Mirassou Winery facts for kids

The Mirassou Winery was a very old winery in California. It was started way back in 1854. This winery was a big part of the history of farming in the Santa Clara Valley. It was known for making wine for many, many years.

Mirassou Winery: A Family's Wine Story

How It All Began

The Mirassou Winery was founded by two brothers, Louis and Pierre Pellier. They started it in 1854. This was in an area now called Silicon Valley in California. Later, in 1881, Pierre Mirassou married Henriette, who was Pierre Pellier's daughter. This brought the Mirassou and Pellier families together in the wine business.

What Happened to Mirassou Winery?

In 2003, a very big wine company called Gallo bought the "Mirassou" brand name. This meant the Mirassou family no longer controlled how their wine was made or sold. Now, Mirassou wines are made in Modesto, where Gallo's main office is.

The actual Mirassou winery building in San Jose, California was not part of the sale. The land was sold, and the winery building was taken down. The original vineyards, which are fields where grapes grow, were turned into new housing areas.

The Family Tradition Lives On

Even though the original winery is gone, the Mirassou family's wine-making tradition continues. Steven Mirassou is another member of the family. He is the only family member who still owns wine brands connected to the original family winery. He continues the family's six generations of wine-making in the Livermore Valley. His wine brands are called Steven Kent Winery and Lineage.

Steven Mirassou also briefly owned another winery called La Rochelle. He bought it from his cousins in 2005. La Rochelle was sold in 2015 and is now located in Sonoma County.

There was also a winery in Oregon. It was owned by descendants of the Pellier and Mirassou families. This winery used the name Pellier from 1985 to 1992.