In 1912, my grandfather, Demetrio Papagni, emigrated from the Bari-Puglia Region of Italy and settled in the California Central Valley. He came to America with a dream to make fine premium wines from grapes grown on the land of his new homeland in the rich, fertile soils of the San Joaquin Valley. Papagni Fruit Company thus was born in 1920 and quickly earned a reputation for growing the best premium wine grapes in the valley and beyond. Throughout the years, Demetrio handed down the craft of winemaking to his son, Angelo Papagni. Angelo Papagni brought the business to the next level with growth and was known as the “maverick” of winemaking. This level of growth was from the 1970’s through the 1990’s. Today, over 100 years later, Demetrio is continuing what his grandfather and father started and is continuing to grow, premium, high-quality wine grapes.