Rotta Winery

The original vineyard and winery were started in 1856 by a Frenchman named Aldolf Siot, who later sold the successful winery to Joe Rotta in 1908. In the 1920s, Joe Rotta then sold it to his brother, Clement Rotta, who bonded the winery after Prohibition. This forged the name “ROTTA” into wine-making history as one the best known wineries for its hearty Zinfandel on the Central Coast. Today, the Rotta label and winery are being revived by one of their grandsons, Michael Giubbini, who remembers working in the vineyards as a child driving the tractor and tending the vineyards. In 1990, Giubbini undertook the task of replanting some of the forsaken vines in the old family vineyard to Zinfandel. The short, stocky vines, with gnarled arms extending outward, show their age and years of stressed growth. Mike remembers pruning the vineyards (head pruned) and has continued this viticultural technique for the Zinfandel to date. “Dry Farming”, is the only way to go out here”, describes Mike’s belief on irrigation. He feels stressing the vine produces the best quality, and obviously reduces the yield. The (20) acres of the Estate vineyard are planted with (15) acres to Zinfandel and (5) acres to Cabernet Sauvignon. Until 2002, the grapes were sold (but the label was vineyard designated as “Giubbini Vineyards”) to Castoro Cellars. The vineyard designation for “Giubbini Vineyards” is a well known name, and will remain so for many years. Rotta Winery Today Rotta Winery strives for excellence in every aspect of winemaking. Rotta enters many domestic and international wine competitions and when visiting the winery, you will see multiple awards on every vintage of Rotta’s product line. The Rotta Black Monukka, a dessert wine, is described as “unique and remarkable with heady caramel and vanilla flavors” in Wine Spectator June 2008. Cottage Living Magazine describes it as “dessert in a bottle, tastes decadently like ripe honeyed apricots-a dessert wine we love” in the October 2008 issue. We would love to invite you to our vineyard and tasting room so you can see for yourself how delicious our wines are.