Castillo’s Hillside Shire Winery

The wine was pretty good, the sommelier was delightful and generous with his pours. A highlight of our visit was the angelic singing and guitar playing of his sister –after a glass of wine that sh** almost made me cry! The grounds were also beautiful and worth venturing out for. I’d go back.

I LOVED this winery. The estate is beautiful and the tasting room looks like i’ve walked into the Shire of the Lord of the Rings. The grounds is green and lush. There is even a cute little pond. My son made friends with their sweet family dog. Nate, the sommelier was friendly and generous with the tasting pours. The 2010 Malbec is amazing, along with some other reds. I tasted so many, I can’t even remember which is what. But that just means i’ll just have to go back again next weekend to re-​familiarize myself with their wines. I enjoyed myself so much, I signed up for their wine club. It’s a pretty easy commitment of 2 bottles per quarter. The only negative is they are not open on weekdays.

I give them a five star because the owners very friendly and have a very good service the red wine is good.

Bought a case! 12 down, 34 to go to fill the new wine fridge. Very friendly staff, and super attentive. Enjoyed the wines and atmosphere. Must come back! #winefrig #winetasting

Seeing people review Castillo Winery low because the family plays instruments and sings is a bit like complaining the music is loud at an Aerosmith concert. The family music talent and proclivity for spontaneous singing makes it charming and unique. If you want the usual stuffy ambiance of wine only then wrong place — this is wine, song and a beautiful view and grounds. Different experience i hope the son lives up to his Som acclaim and produces great wines

Our tasting, poured by an arrogant lady, was interrupted by her attention seeking, uncomfortable, guitar playing, daughter. All wine affiliated activities (including purchases people were already in line to make) came to a halt. We gave up and called our tasting fee a bust because all attention had turned to the music. We had to escape or become one of them? On the other hand, the daughter created the awesome, dramatic wine labels.

Visited the winery a few times but won’t be returning. The owners son, Nate, could be more diplomatic and a better host. Disappointed that the winery hosts have become snobby and arrogant. So many other wineries in the area with better wine and owners that are warm, welcoming and grateful for the business. They should close down their business if they are not interested in welcoming guests.
Yes, we did arrive early (45 minutes to be exact not an hour as we were at Andrade and have a time stamp of a photo confirming) but we just walked around the perimeter of the property. The gates were open and signage was up. At no time were we requested to leave the premises so we assumed it was fine to walk and wait until opening
If we had been asked we would have been happy to leave.n. Nate did not approach us until opening and was not diplomatic at all! Just read a few other of your reviews and I see others have felt the same about his people skills. We did not realize we were disturbing anything — had we been told we would have left immediately. We mentioned this to a nearby winery and it appears he’s not very popular. We will not be back to this property.

Absolutely beautiful grounds with beautiful scenery. Would’ve loved to picnic here as it amazingly beautiful.
But the wine… let’s just say we would pour out our tastings in the shrubs when nobody was looking. Bleh.

Love this winery! Very Bilbo Baggins’ish tasting room. The grounds. gorgeous! I’m really picky about my wines, especially reds so I have to say 4 out of 5 is a great experience in my books. I was very pleased that their Petite Sirah was just what I’d hope for! The son and his girlfriend were absolutely friendly and helpful. They «kept it real» which I can appreciate as there are wine snobs and .well, snobs period, in wine valley. I absolutely felt comfortable there AND… what about the unique but very artistic wine bottle labels?! I can’t wait to return with friends :)

Let me first say that the estate is gorgeous. The tasting room feels like you are hanging out in Bilbo Baggins home. However, when we first walked in the son was playing the guitar and singing for a group of girls. It is a family own winery so fine however when he was more interested in showing off his yearbook to a group of girls then pouring wine is when I got annoyed.
I will say that the sons fiancé is the only reason this place got two stars. She was very nice and attentive while the rest of the family just stood around and stared at us.
The wine itself was okay. The summer Chardonnay was very good however the rest of the wine was just mediocre.

This place has beautiful grounds! There is a little pond, lots of grassy areas, and a gazebo. The girl who sang with her guitar had a beautiful voice! The tasting room is cute and reminds me of Bilbo Baggins’s house from Lord of the Rings. This place would get more stars, but the wine was meh… not that good. The tasting was $ 10 for 6 wines, which I thought was a lot considering the wines were not that good. The white wine was not bad, but when it came to the reds they were cloudy and had lots of sediment. Don’t think I would go back.

