A Nonini Winery

On a quaint country road surrounded by vineyards in the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno, California, you will find A. Nonini Winery. This winery was founded in 1936 by Antonio and Angiolina Nonini and their oldest son, Reno. Antonio had immigrated to the United States from Northern Italy in 1900. He returned in 1910 to claim his bride Angiolina, and brought her to California to start their family. A daughter was born in 1912 and Reno was born in 1914. The Noninis would go on to have another daughter and two sons, but Reno was the son who would convince his parents to start the winery and use the family vineyards for the grape production. The first vineyards were planted in 1918. The Zinfandel grapes used in the production of the Zinfandel wines were planted in 1921, and today still produce a robust harvest. The family vineyards also produce a Barbera grape (Barbera wine) which originated in Northern Italy, an Alicante bouchet (Chianti wine), a Palomino (Sauterne wine) and other grapes used in the production of the wines. All varietals are 100% of the grape designated on the label. Many of the redwood tanks used for aging date back to 1936, as does much of the equipment still used in the winemaking. The grape crusher is a Model 10 Garolla from Italy purchased in 1941; the hydraulic basket presses are from Healdsburg, California, purchased after WWII, when military production lessened; the plated wine filters are from Fresno, California, and date back to 1947. Aged oak barrels are used to finish the premium wines. Until his health failed in 1999, Reno was still very active in the winery, blending wines and entertaining customers with stories of his life in the business for sixty plus years. His smoldering cigar and knowledge of wine were a delight to those lucky enough to find him in the wine tasting room when they visited. Reno passed from this life on February 11, 2000, at home and on the same property where he was born eighty-five years earlier. His love of the wines and his knowledge of the business have passed to his only son, Tom Nonini, who was the General Manager until his retirement in 2006, and his only grandson James Jordan, who is now the General Manager and winemaker, making Nonini Winery a fourth generation family business. James also maintains and farms the family vineyards.