In 1912, sixteen-year-old Adolph Parducci and his family, new immigrants from Italy, settled in the Ukiah Valley of California’s Mendocino County, an area closely resembling their native Tuscany. Like Tuscany, the hillside vineyards of Mendocino’s inland valleys enjoy a warm Mediterranean climate ideal for ripening premium grape varieties.

In 1921, Adolph purchased his first vineyard, just north of the town of Ukiah. To survive Prohibition, he developed a market for his grapes among home winemakers throughout the United States, who were allowed to produce up to 200 gallons of wine annually. In 1932, a year before Prohibition’s repeal, Adolph and his four sons built a winery adjacent to the vineyard and began producing their own wines.

In 1944, at a time when most red wines made in the U.S. were generic blends sold in jugs, the Parduccis produced one of California’s first varietal bottlings of Zinfandel. In addition to becoming the first winery to bottle Mendocino varietal wines, Parducci was also the first to promote the region as a source of high-value fine wines.

In 1972, the Parducci family sold a majority interest in their winery, but continued to manage it until 1994. In 1996, Parducci was purchased by Carl and Marilynn Thoma, wine enthusiasts from Chicago, who in 2004 sold the winery to the Mendocino Wine Group, a partnership between the Dolan and Thornhill families. With deep roots in Mendocino, the Dolans and Thornhills are passionately committed to Adolph Parducci's original philosophy of making great wines from superior grapes and offering consumers outstanding value.

Times may have changed in the California wine industry, but after more than 70 years of winemaking at Parducci, the emphasis on quality and family remains.