San Martin has about 7,000 residents, no downtown strip, and no city council. What it has instead is three back roads — Fitzgerald, New, and Hummingbird — that quietly hold most of the weekend plans worth making between Memorial Day and October.
The thesis, before you keep scrolling
If you already live here, you know the pitch outsiders get about "Santa Clara Valley wine country" reads like a brochure. The real geography is smaller and more specific: a Saturday in San Martin is usually two tasting rooms within a five-minute drive of each other, a farm stop before or after, and one anchor event on the calendar that determines everything else. This post is a map of those anchors for summer 2026, in the order a resident would actually plan them.
The frame worth adopting: San Martin is not a destination. It is a set of specific addresses that reward people who know where they are going.
The five tasting rooms that matter this summer
Napa runs on foot traffic. San Martin runs on GPS. Here is the working list, with the details that actually determine whether a Saturday plan holds together.
| Winery | Address | Open |
|---|---|---|
| Clos LaChance | 1 Hummingbird Ln | Wed–Sun, 11 AM–4 PM |
| Miramar Vineyards | 12255 New Avenue | Sat–Sun, noon–5 PM |
| Lion Ranch Vineyards & Winery | 645 W San Martin Ave | Fri–Sun, 11 AM–4 PM |
| Little Uvas Vineyard / The Garage | 255 Fitzgerald Avenue | Fri 4–8 PM, Sat–Sun noon–5 PM |
| Kirigin Cellars | San Martin | Call ahead |
A few things the table does not tell you.
Clos LaChance sits on 100 acres of vineyards, and the tasting room pours estate wines while you bring a picnic, play bocce, or sit on the patio. It is the biggest room on the list and the easiest to bring a group of six to without calling ahead.
Miramar sits on ten pastoral acres at 12255 New Avenue in San Martin, tucked into the eastern foothills. It is a smaller, quieter tasting room that feels like visiting someone's property rather than a commercial operation, open Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. If you want a mellow stop away from any crowds, this is it.
Lion Ranch is a husband-and-wife operation. They grow Rhone and Provence varietals and make everything in small lots. The tasting room is cozy, the outdoor seating is dog-friendly, and the owners are usually the ones pouring. Reservations are encouraged, especially on weekends.
Kirigin Cellars remains one of the older continuously operating rooms in the area, and it belongs on the list mostly because longtime residents route visitors through it for the history alone.
Why Fitzgerald Avenue became the anchor
If you have only had one Saturday in San Martin recently, it was probably on Fitzgerald. Little Uvas sits at 255 Fitzgerald Avenue in San Martin, and the tasting room is called "The Garage" because that is exactly what it is. Owners Rich and Rosy Bergin opened in 2022 and built the space around seven acres of estate-grown grapes, plus a collection of classic cars on display inside. They share the building with the DeRose Tasting Room, so you get two wineries in one stop.
Two wineries under one roof changes the math. You can build a two-hour stop out of one address instead of two, which is the difference between a weekend afternoon and a full-day project.
The weekly rhythm is worth memorizing:
- Thursday nights — "Corks & Pasta" events for $50, which includes wine and two pasta dishes.
- Friday afternoons — pizza parties from 4 PM to 8 PM.
- Saturday and Sunday — standard tasting hours, noon to 5 PM.
- Cooler months — picnic tables outside and Airstream trailers set up for tasting when the weather cools down.
If your out-of-town guests are the kind who like a story with their wine, this is the stop that carries the visit.
The 2026 concert calendar you should already have on your phone
The single biggest event driver in San Martin this summer is not a festival. It is CordeValle's KRTY.com Song and Wine Series, which is the closest thing to a recurring anchor event the community has. The KRTY Country Music Concert Series has previously featured artists including Lady A, Dan & Shay, and Justin Moore, and the 2026 dates are already published.
Thursday shows are $68. Friday shows are $74. If you are going, book early.
- Thu Jun 18 and Fri Jun 19
- Thu Jul 16 and Fri Jul 17
- Thu Aug 6 and Fri Aug 7
- Thu Sep 10 and Fri Sep 11
- Thu Oct 1 and Fri Oct 2
Source: the Cordevalle Winery event listings on Tixr. Two nights a month, June through October, is a rare enough cadence that it should shape the rest of your calendar. If you have Friday dinner plans anywhere else in South County on one of those dates, you will notice the difference on Highway 101.
The u-pick window is shorter than most residents think
San Martin's farm inventory is small, and the calendar is unforgiving. Cherries are the headline crop, and the window is usually late May through early June. If you wait until you see the sign on Monterey Road, you are already late.
- Windsor Family Farm, 2005 Giampaoli Dr. A small family-run farm with organic produce, farm animals, and summer farm camps for kids. Their Farm Camp 2026 runs in June, and registration fills up. It is the kind of place where your kids can get dirt under their fingernails and feed a goat.
- U Pick Orchards, 10850 Monterey Rd near the San Martin border. Seasonal cherry picking is the big draw. When the fruit comes in, usually May through June, you grab a bucket and pick your own. The orchard is right off Monterey Road, and you will see the signs.
- Later in the year, pick pomegranates and Fuyu persimmons in season, hang out with farm animals, and buy fresh produce.
For context on how the season is running, June 2026 notes from pickyourown.org confirm that asparagus and rhubarb season is starting in many areas, and cherry picking and strawberry season is here or almost here. If you are reading this in July, you have missed cherries but you are inside the window for stone fruit and heading toward pomegranate.
When you do not want to drive
The Morgan Hill Wine Trolley runs every weekend year-round. The trolley is an actual cable car that picks up at Luxe Flower Bar & Cafe at 1st and Monterey in downtown Morgan Hill. Cost is $149 per person, which includes a champagne welcome reception, a gourmet box lunch at the second winery, and tasting fees at three different wineries. The tour rotates among local wineries in Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy, so you get a different experience depending on the weekend.
The math is worth doing out loud. Three tasting fees in San Martin typically run $25 to $40 each, plus lunch, plus a designated driver you owe a favor. At $149 with a rotating route, the trolley is priced for the group that wants to stop planning and start pouring. It is also the answer to the recurring problem of hosting people who want a "wine country day" without a two-hour drive to Napa.
A working weekend template
If you are hosting someone in July or August and you want a plan that holds up:
- Saturday, late morning. Cherries or stone fruit at U Pick Orchards on Monterey Road while the temperature is still under 85.
- Saturday, early afternoon. Lunch at home or a picnic, then Miramar on New Avenue for the quieter opener.
- Saturday, late afternoon. Clos LaChance on Hummingbird for the bigger patio and the view.
- Thursday or Friday in the evening. A KRTY show at CordeValle, booked at least two weeks out.
- Friday night as a fallback. Pizza at The Garage on Fitzgerald.
Three stops on Saturday is the ceiling. Locals who try four end up rushing the last one and wishing they had not.
What this means if you are thinking further ahead
The reason to know all of this is not tourism. It is the quiet fact that San Martin's rhythms have shifted over the last three years. The 2022 opening of Little Uvas, the steady run of KRTY dates at CordeValle, and the reliability of the wine trolley have moved the community from "the stretch between Morgan Hill and Gilroy" to a set of destinations with their own weekend gravity. If you have lived here through that change, you have noticed it. If you are thinking about how the area will look in another three years, it is worth paying attention to.
When the time comes to talk about property, acreage, or the market on the west side of 101, The Palacios Group has spent years working these roads. Get your free home valuation — work with our team.