Gorgeous grounds — the tasting room feels like you’ve walked into Frodo’s living room. There was a girl playing guitar, various trinkets on sale, and a large, wooden table with dozens of tastings being poured across it every minute.
Venture outside to get a great view of the vineyards, the pond, and the surrounding fields.
From other reviews, it seems that the tasting fee and number of pours vary at different times. Yesterday (a Saturday), the sign posted $ 10 for 6 pours. Prices on some of the wines ran up to $ 50, and while I’ll usually leave with a bottle or two from wineries I visit, I couldn’t land on anything in their repertoire that I really wanted to drink again.
I don’t know if I suffer from something similar to the cilantro-​tastes-​like-​soap problem, but their white smelled very distinctly of cat urine. The reds fare much, much better. The owners and the son (?) weren’t particularly effusive, but they were reliable and gave the experience some solid Italian character.
3 stars for being a fantastic winery to visit with a group or as a DD.

This was by far the most beautiful winery we went to. The family that owns it is absolutely lovely. So nice and hospitable.
They specialize in reds I believe and the son is very knowledgable because he is the one making the wine.
Seriously make the son and daughter sing for you… I’m not being weird lol… they both have great voices!

I usually don’t bother writing a review if it’s going to be negative, but, ugh. The house and grounds are beautiful, and it looks like a nice place for a big party or wedding. But we were there for the wines, and they were disappointing. The server was the son, and he was boorish, and more interested in talking about himself than paying attention to the 6 – 8 guests that were there when we were.
When my wife and I go to any winery, and we’ve been to dozens of them in the past year or so, we want to like the wines-that’s why we’re there. We buy at least one bottle at 80% of the wineries we visit. So we tasted Castillo’s first wine, and then the next, and then the next. Sometimes the first 2 – 3 wines don’t hit you right, and you hope for something better in the next one, but every wine we tasted was bad. There was way too much acidity, some off flavors, and some of the varietals were virtually unrecognizable. The growing, harvesting, and fermenting procedures seem to be the greatest causes of the problems, because one can find decent and good wines just down the road at Guglielmos. We gave up after 5 or 6 wines and left.

This place gets 4 stars for being GORGEOUS. The entire property is just absolutely breath taking.
The wine on the other hand… eh. They’re all fairly cheap wines (under $ 25 a bottle). $ 5 for 7 tastings. So that’s a plus, but if you’re a wine snob you might not care for the taste.

I never knew this place even existed. Went with a few friends that knew this place well. As we pull up in front of this beautiful home I was in awe! The grounds were spectacular, the backyard of the main house was beautiful. Off to the side of the main house was a smaller building where the tasting room was located. The wine was more of an everyday wine but tasted decent. The talented brother and sister running the tasting room played a couple of songs for the patrons… everyone enjoyed it. I loved the peacefulness this place offered. You just have to find a place to sit at in between your wine tasting and just soak up the magnificent view. It was quite a sight.

I’ve been stopping in quarterly to pick up my wine shipments for almost three years and I’ve been delighted every single time.
First, the wines. The glorious wines. This is my favorite place to procure wine. They’re primarily only reds (though this last season they had a white blend which I was able to try on two different visits… it was delightful).
I have to say that Castillo’s is 100% responsible for the fact that my husband now actually enjoys red wine (so thank you Castillos!).
Over the years we’ve really come to enjoy our shipment pick-​up days and ensuing wine tasting. Sometimes with my husband, sometimes with girlfriends.
It’s a family run winery and we always feel so welcome on our visits. So often we lose track of time when we’re there because we so enjoy the company. Nate (who is usually pouring in the tasting room) is so friendly, interesting and a wealth of wine related knowledge (i.e. «the son»). He’s a certified sommelier. Roni Jo (i.e. «the mom») is very friendly and I’ve seen her on more than one occasion entertain patrons by singing opera. Vivienne (i.e. the daughter) is a wonderful musician and performer who, if you’re lucky, may be performing her original music in the tasting room during your visit. She also is the artist that created all of the awesome wine label art.
The grounds are beautiful. Pack some food, have a tasting, buy a bottle of your favorite and take it outside and have an amazing picnic. You won’t regret it.

