrer said. Due to its location at the base of Pacheco Pass and other attractions on site, Casa De Fruta is a favorite stop for families traveling through the area and tour buses on their way to see popular state and national sites. Many find their way to the tasting room to sample and purchase the local made fruit wines.
Casa De Fruta’s tasting room is located in Hollister at 10021 Pacheco Pass Highway in the Casa De Wine section of the property. Tasting Room hours are Monday-Thursday 8:20 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. All customers are entitled to three complimentary half ounce pours or can pay five dollars and choose any five one ounce pours from the wine list on site.
Additionally, Casa De Fruta has a Wine Club that has “quarterly shipments of two bottles of wine, 25% off retail price,” according to the wine club application. There are three different packages customers can pick from and all wines shipped will be picked by the winemaker on site.
Casa De Fruta also includes seasonal events such as the Renaissance Faire and has multiple other year-round attractions on site such as a sweet shop and restaurant.
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