About Ettore Winery
Ettore Winery is the California chapter of Ettore Biraghi, an Italian-born winemaker who earned acclaim in Switzerland with his Tenuta Agricola Luigina before his pursuit of the purest organic wines brought him to Mendocino in 2015. He established Ettore in Hopland's Sanel Valley in 2019, in a winery building more than a century old at the foot of Duncan Peak, whose cool air slows the ripening of the estate's fruit.
The 64-acre estate carries 35 acres of certified organic vineyards interspersed with cover crops for ecological balance, farmed with compost and organic fertilizers and picked entirely by hand, with every employee, owners included, joining the harvest. The wines run from aromatic, elegant Chardonnay to deeply structured Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, bringing Biraghi's Old World heritage to Mendocino fruit with finesse and restraint.
Visits are reservation-led: outdoor tastings at the winery and private tastings at the newly renovated Ettore House in Hopland, both booked in advance through the winery's site. For travelers heading the other direction, the family also pours its Mendocino wines at Ettore Vino e Cucina, its Italian restaurant and tasting room in the Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles.
