A Brief History
Almaden Vineyards came to San Benito County in 1956 with the purchase of the Paicines Orchards from Mrs. George Sykes. A million gallon capacity winery was built at Paicines. This included a brandy still and later a brandy bottling operation.
In the late 70's and early 80's, Almaden's Paicines Winery became a producer of premium varietal wines under the Charles Lefranc label. Charles Lefranc was the founder of Almaden Vineyards.
The company purchased Paicines Winery from National Distillers in 1987. Paicines Winery continued to produce wine for the Almaden label as well as for Inglenook and other labels. In the late 80?s, the Blossom Hill label was created. The Paicines winery became the Blossom Hill Winery in 1993. When the Almaden and Inglenook labels and facilities were sold in August 1994, Blossom Hill Winery became the only Company-owned facility in the Blossom Hill, Glen Ellen and MG Vallejo group. It continues to produce premium varietals for all three labels.
