Our Story
Nichelini is one of California's most historic wineries. Homesteaded in 1884 by Anton Nichelini, a Swiss-Italian immigrant, it is the oldest "continuously family owned and operated" winery in the Napa Valley. The building itself is of great historical interest. Showing off Anton's masonry skills, the hand-hewn stone wine cellar brings you back in time to his home in the Ticino region of Switzerland. The original Roman press is the centerpiece of the visitor area, and is believed to be the only one still standing at a Western Hemisphere winery. Two of Anton’s eldest sons, Bill and Joseph F., acquired acreage in the Lower Chiles Valley in the late l920's, and with Anton's help, started the vineyards that are now farmed by Joseph C. Nichelini and cousin, Philip Sunseri. Although production has expanded over the years, there are still about twenty acres of Zinfandel that were planted by Anton in 1929-1930 and three acres which were planted by Bill & Joseph F. in 1946.
In 1934 Anton decided that he was not going to renew the winery license. His eldest son Bill surveyed his three brothers to see if they would be interested in going into partnership with him to operate the winery. At that time, there was no interest, so Bill decided to continue the business on his own. He made lease arrangements with his parents for approximately one-acre surrounding the cellar and acquired the license in order to keep moving forward. Subsequently, Bill passed the winery business down to his son, Jim, in 1959. Jim brought the winery from post-prohibition to a modern-day operation and ran it with unique flare and style until his untimely death in 1985.
Three of Jim's cousins and his sister formed a corporation and acquired the winery from Jim's estate in 1990. His sister, Marie "Toni" Nichelini-Irwin, was director of the tasting room and outside sales and marketing until her untimely death in January, 2010. Dick Wainright, who was like a brother to Jim, was the Secretary/Treasurer and in charge of operations until 2007 when he passed away. The initial president was Joseph A. Nichelini, who grew the grapes which were used to produce the estate wines. Joe passed away in March, 2003 and his sons continued to supply grapes from this historic vineyard until 2007. Another cousin, Greg Boeger, was the winemaker from 1990 until 2008.
Our mission and management philosophy is to specialize in wine production utilizing Chiles Valley grapes grown by Nichelini’s.
Zinfandel is a varietal that has been produced at Nichelini consistently since its inception in 1890. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah, along with Zinfandel, are the mainstay of our red program. All of these wines were produced and bottled on site, at the old Nichelini cellar. In the white category, we produce Sauvignon Vert (Muscadelle de Bordelais), a unique Bordeaux white which comes from vine originally planted in 1946.
Presently, fourth generation members of the Nichelini family continue to carry on the 100 + year-old traditions of this historic Napa Valley winery.
