Picchetti Brothers Winery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Picchetti Winery
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 Location in San Jose, California
Location in California
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Cupertino, California, US |
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| Built | 1880 |
| NRHP reference No. | 79000545 |
| Added to NRHP | May 10, 1979 |
The Picchetti Winery, also known as the Picchetti Ranch, is a historic winery found at 13100 Montebello Road in Cupertino, California. It is part of the Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve. The Picchetti brothers, Secondo and Vincenzo, were among the first people to plant grapes on this hill. They called it "Monte Bello," which means "beautiful mountain." This area later became a very important place for vineyards in Santa Clara County.
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History of Picchetti Winery
The Picchetti Winery is made up of seven buildings. These buildings were constructed between 1880 and 1920. They still look much like they did when they were first built.
Early Settlers and Ranch Growth
Vincenzo and Secondo Picchetti moved to the Montebello ridge in 1877. They bought their first 160 acres of land for $1,500. By 1904, their ranch had grown to 500 acres. The first house on the property was built around 1882. A larger house followed in 1886. Both homes and the stone winery stayed with the Picchetti family until 1976.
Starting Wine Production
The first grapes planted by the brothers were Zinfandel, Carignane, and Petite Sirah. At first, they only sold their grapes to other wineries nearby. But in 1896, they decided to make their own wine. This made them one of the early wineries in California. They were given the official number 148 for their winery.
Community Involvement and Challenges
Vincenzo Picchetti helped start the Montebello School in 1892. He was on the first school board. He even provided a room at his ranch for a teacher. Growing grapes was very important to Cupertino's early economy. However, tiny bugs called grape parasites damaged many vines in the 1890s.
Family Legacy and Changes
When Vincenzo passed away in 1904, his sons Antone and John took over the winery and ranch. The front porch of the main house used to be screened in. It was used as a bird cage, also known as an aviary. Later, John built many aviaries. One of these bird cages still stands in front of the main house today.
Winery Operations Over Time
Commercial wine production stopped in 1963. This was because it was no longer making enough money. Much of the land was then sold to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Commission helped pay to fix up the winery building. From 1982 to 1998, the land produced wine under the name Sunrise Winery. A movie called Blood Red was filmed at the winery in 1989. It starred Dennis Hopper and a young Julia Roberts.
In 1998, Leslie Pantling took over the winery. Wine production started again. Today, about 9,000 cases of wine are made each year under the "Leslie's Estate" label. The Picchetti ranch and winery on Montebello Road show how important the viticulture (grape growing and wine making) industry was in early Cupertino.
Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve
The Picchetti Ranch Open Space Preserve covers 308 acres. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District bought this land in 1976. The winery building itself is rented out to a private company. This preserve is partly surrounded by Stevens Creek County Park. It has 3.7 miles of trails. These trails are only for people walking or riding horses.
