The Italian Roots of Hopland Wine
Before, After, and (a Little Bit) During Prohibition
by Lisa Ludwigsen
Hopland is a small town on Highway 101 in southern Mendocino County where drivers are forced to slow down, usually on their way to somewhere else. The town hosts tasting rooms, a few restaurants, a charming Victorian hotel, an olive mill, and a couple of gas stations. With a population of fewer than 700 people, a collection of homes fills a small grid of neighborhood streets to the west of the highway. Hopland doesn’t draw in most folks as they whip by, but local businesses are attempting to change that. It is worth a stop or weekend stay to explore the area that lies just a short distance from the Bay Area.
Looking a little deeper, beyond the blur for most passersby, one can discover a rich history of native Pomo people. The convulsions of Mexican, Spanish, and Gold Rush occupations on Native peoples and lands gave way in the mid- to late-1800s to a flood of Italian immigrants who had been driven from home by failing crops, poor environmental conditions, and natural disasters. They were lured far away by the promise of workable land and a new life in idyllic northern California, which shared a similar Mediterranean climate. They carved out a place in the nascent days of ranching and farming in Mendocino County, dating back before 1859 when the town of Sanel, as Hopland was originally known, was officially founded. That original name, Sanel, was related to the Pomo word for sweathouse.
Descendants of those hard-working Italian families continue to shape the economy and culture of the area, contributing to its agricultural heritage, and, in the world of wine where French varietals take center stage, giving Italian wines a respectable place on the table.
Jim Milone is a fourth generation Hoplander. Jim’s families, the Rosettis and Milonis, immigrated from Italy to Hopland in the late 1800s. Their ranch was diversified by raising chickens and sheep, and farming prunes, walnuts, pears, and hops provided a steady living. Grapes were in the mix, too.
Jim shared great stories of his grandparents and great-grandparents in Hopland: “My grandfather, Vincenzo, was a decorated war hero in World War I, having survived a suicide squad in Italy. He left the military—as in, walked away—and came to Hopland to work at the Valley Oaks poultry ranch, which is now Campo Vida. He also put his military demolition experience to use by blowing up old walnut orchards in the area.”
Jim’s maternal great-grandfather, Achille Rosetti, was a winemaker from Geneva who immigrated to Napa and then to Hopland. Not much is known of his story except that he was an orphan who subsequently fathered eight children. His oldest daughter, Mary, was Jim’s mother.
When the 18th Amendment was signed into law in 1918 and went into full effect in 1920, Prohibition slammed down on the entire country, including the tiny hamlet of Hopland. The ensuing 13 years halted legal wine and beer production and eventually put a damper on the illegal operations that proliferated in and around the area. “During Prohibition, my grandfather would hide up in the hills whenever the Feds showed up to raid his ranch,” said Jim. “Eventually, he grew tired of the hassle and stopped making wine.”
Achille Rosetti wasn’t alone. When Prohibition ended in 1933, virtually all wine production in and around Hopland had ceased. Hops were almost done, too, since they were used solely for flavoring and preserving beer. There was still ranching and farming to be done, and the growing community thrived, taking care of themselves and each other. But wine did not begin commercial production again until 45 years after Prohibition ended.
Milone’s family story parallels the development in and around Hopland. Jim’s father, Frank, was born in 1925 and returned to the family farm after serving in World War II. He built a hop kiln in Hopland and worked the fields with a horse. A lot changed during Frank’s 97 years. He knew every aspect of farm operations and stayed abreast of the rapidly changing innovations and mechanizations of farming. Everyone pitched in to keep the farm going. “These were incredibly hard-working people, men and women alike,” said Jim. “They took just a half day off each week.” Diversified farming kept them going. As a high schooler in the 1970s, Jim resented going home to farm chores after school when friends were skateboarding or hanging out. “I learned to work hard just like the rest of the family.”
Commercial wine production was revived in 1976, when Jim and his friend, Greg Graziano, descendant of another Italian immigrant family with wine-making roots, decided to start a winery in Hopland. The collaboration of these two local young men, fresh out of college, was key in resurrecting and expanding the wine businesses in and around Hopland and beyond.
The two young friends brought together three plots of grapes from family members totaling over 100 acres, and their first wine was produced in 1977. Jim said, “We worked our butts off during that time. The great thing is that every job I’ve had since then has been easy.”
Those first plantings included the popular varietals of Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Zinfandel. As time went on, they branched out and cultivated wines of their shared Italian heritage. Greg’s family had also immigrated from Italy to Mendocino County before Prohibition. Vincenzo and Angela Graziano purchased 100 acres in Calpella, north of Hopland, in 1918, just before Prohibition took effect. When your livelihood is suddenly illegal, times are especially tough. They made it work through some creative endeavors. “The bootleg wine still equipment can be found on our family property to this day,” shared Greg.
Greg has spent over 45 years carrying on his lineage in Italian winemaking through his company, the Graziano Family of Wines, which includes brands Enotria, Monte Volpe, Graziano, and Saint Gregory. He remains committed to building awareness and appreciation for Italian wines. “Italian varietals make fabulous wine,” said Greg. “It can be argued that Italian wines are more interesting than many of the French wines proliferating the market. The acidity and tannin structure pair exceptionally well with food.”
Greg also credits his hard-working parents, grandparents, and extended family with his tenacity and success. His daughter, Alexandra, is moving into leadership of the Graziano Family of Wines, representing the fourth generation of Mendocino County wine-growing for the Grazianos.
Forty-five years after their first vintage, Greg and Jim have solidified their legacy as leaders in Mendocino County wine production. In Hopland, remnants of those early days remain in the form of the hop kiln Frank and Vincenzo Milone built, the ranches, and vineyards planted by Jim and his family. The Hopland Cemetery, which is undergoing a renovation, holds the final resting place of some of those early pioneers.
Italian wines produced in Mendocino County are often overlooked in favor of wines made in the flashier regions to the south. But vinophiles are missing out if they don’t give Graziano Family wines and other local options a try. Enjoying Mendocino wines not only introduces a person to a prolific area producing an impressive variety of world-class wines, but it also ties the drinker to the long history and inimitable spirit of the families who have been creating them for over 100 years.
Graziano Family of Wines Tasting Room
13275 South Hwy 101, Suite #1, Hopland
(707) 744-8466 | grazianofamilyofwines.com
Open daily 10am-5pm
Photos licensed by Historical Society of Mendocino County Photograph Collection, Ukiah, CA. Accession #09189, #09349, and #04562
Lisa Ludwigsen is a writer and marketer working with food, farms, and family small businesses. She has worked in organic agriculture, natural foods, and environmental education for over 20 years.
