Arciero Family Vineyards

Nearly every man achieves a certain degree of success in a lifetime. Some are born to success; for others, it is the result of long hours and hard work. Success for the Arciero family has been one of those great "rags to riches" stories with a lot of hard work and determination between the hard times and the good times.

Frank and Phil Arciero came to this country from Italy in 1939. Frank was fourteen; Phil was ten; neither of them spoke a word of English. They first settled in Detroit, Michigan; Frank working as a manual laborer digging ditches while Phil attended school.

Their father, Giovanni, had come to the U.S.A. in 1914, but the family remained in Saint Elia Fiumerapido, 129 kilometers south of Rome, until the father was able to relocate them to America: the oldest brother Mike in 1937, Frank and Phil in 1939, the youngest brother Anthony and mother Cristina in 1948.

By 1948, Frank and Phil had moved to California, worked initially as laborers, then began a small cement contracting business. It was the success of this business that was to be the catalyst for all of the future Arciero business activities. Working long hours with good management, the original concrete firm (Arciero Brothers) has since become one of the largest in California. In addition to the concrete business, the Arciero enterprises include commercial, industrial, and residential construction, auto racing as well as farming operations in the south central valley of California.

The Arciero family has, for generations, always had close ties to the land...pressing olives for oil and grapes for wine in their native Italy. The completion of the family winery and Estate Vineyards in Paso Robles, California is a family dream and tradition come true.

The Arciero Estate Vineyards are located in the heart of the Paso Robles viticultural area within the Central Coast region. Frank, Sr. fell in love with the Paso Robles area, as the rolling hills reminded him of his hometown in Italy, and in 1983, he began planting grapes here. The Estate Vineyards are planted with ten varieties in three large blocks totaling over 700 acres. The vineyards are situated about six miles east of Paso Robles, with one ranch stretching two miles along Highway 46 East. The Arciero Estate Vineyards are planted on well-drained calcareous soil of a clay loam composition.

The climate is characterized by warm summer and fall days, moderated by cool afternoon and evening breezes which funnel in from the Pacific Ocean, only 22 miles to the West. As a result, cool early morning marine overcast is common during the summer months. A 40 degree differential between the daytime high and nighttime low temperature is normal, with the high temperature for the day lasting only one to two hours in the middle of the afternoon before the ocean winds begin their cooling effect. These breezes are also low in humidity and help keep the vineyards free of mold. The region is well south of the fall/winter storm tracks which so often plague vineyards further north with rain during the harvest season and is virtually precipitation-free during the crucial ripening months of September and October.

Several agricultural techniques used at the Arciero vineyards are either unique to the vineyards themselves or were pioneered there. One example is the steps taken when planting new vines. Before the vines are planted, each row is trenched with a backhoe to a depth of four feet, not only to loosen the soil and provide excellent drainage, but also to ensure that there is contact between the nutrient-rich topsoil and the roots of the new vines. This has been found to be crucial in the early establishment of the young vines and subsequent healthy growth of the vine in the critical following year. Initial acreage was planted in a unique high density pattern of 870 vines to the acre. This is almost double the standard number of vines per acre and is accomplished by planting two vines per stake instead of one. The end result is less fruit per vine, allowing for a greater concentration of varietal constituents, acidity and other essential aroma and flavor components per cluster, while generating a 25% increase in grape tonnage per acre. Utilizing viticultural specialists for expansion direction, newer vineyards are being established, and established ones are being retrofitted with state-of-the-art trellis and canopy management programs to produce the maximum quality from each varietal.

All Arciero varietals have earned award recognition. Noteworthy in itself, Arciero chardonnays have won critical acclaim. Chardonnay is the winery's #1 planted varietal with over 206 acres (approximately 135,000 plants!) devoted to the grape. It is the winery's strategy to continue to provide excellent quality varietals at value pricing to the consumer.

True to their Italian heritage, the Arciero family is pioneering the California planting of several Italian varietals. The most interesting is the Nebbiolo grape. Arciero Nebbiolo has won several gold medals and is one of the winery's fastest growing varietals. Arciero Vineyards currently produces over 10% of all the Nebbiolo grown in California. The Brunello clone of the Sangiovese grape is another Italian varietal released by the winery in 1994. There are currently ten acres of Nebbiolo and 16 acres of Sangiovese.

Other Estate Varietals include Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah,
Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Grigio.

The winery also produces a Chenin Blanc, a Late Harvest Muscat Canelli, and Arpeggio, a proprietary blend of Estate Zinfandel, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese.

