For winemakers from Napa to Paso Robles, the name “Siletto” is one that fires the imagination. While the family vineyard grows the cabernets, pinot noirs, and chardonnays that are standard fare with California wineries, the magic of this vineyard comes from its diverse assortment of 35 varietals from France, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Italy.
Spread over 125 acres in the San Benito, Paicines and Cienega Valley American Viticultural Areas, the Siletto Family Vineyards offers grapes that were the staple of winemakers in San Benito County 170 years ago like trousseau, négrette, trousseau gris, and cabernet pfeffer along with greco di tufo, aligoté, mencía, vermentino, Montepulciano, nebbiolo and many others that are mostly impossible to find in this area.
The story of Siletto’s carefully curated varietals has its origins in a much bigger corporate winemaking operation. Founder Ron Siletto was president of Almaden Wines, which was one of the biggest winemakers in the world until it was sold to Heublein in 1986. When the local Almaden properties were sold, Siletto purchased 25 acres in Paicines and began to work it himself.
“He kept adding little places,” said son John Siltetto. “By 1992, he had six of them that he was farming. He just retired into grapes. He was Italian—he spoke only Italian until he was six—and he wanted to grow Italian varietals. So he started grafting the more eclectic grapes.”
At one point, winemaking conglomerate Constellation was Siletto’s biggest customer, taking 80% of the harvest. But Constellation’s ravenous need for grapes saw them signing contracts with huge vineyards and cutting off smaller producers.
“We were too small for them to deal with,” said John. “That is when I started getting involved. I told my dad we should go organic and take advantage of the diverse grapes we are growing by marketing to smaller, natural winemakers. With that, we can get the kind of pricing we want and they can get the kind of care and quality they need. We mapped out what we had in the vineyards and started going after that market.”
John had considerable farming experience, having worked at Driscoll’s for 25 years, where he ran parts of the supply and nursery division. After Ron died in July 2020, John took over the management of the vineyards, just before the harvest.
“It was a rough year, with dad’s passing and having to work around the pandemic,” John said. “But this year we sold every single grape.”
With the sizable mix of customers and varietals, managing the vineyard is part fieldwork and part lab work, all tracked on spreadsheets.
“We have 35 varietals, 35 customers, and 120 different harvest events,” John said. “I email or call everyone every week, telling them what the sugars are for their blocks. I feel that between my dad’s work and our sincere dedication to our customers that it is really paying off. We are not that big—we don’t have big stone gates at our entryway or some fancy mansion up here. We just have good value grapes and our interest in providing for our customers.”
John keeps all of his customers and their orders on a spreadsheet along with updated information about the grapes, such as the Brix, or sugar level, which is critical to determining harvest dates. The customer indicates what Brix they are looking for, and John lets them know as the grapes approach that level.
This kind of focus on the customer has created a small community around the vineyard. Siletto does not produce any wine himself, relying on customers like Ian Brand, Kenneth Volk, Comanche Cellars, Jolie-Laide Wines, Seabold Cellars and Stirm Wine Company to buy his inventory.
“We will always have a few people down here at the same time checking out the grapes,” John said. “The great thing is they all know each other. They will exchange notes about the grapes they want and the sugar levels they are looking for, watch for each other’s harvest dates.“
With so many vineyards in California and so many wineries creating a high demand for quality grapes, Siletto has found its niche and is thriving.
“I think our varieties are what make us special,” John said. “Particularly with vineyards like Eden Rift, nobody is going to come to San Benito County to buy pinot noir from us. There is just too much great pinot noir around here. That’s why we transitioned to more grenache and more cabernet pfeffer. Add in the organic farming and I think that makes all the difference.”
I had the opportunity to try two wines made with Siletto grapes on my visit to the vineyard and I tried two more at Comanche Cellars in Monterey, the subject of an upcoming article.
The wines of Siletto Family Vineyards
Jolie-Laide Wines 2020 Trousseau Noir, Cabernet Pfeffer, Gamay ($32-36) Jolie-Laide is a one-man operation run by Scott Schultz based in Sebastopol. This is an adventurous and very young-tasting ruby-red wine with an aroma full of fruit with a slight sourness. The predominant scent of black cherry translates beautifully into the taste of the wine, which is bright and surprisingly light. There is some of that cherry present, along with blackberries and a balanced acidity. The pfeffer brings in some spice at the end and the finish is dry and smooth. This could be slightly chilled to serve as an afternoon sipping wine but would go well at room temperature with a charcuterie board or grilled foods.
Kenneth Volk Vineyards 2011 San Benito County Tempranillo (2014 vintage available for $30) Kenneth Volk is based in Santa Maria and currently produces a pinot noir, a barbera, and this tempranillo from Siletto grapes. This full-bodied wine has dark fruit flavors, some fig and berries, with an underlying tannin that gives way in the middle to some brighter fruit and acidity. You can taste the French oak vying with the minerality in a finish that melts away leaving a bit of warmth in the back of the throat. This is a serious but delightful wine, best served with food.
Comanche Cellars 2018 Dog & Pony San Benito County Negrette ($35) Negrette is one of the oldest French grapes in the county, with vines dating back to 1855 still producing for DeRose Winery. San Benito County grows about 5% of the world’s production, with the rest being grown in the south of France. This is a full-fruit wine with an inviting aroma and a wonderfully bright body finishing with a bit of spice and a touch of tannin. Overall, the acidity and tannins are low allowing the Old World depth and style to come through. This is a remarkable wine all around. Comanche is hosting a special vertical tasting of Negrettes on Oct. 4 at their tasting room in Monterey.
Comanche Cellars 2018 Dog & Pony San Benito County Grenache ($32) Grenache is one of my favorites and this one does not disappoint. This has some of the same characteristics as the Negrette but it has a bit more spiciness and a bit more sweetness. The aroma is very subtle and underplayed with a touch of caramel or toffee. Very smooth and full of fruit, it’s not as stately or refined as the pinots and cabernets, but it has such an appealing lightness and engaging flavor that I would drink this just because it’s a fun wine to drink and could be served with anything. This was my pick of all the Comanche Cellars wines I tried and I think it’s my favorite of the ones sourced from Siletto.
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