History of Vina-“Our Pena”

Longtime Placer County residents, the Mendez Family, broke ground on their Auburn vineyard in 1999, with no illusions of simplicity. When Viña Castellano was started the family knew it was going to be a labor of love, with a strong emphasis on “labor”. Teena Wilkins, who co-owns and manages the vineyard and winery, is the youngest of Gabe and Carolyn Mendez’s four children. She and her father, along with her husband Craig and their vineyard & winery foreman, Victor Brambila, oversee the weekly work at the winery, but the entire family, including siblings, grandchildren and even friends, contribute to the winery in some form or fashion.
The family’s love of wine is directly linked to the strong Mediterranean traditions which were part of their upbringing. Paternal grandparents, Mercedes Maria-Mendez and Frank Mendez were both born and raised in Spain, and although they emigrated to this country as young adults, they never let go of their strong Spanish customs, of which winemaking and enjoying that wine with food was a large part. Although Carolyn Mendez is not Spanish, (she is of Irish and Native-American decent) she and Gabe, who married in their late teens, early on agreed to raise their children with a strong sense of tradition from both heritages. This practice is continuing with the 3rd generation of Mendez’.
It is that link with wine and family heritage that has steered the direction of the 8-acre 2000 case boutique vineyard & winery, lovingly named Viña Castellano in honor of the family’s Castilian roots. “Viña” is the Spanish word for vineyard and Castile is the region in Spain from where the Mendez and Maria families emigrated and where they still have family today. “Castellano” is what you would call a man from that region, and so it was choosen in honor of Gabe, whose vision and land initially and continually inspire the project.