Today the winery is operated under a unique partnership with the Arciero Family, General Manager, Kerry Vix, and California Wine and Spirits distributor, Vernon Underwood.

Frank, Sr. oversees the Arciero Estate Vineyards. From planning new vines and selecting new varietals, to coordinating the harvest, Frank, Sr. has been working in the vineyards since his original purchase of the property back in 1983. Frank loves to work the land and when not in Southern California running his construction or auto racing operations, he can usually be found at his Vineyard in Paso Robles. Frank's association with auto-racing is a story within itself. Fielding his first race team in 1957, Frank Arciero is today one of the most well-known and respected Indy Car owners. Frank's racing teams have featured many of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport: Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Parnelli Jones, Dan Gurney, Michael Andretti, Kevin Cogan and John Jones, the 1987 CART "Rookie of the Year." Frank's sons, Frank, Jr. and Albert, are both champion race car drivers, and now Ryan Arciero, a grandson is involved in championship racing. Construction is currently underway for the Arciero Motorplex, a multi-use race track in Yuba City, California. Completion will be a dream come true for Frank.

Phil Arciero, with his son, Phil, Jr., and his daughter, Karen Bouslog, heads the Arciero Brothers concrete construction empire. He is also heavily involved with the financial and operational aspects of the winery itself. An avid and renowned sportsman, Phil has traveled the world in pursuit of big game hunting and trophy fishing adventures.

Phil Arciero is one of the few American sportsmen to have earned the "Big 5" in trophy game hunting. Phil oversaw the design and construction of the winery in 1986 and the 25,000-square foot Barrel Room expansion in 1998.

Frank, Jr. (Butch) and his wife Betty Arciero play a key role in the sales and marketing efforts of Arciero Wines. Like his father, Frank, Jr. is a man driven to perfection in all endeavors. A graduate of Long Beach State, he gained the practical knowledge needed to succeed in business by working from the bottom up in his father's construction business. Frank, Jr., also a sportsman, played minor league baseball for the Red Sox farm team while in college and was the 1987 "Driver of the Year" in the Micky Thompson Off-Road Grand Prix Series Unlimited Super 1600 class. With their dedication to hard work and commitment to perfection, Butch and Betty are constantly working to ensure that consumers everywhere can enjoy Arciero premium varietals.

The winery itself, a 104,000-square foot facility, accomplishes a masterful fusion of modern technology and hand-craftsmanship into winemaking. The cellars are underground, built into a hillside in order to keep the barrel-aging area cool and conserve energy. The facility boasts a production capacity of 400,000 cases (952,000 gallons) and is modeled after Montecassino, a former Monastery near the Arciero's home village in Italy. Arciero Winery, with its 6,000-square foot Visitors' Center and five acre landscaped rose garden, fountain and picnic area, is often referred to as the Central Coast's "Most Magnificent Estate Winery."

The winery utilizes a variety of French and American oak barrels and puncheons for storage of the wines requiring oak fermentation and aging as well as temperature-controlled, jacketed stainless steel tanks for appropriate other wines. The acquisition of state-of-the-art, computer-controlled bladder presses is another example of Phil and the Arciero family's continuous commitment to the creation of wines of exceptional quality.

In 1997, Vernon Underwood, one of the industry's most successful Wine and Spirits distributors, joined the winery partnership team. Vern's insight into the sales and marketing complexities of the "three tier" wine distribution system provided unique insights for winery planning and expansion and acted as a catalyst for the creation of the new EOS varietal program.

Rounding out the partnership is General Manager, Kerry Vix. Kerry brought 22 years of diversified sales and marketing experience as well as an abundance of enthusiasm to the Arciero Winery. Kerry's experience, gained from Executive Management positions with The Seagram Wine Company, The Christian Brothers Sales Company, The Hueblein Fine Wine Group and the Rutherford Hill Winery, provides the leadership and nucleus for the winery's accelerated growth plans. When asked why he joined Arciero in 1993, Kerry stated, "I saw in the Arciero operations a unique opportunity to utilize my career experience in the overall management and marketing of a premium winery and its varietals. This winery's underutilized ability to produce excellent quality wines at competitive prices provides the appropriate foundation from which to develop an expanding business in a very competitive industry."

Vix's mission: "To maximize winery productivity and profitability through the expansion and recognition of Arciero and EOS varietals in both the domestic and international markets."

At the Arciero Winery, those unique factors of quality vineyards, skillful winemaking, and experienced, dedicated leadership are collectively proving that an independent winery can not only survive, but also grow and prosper in today's competitive environment.

To learn more about and/or purchase Arciero wines, click here.