Paicines History (Back to overview)
The early history of grape growing in Paicines was dominated by the wine producing giant, Almaden. But Native Americans lived in the area long before any wine was made. Paicines is the name of the local Native American tribe.
Paicines Wine Country History
The first non-Native Americans to live in Paicines were Jose Rodriguez and Angel Castro. In 1842, they were granted much of the region by the Mexican Government. They began cultivating vineyards during the 1850s.
After California was ceded to the United States, Mexican and Spanish land grants all over the state were called into question. This occurred despite the fact that the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo explicitly stated that these grants would be respected.
In any event, Americans began to encroach on land all over California, including Paicines in San Benito. Over the next 100 years, the land was fragmented by different settlers. Most of these settlers and their descendants started family farms. By the middle of the 20th century, one of the major landowners was the Sykes Family.
In 1956, Almaden bought Paicines Orchards from the Sykes Family. Almaden built a massive wine producing facility that could handle over 1,000,000 gallons a year. The winery made the Charles Lefranc label in Paicines for many years in honor of Almaden’s founder.
In 1993, the name of the production facility was changed to Blossom Hill Winery. Glen Ellen, MG Vallejo, and the Blossom Hill labels are now all made at the winery.
San Benito Wineries
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