Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Grandfather Irv Bliss purchased the Mendocino County property in the mid- 1940s. When the family began making wine in 1991, they chose the Lion of St. Mark, modeled after a lion at St. Mark's Cathedral in Venice, as their symbol of family tradition and quality.
That quality comes from the location of their 475 acres of vineyards in southern Mendocino County. The Brutocao family tradition of serving wine at the table means wines that are produced with good food and good friends in mind.
A large and diverse appellation within California’s North Coast AVA, Mendocino is home to several smaller sub-regions—most notably the Anderson Valley. This scenic region, with rolling hills covered in redwood forests as well as vineyards, is one of the world’s top producers of certified organically-grown grapes. Due to wide geographical and climatic variation, a vast array of wine styles can be found here.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.