Francesco ("Grandpap") Miceli was born in Gioiosa Marea, Sicily, in 1888. 

He immigrated to America in 1905, then when drafted, returned to Italy

to serve in the Bersaglieri .  This is when the photo used on our label was

taken.  His second arrival was in 1912, when he settled in Clearfield, PA., to

raise his family of eight.

Grandpap always had homemade wine in his cellar and would send one of his sons

down to retrieve a pitcherful for each evening's meal.  Every year a boxcar load of

grapes was ordered from California, to be shared by all the men in the

neighborhood, who also made wine.  Several local restaurants received the

benefit of his skills.

Francesco, now Frank Mitchell, died in 1975 but his talent lives on in his grandson,

Jim.

It wasn't until 1998 that Jim had time to begin his journey into winemaking, as a

hobby, in Paso Robles, CA.  For that first vintage enough grapes were gleaned

from neighbors to produce 10 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was crushed by

foot in an old laundry tub and fermented in the guest bathroom, then subsequently

"destroyed" (read "undrinkable"). The following year, 350 Zinfandel vines were

planted with the help of Jim's father, Chris (Natale).  (Chris was the official wine

retriever in the old days, for his father - see above).

During subsequent years classes were taken at UC Davis, along with lessons

learned the hard way.

In 2001 awards in Home Wine Making began to collect as several vintages were

produced in a small but adequate barn addition.  (The guest bathroom was just

too small.)  Most notable were the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2001

Zinfandel awards from the MidState Fair in Paso Robles, but Idaho was

beckoning.

A sixty acre vineyard was purchased in Canyon County.  Those grapes,

Chardonnay and Reisling, were purchased by Ste. Chapelle Winery.  Jim was a

commuting grape grower until 2003 when he and his wife, Michele, sold their

home and vineyard in California and moved to Owyhee County.  Jim continued

to improve the farming practices at the Canyon County vineyard and subsequently

had his grapes chosen for the Ste. Chapelle Winemakers Series.  That vineyard was

sold to Polo Cove, where a co-op winery is proposed.  Then our present vineyard

was planted at our home on the Snake River near Givens Hot Springs.