When we visit a wilderness area or preserve for the first time, we usually come away pleasantly surprised by a trail section, a view, a feature of the landscape, or something that makes the hike unique. And so it was when we recently visited the Picchetti Ranch Area. This 372-acre preserve in the Cupertino foothills above the Stevens Creek Reservoir offers not only pleasant hiking trails, but also historic buildings and an operating winery and tasting room.

Some 130 years ago, the families of Vincenzo and Secondo Picchetti left their native Italy for all the right reasons. They settled on this hillside, planted vineyards and orchards, built a homestead house (1882), a brick building for processing wine (1896), and other ranch structures. Their descendants suffered through Prohibition, harvested their crops, and bottled wine under the Picchetti Brothers label. They probably sat on the porch of their ranch house watching construction of the Stevens Creek Reservoir below, the Permanente Quarry to the north, and the never-ending flow of newcomers into the Santa Clara Valley.

But time takes its toll, and the old Picchetti homestead became a relic of the past--a prime example of what life in the Valley used to be. Luckily for us, when it was time to sell, the Midpeninsula Open Space District was ready to buy. They acquired the property in 1978 and went to work with other groups to restore the historic buildings, which are now listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.

The winery complex was leased to the Stortz family in the 1980s and operated as Sunrise Winery. Today the winery is owned and operated by Leslie Pantling, and wine is sold under the Picchetti Winery label.

The tasting room is currently open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Some grapes are grown on preserve acreage above the winery, and others are purchased from small vineyards in the area and from the Napa Valley. An added bonus is a nice grassy picnic area partially shaded with oak and redwood trees. On our recent Sunday afternoon visit, a three-piece musical group was offering mellow tunes to the dozen or so picnickers. This is an ideal place to take a very short walk from the parking lot to the tasting room, or better yet, a four-mile stroll along the Zinfandel Trail or the shorter Orchard Loop Trail.

From the parking lot off Monte Bello Road, walk through the winery complex and pick up the Zinfandel Trail on the south side of the brick building. Passing the restroom, you will gradually climb on a dirt service road alongside an abandoned orchard. In the "old" days, productive apricot, plum, walnut, and pear orchards were on this hillside. We saw a few plums still hanging during our visit. The first junction is for the Orchard Loop Trail to your left. You can take a short detour there by going on the Orchard Trail through the orchard to the next junction. Turn right, and in a few steps you will be at the summit of a small hill (1,000-foot elevation), shaded by coastal live oaks with good views to the western ridge, the quarry to the north, and the Stevens Creek Reservoir and East Bay Hills to the north and east. Farther east (across Stevens Creek Canyon) is Fremont Older Open Space Preserve, also operated by MROSD. From the summit, wind down the hillside to a pond (dry in the summer), past logs (good picnic seating), and intersect with the Zinfandel Trail. Turn left (south) over a bridge, through a meadow, past a hikers-only marker, into a thick wooded canyon. The trail is mostly level as it leads into a dry ravine and then out again along a chaparral-covered, sunny slope. Along the way, study the many multiple-trunked bay trees shading the trail. If Zinfandel weren't such a pleasing name, the Bay Tree Trail would be a good second choice. Moving out of the ravine, you will soon pass from the preserve boundary to Stevens Creek Park. We chose to continue for .6 miles to the picnic area along Stevens Creek near Stevens Creek Road and Mount Eden Road. The trail narrows and is not as well maintained. Watch for poison oak along the way. There are good views of Stevens Creek Dam and Fremont Older Preserve on the opposite hillside as you begin to switchback to the canyon floor. You will see a burned down structure as you descend to the junction of a service road. Turn left at the junction for 20 paces, then turn right on an unmarked narrow trail. If you see a red stop--private property sign on the service road, turn back and search out the trail that winds through forest to Stevens Creek and the Cooley Picnic Area.

At the bottom, note the fenced equipment building with debris from past floods clinging to the chainlink fence, and picture this entire canyon being under water.

You are at the end, so retrace your steps. In an hour or less, you will be back at the winery, just in time to enjoy the tasting experience and perhaps a picnic with the wine of your choice.