Our Family Story
Little did Vincenzo Graziano and his friend and future brother-in-law Frank Comino realize as they stepped off the ship onto Ellis Island in 1907 from Genoa Italy, that they would begin a legacy that would go on for 100 years. The two ventured off to America from Asti, Italy to escape the poverty that was happening in the Piemonte region. After odd jobs in New York City’s large Italian community, some time spent in the coal mines of Pennsylvania and the grain fields of the Midwest, the two ventured off to the west working their way to California. This was a rather typical story of Italian immigrates in the early 20thcentury; trying to get to friends and family they knew in the old-country. As far as I know from accounts of our family the two made their way to San Francisco and the beautiful community of Sausalito around 1910 where the two worked as gardeners saving up their money for the trek north to Mendocino. The two arrived in Mendocino around 1912 along with Franks sister Angelina Comino who arrived from Italy. That same year Vincenzo and Angelina were married with their first child Edward (Hugo) being born in 1914, followed by daughter Adelina in 1918, and Joseph in 1929. Around that time Vincenzo and Frank purchased 100 acres of land in the Calpella area for $25/acre, which was a haven for the Italian community of Mendocino County. Several unique aspects of this land that must have been familiar to Vincenzo were the white soils of Calpella and the view of the sometimes snowcapped mountains of the Mendocino Mountain range in the distance, which were very similar to the foothills of the Alps in his homeland Piemonte.
Vincenzo and Frank started planting grapes in 1917-1918 despite the fact that prohibition was looming in the distance. Just about the time their grapes started to produce the Eightieth Amendment (Prohibition) to the U.S Constitution was passed which prohibited the production of alcohol for sale. Like other grape growers in the area the Graziano family struggled. Luckily, a loophole in the law permitted a small amount of wine could be made at home for personal use so they survived by selling their grapes to home-winemakers (much of it shipped to the east coast) for sacramental wine and by a little bootlegging. There were always rumors of a buried still on the property but one was never found. After repeal in 1933 Vincenzo sold grapes to Italian Swiss Colony and Gallo.
Along with many other Italian local grape growers in the late 1940’s Vincenzo was instrumental in starting the local cooperative winery Mendocino Wine Growers, founded on the Italian model. Vincenzo was also instrumental in donating the land for the Calpella School to serve the many Italian families in the area. As the three children grew up they also worked in the vineyards and became knowledgeable growers in their own right. Alongside were Hugo’s wife Clara Sozzoni, Adelina’s husband August (Augie) Solomon and Joe’s wife Monte Lee (known by her friends as Terry). During the 1950’s the family expanded their vineyard holding by acquiring other vineyards around Calpella and by purchasing 100 acres of land in nearby Redwood Valley and planting it to grapes which were sold to the cooperative, Gallo, and several other local wineries. When Vincenzo died in the early 1960’s the properties were divided amongst family members. Today some of the vineyard properties were sold and others handed down or purchased by the 2nd and 3rd generation of the Graziano Family. Eddie Graziano owns and manages several vineyards In Calpella and Redwood Valley. He sells his grapes to local wineries such as Frey Vineyards and Hess in Napa. Gil Tournour, who married my cousin Lorena Solomon owns several vineyards in Calpella and also sells grapes to Frey Winery. Today I own 3 vineyards in Mendocino County: 20 acres in Potter Valley, 5 acres in Ukiah (which also contains an olive orchard), and in 2015 we purchased 15 acres of the original Vincenzo Vineyard from Gil and Lorena Tournour.
This original Vincenzo Vineyard was planted to Carignane, Colombard, Moscato, and Valdiguie. These vines were planted by my grandfather Vincenzo, father Joe, uncle Augie Solomon, and farmed for many years by Augie’s son-in-law, Gil Tournour. We have since replaced the Colombard, Moscato and Valdiguie with many Italian varieties, Aglianico, Barbera, Dolcetto, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Negroamaro, Nero d’ Avola, Primitivo, and Sagrantino.
Regressing a bit, myself and my younger brother Marcus Graziano grew up and worked in the family vineyards on weekends and during the summer. After our father Joe was accidentally killed in our vineyards my mother Terry remarried and she and her husband Mike Quillen ran the vineyards for many years. At this time my brother and I went on to college. I did a few harvests with my cousin Gil Tournour who was the cellar master for over 30 years at Cresta Blanca (the original Mendocino Coop), then for a few quarters at UC Davis studying viticulture and enology. During this time my brother Marcus went on to work for several wine shops and later started Capital Cellars, Sacramento’s premier wine shop that is still in operation today. After my short stint at UC Davis I started Milano Winery in 1977, then in 1988 established the Graziano Family of Wines which owns the brands Saint Gregory for the Pinot family of grapes, Enotria for the grapes traditional grown in our homeland Piemonte, Monte Volpe for the rest of Italian varieties grown in Italy, and finally Graziano for old-vines that have been grown here for nearly a century.
It has been an honor for me to be amongst the several family members that carry on a tradition in wine growing that was started by Vincenzo in 1918. After all the years of hard work, my wife Trudi and I are grateful our oldest daughter Alexandra, a UC Davis graduate in viticulture and enology, is our 4th generation heir to the Graziano Family tradition of growing grapes and making wine. I know she will make all the Graziano Family proud.
All the best!
Gregory Graziano and Family