Our family began farming in Green Valley after arriving here from Italy in the late 1800’s.  Farming stone fruits until 1930 when we planted our first wine grapes, head pruned, dry farmed, Petite Sirah and Gamay. This history is honored on each of our wine labels with a picture of a gentleman in his finest Sunday suit, taking a drive around the Valley, this suave Italian gentleman is our great grandfather.

In the early 2000s our parents, Robert and Renee Balestra, started making wine for themselves as a hobby, what we now refer to as “shop wine”. Those years are full of fun memories of family and friends coming over to help with every step of the process from crush to bottle. I remember going to school with purple stained hands after removing pumas from the press. After many vintages of positive feedback, they created the label R. Balestra. Ultimately, they decided to continue focusing on the grape growing side of the wine industry and our parent’s dream of having a family winery was left untouched. 

As Jenna and I got more settled in our careers, Jenna an enologist and myself a PCA. As sisters, we were nostalgic for the days of watching our parents make wine during our childhood. With those memories in mind and the mission to not let the light that inspired this project die, we came together and decided it was time to dust off the R. Balestra label. 2019 is our first vintage together under the R.Balestra label. We may have done some rebranding to make it our own but we kept the R. Balestra name to honor our parents who started this venture. 

We’re creating wine rooted in the traditions of Green Valley, and our family, but with a modern, down-to-earth approach. Our initial label release features widely popular varieties like Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, along with the more niche Carignan grape.

R. Balestra represents our family’s dedication to the wine industry and the Green Valley AVA over the past century. With respect for our past, we’re starting our own adventure and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Cheers!

Candace and Jenna Balestra