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Galleano Winery
The Historic Galleano Winery was founded in 1927 by Domenico Galleano. The winery complex remains largely unchanged today and is open daily for wine flights, wines by the glass, and wines by the bottle.
Galleano is the oldest Prohibition-era winery in the Cucamonga Valley still owned by the family and operating at its original location.
The winery is proud to be recognized as a Riverside County Historic Landmark, a State of California Point of Historic Interest and to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Galleano Winery is located in Mira Loma’s Wineville area and is still much the same as it was in 1927 when the Galleano family purchased the land. The winery is located at the southern fringe of the Cucamonga Valley, made famous for winegrowing by Secondo Guasti, who like Domenico came from northern Italy’s Piedmonte region. The name means foot of the mountains and would be appropriate to Cucamonga, an alluvial plain that sweeps down from the eastern reaches of the San Gabriel Mountains.
In the 1940’s there were more than 45,000 acres devoted to vineyards in the area, and approximately 60 wineries.
Today, Galleano Winery is the last remaining bonded, Prohibition-Era winery still owned and operated by its founding family at its original location in the Cucamonga Valley.
The Galleano family is honored that the Landmark Cantu-Galleano Ranch complex is listed on the California and National Register of Historic Places.
The Cantu ranch consisted of a two-story house, built in the late 1890’s, a large barn, smaller out buildings and a vineyard, most of which remain today.
The vineyards prospered under the direction and hard work of Domenico. Using a mule team and a Fresno earth scraper, he expanded the vineyard, burying the vine cuttings and other scrap vegetation in the hollows carved by the wind and then having the mules drag a covering of sand from the dunes. Domenico Galleano contributed a lasting legacy of soil preservation with the invention of the Noble Blade and the co-founding of the West End Resource Conservation District.
Domenico cared for his family, tended his fields and made wine all the rest of his life at the winery on Wineville Road. He guided his family through the Great Depression, Prohibition and the Great Recession. Friends and family members remember the hospitality that waited for them all as they met at the ranch during those times. The ranch was again a safe haven, a place to seek refuge, a place to renew the spirit.
Esteban Cantu and Domenico Galleano had many common threads, conviction, honesty, integrity and inner strength. Each man was dedicated to his family, country and chosen way of life.
The Cantu-Galleano ranch is a story of two men. One young man involved in the Mexican Revolution seeking a safe haven for his family and continued with another young man seeking a better standard of living, fleeing the economic depression of Italy’s Piedmont Region. The former became a great statesman and governor of Baja California Norte; the latter would live 95 years to see his dream passed on to his son and grandson.
Galleano Winery stands as a historic gem in the realm of California winemaking, with a legacy spanning over a century. Established in 1927, this family-owned and operated winery exudes an enchanting blend of tradition and innovation. Situated in the Cucamonga Valley, Galleano Winery boasts one of the oldest continuously producing vineyards in Southern California, fostering a deep connection to the land’s rich viticultural heritage. The winery is celebrated for its commitment to cultivating rare and heirloom grape varieties, crafting wines that evoke a sense of time and place. Visitors are treated to a journey through history as they explore the meticulously preserved original winery building and lush vineyards. From zinfandels that embody the essence of the region’s terroir to captivating blends that pay homage to the Galleano family’s enduring passion, the wines offer a taste of tradition with a contemporary twist. It’s a destination that invites wine enthusiasts to not only savor exceptional wines but also to immerse themselves in the captivating narrative of California’s winemaking evolution.
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