About us
Alex Larson & Charles Larson are brothers born 11 months apart raised here in Gilroy California USA.They are the fourth generation of their family on their mothers side Balanesi to have lived in Gilroy , The Garlic Capital of the World!
Rapazzini Winery began in 1962 by another pair of brothers Jon & Vic Rapazzini. They operated the winery and tasting room at 4310 Monterey Highway together for decades. Jon & his wife Zondra later operated the business for several more decades until they sold the Winery and The Garlic Shoppe to two of their friends , former employees, and brothers Alex & Charles Larson. . Alex Larson was the first Male to win the National Scholarship in Foods & Nutrition through the 4-H Youth Program as a tennager. Charlie Larson wone the Citizenship National Award through the 4-H program a;lso. Alex continued on to become a professional Chef at The California Culinary Academy while Charles attended UC Berkeley aka Cal at the same time. Then the two men 22 , Alex & 23, Charles opened Sandrinos Ristorante & Bar winning 3 1/2 star review after just 6 months in business. In the following year they won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for their Wine List & Service. The brothers worked at the two businesses in the late 90s April 2000 The new adventure began as Jon and Zondra retired to the mountains of Ben Lomond California.
The oldest wine growing region in California is The Santa Clara County region, which is the valley that surrounds the City of San Jose CA.