Pietro Bonesio started Uvas Winery in 1916 on Rancho de Solis land in Gilroy. The winery represents the first phase of a 60-year family operation that would later become Bonesio Brothers Winery and eventually Kirigin Cellars.

1916: Pietro Bonesio established Uvas Winery on Rancho de Solis in the Gilroy area. The winery name derives from "uvas" (Spanish for "grapes"), reflecting the property's long agricultural heritage on the former Spanish land grant.

1920-1933: During Prohibition, the winery survived through legal channels including sacramental wine production and home winemaking supplies, like many Italian family wineries in the Santa Clara Valley.

1932: Pietro Bonesio's sons took over operations and renamed the winery Bonesio Brothers Winery.

Uvas Winery represents the first phase of a remarkable site continuity:

• 1916-1932: Uvas Winery (Pietro Bonesio)
• 1932-1976: Bonesio Brothers Winery (Bonesio sons)
• 1976-present: Kirigin Cellars (Kirigin family)

Uvas Winery exemplifies the Italian immigrant winemaking tradition that defined much of Santa Clara Valley wine history. The Bonesio family's establishment of a winery just before Prohibition, their survival through the difficult 1920s, and the multi-generational family succession represent a pattern seen across many South Valley wineries.

The site has maintained continuous winery operations for over 100 years, making it one of the longest-operating winery sites in the Santa Clara Valley.

• Bonesio Brothers Winery - Second generation (1932-1976)
• Kirigin Cellars - Current operation (1976-present)
• Guglielmo Winery - Contemporary Italian family winery (1925)

• Visit Gilroy - Historical Wineries in Gilroy Part 2