Bliss Vineyards

The Brutocao family were winemakers in Venice, Italy. The Bliss family were farmers in the United States. So it was only natural that—when the Brutocao family came to America and married into the Bliss family—they would combine their two passions and become grape growers and winemakers, founding two wineries: Brutacao Cellars and Bliss Vineyards.

Bliss Vineyards has some of the oldest post-Prohibition vines in Mendocino County. In 1943, Irv Bliss bought the 450-acre property where Bliss Vineyards now sits. It was comprised of 60 acres of grapes and figs back then but the land was used mostly for raising livestock. Irv soon discovered the area grew phenomenal grapes and expanded the property’s vineyards.

By the 1970s he was harvesting over 100 acres of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel. He planted an additional 100 acres of Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, as well as additional acreage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.

Today, Bliss Vineyards totals almost 600 acres of planted grapes including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. The majority of the grapes are sold to major Sonoma and Napa wineries such as Sterling, Sebastiani, Honig, Hess, and Benziger along with many other wineries.

Bliss Vineyards uses a small portion of their fruit to produce succulent, Estate Grown Mendocino wines under its own label.