siletto family history

Siletto Family Vineyards reflect my father’s connection to his heritage and his global wine experience. The son of immigrants from the Piedmont region of Italy, Dad’s first language was Italian. He learned English, served in the Navy, went to college and rose through corporate ranks to the presidency of Almaden Vineyards in the 1980s. During his Almaden presidency Dad was on the Board of the California Association of Winegrape Growers and associated with many of the legends who helped to earn California wines the reputation which they enjoy today.

In the early 1980s San Benito County was home to two of Almaden’s wineries and over 6,000 acres of grapes. When Almaden sold to Heublein in 1986, Dad “retired” and bought the smallest Almaden property. It was a 25 acre property, located at 18000 Cienega Road in Paicines, California and planted to 20 acres of Napa Gamay on St George rootstock. Dad’s experience with Almaden made him a strong believer that the best days of the region were still to come. John joined in 1988 and farmed these 20 acres, performing every task from pruning through harvest and grape delivery on the small operation. Over the next 30 years the vineyards expanded to 6 ranches, 172 acres and 40 varieties. We have since distilled our acreage to 4 ranches, 100 acres and 30 varieties and changed our farming practices to 100% organic in transition towards full certification in 2023. Many of these varieties reflect our Italian Piedmont heritage and Dad’s interest in eclectic varieties gained through his global wine experiences.

During these past 35 years of farming the region, our family’s passion for the wine business and San Benito remains steadfast. We remain passionate that our moderate San Benito County climates, our gravelly soils and our sustainably farmed, eclectic variety offerings, produce world class wines for you.

We look forward to sharing our story, our San Benito County vineyards and our grapes with you, our valued winemaking customers. Contact us and come out for a visit.

— John Siletto