One of our regular stops when we travel down this way!
Easy to find winery but with few parking spots available. Usually if there aren’t any spots available cars begin to park on the street.
The tasting room is in the 2^nd building adjacent to the big beautiful house. we often run into a very friendly dog out there. As you walk into the tasting room you will meet Nate, the regular sommelier. you will quickly learn that this is not the cookie-​cutter type tasting room. sure it looks regular but the service is very personable. Nate just loves to talk with you about your life, his, or just funny stories in general. If you’re lucky you will get Nate and his talented sister to sing a song for you (they both sing and play guitar). I usually have a good time when i am here. Being a young guy, Nate actually makes me feel like im a just a buddy that came over to hang at his house, and we just happen to be drinking wine while we talk.
we probably talk about everything here except wine. which was not a problem for us, but I could see how some people might be thrown off that the subject of wine takes a back seat in this tasting room. anyways, we like it.
also great customer service. i unfortunately had a bad bottle from this winery but Nate took care of it. Told me to come by and he’ll swap it out. He gave us a free tasting for the inconvienance.
Great winery and tasting experience. I feel like im just sitting and talking with old friends. happily return whenever i get the chance.

«Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they’ll be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields… and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?» — Samwise to Frodo «The Lord of the Rings»
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
When dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted — Susan Boyle (Or Anne Hathaway) «I Dreamed A Dream»
Part II of the III Part Five Star Winery Visit Day
Okay, I’m stretching the quote references a bit because Morgan Hill is not the Shire although at this time of the year the green hills are a bit Irish (Like Anne Hathaway!) :) Just work with me on this one :)
I rolled up in my dusty Subaru to the front of this spectacular yet a bit New Jersey Housewives looking mega mansion. I three pointed my Outback expertly into a parking spot wedged between a Lexus and a Porsche Cayenne. Walking up to the Estate, i saw a group of wealthy types obviously discounting the manly Subaru driver in his hiking attire. «Oh, he is definitely not one of us». From the looks of things I thought I was going to a potential One Star Fiasco like The Winery That Shall Not Be Named. But in this case… perceptions are wrong. For i had an absolutely surreal and fun experience here in «The Shire».
Now this story is the story of an accidental winery. Originally, Jess Castillo just wanted to build his dream home up here in God’s Country. But the Williamson Act states in these parts no house over 2500 square feet unless 70% of your land is set aside for agriculture. And should a man be denied his dream home if it is above 2500 sq. ft??? Not if Susan/​Anne have anything to do with it.
So a winery was born and I stepped in to the little Tudor styled tasting room next to the big estate. There was only a few people here at first. The daughter was strumming her guitar… then the son poured me the first glass of a red wine I do not know (No tasting sheets given, just a big book with all wines they make).
Now the first few wines were not very good. The first red in fact had a spritzy finish and unless I’m drinking a Vinho Verde or Italian Moscato, spritzy finish is not normal… especially on a big red. The next two were better but not to my liking. Again, not sure what I’m drinking because I’m just being handed my tastes without explanation… as the big group from outside comes in to fill the room.
Things then really took off! Because the 94 year old gentleman, who was bogarting the chocolate and crackers by the way, was celebrating his birthday. And when you have a guitar strumming woman with a beautiful voice (who also does the winery’s art work by the way) in a full tasting room, well hell yes you have to sing the young man happy birthday… and everyone did!
Than the last two wines show up and now we are talking. First up is a lovely 2010 Malbec from San Benito County. Absolutely one of the best wines I have had from a winery in this area. Perfect balance and flavor with gorgeous earthy notes. Bought two bottles. Pricing is outstanding with this wine around $ 20.00. The final wine was an excellent Estate Petite Syrah and I may have to go back to get a few bottles of this too.
After the tasting was over, I walked outside and the man with the original dream said thank you for visiting. Now that was a class ending that The Winery That Shall Not Be Named would never even think of.
I took a final gaze out at the beautiful view of Morgan Hill and realized that sometimes in my arrogance I definitely judge a bit too quickly. These folks worked hard to get where they are and they have very interesting kids working the tasting room and succeeding at life. Sometimes dreams do come true…

$ 5 for about 6 – 7 tastings? All reds and 1 port. You get to choose an extra red wine of your choice before tasting the port. The wines were pretty good. I liked all of them, even though I’m not a red lover.
Cute little tasting room that looks like the inside of a cottage from the Lord of the Rings. The tasting room is not in the beautiful big mansion. You have to walk to the right of it.
The property is beautiful since its right where the mountains are. There’s even a bridge in the back but there’s no water underneath. We saw a few dogs, a cat and a puppy too.
Staff was nice. The owner walked in and out the tasting room and I think the people who poured for us were the son and daughter.