Brutocao Cellars Philo Tasting Room

About Winery and Wines

Winemaking traditions often begin around the table. Brutocao Cellars’ roots go back four generations to a Venice, Italy dinner table. When the Brutocao family came to the New World and married into the Bliss family of farmers, it was only natural that they would combine their passions and become grape growers and winemakers. Today, the family still blends their Italian heritage with their rural agricultural lifestyle to make some of California's finest wines. Grandfather Irv Bliss purchased our Mendocino County property in 1943. The Brutocao family released their first wine with the 1980 vintage. Shortly thereafter, they chose the Lion of St. Mark, modeled after the lion on top of St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy, as their symbol of family tradition and quality. That quality comes from the location of their 400 acres of vineyards in southern Mendocino County. The Brutocao family tradition of serving wine at the table means wines are produced with good food and good friends in mind.