Ettore Biraghi
Winemaker
“Born the son of flower growers in Varese, Italy, a small city northwest of Milan in the country’s Lombardy region, Ettore came into life surrounded and inspired by an intense appreciation for the natural cycles which produce agricultural products of great beauty and individual character.”
Biography
After beginning his career meticulously tending to vineyards and producing wine in Ticino, Switzerland, Ettore developed his unconventional, maverick voice as an Italian and Swiss vigneron driven by innovation, thoughtful connection to nature, and a pursuit of exceptional quality—with a special affinity for soft, clear, and aromatically-precise organic wines.Ettore’s quest for the purest possible expression of the vine brought him to Mendocino’s Sanel Valley along the northern stretches of the Russian River, where he discovered that the local tradition of all-natural agricultural suited his winemaking vision as much as the area’s exceptional terroir proved perfect for Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes—an epiphany that he describes as “love at first sight.” Here he decided to found the boutique Mendocino winery ETTORE.
OUR WINEMAKING TEAM
When winemaker Ettore Biraghi first laid eyes on Mendocino, he knew it immediately to be an ideal terroir for the production of pure, organic, and low-intervention fine wines. Establishing his vineyard and winery in Hopland, he took his place in the centuries-long history of one of California’s most dramatic winegrowing regions—one whose future is as promising as its past is historic.
Ettore Biraghi
Winemaker
