Bien Nacido Vineyards
| Bien Nacido Vineyards of Rancho Tepusquet | |
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| Location | Santa Maria, California, USA |
| Appellation | Santa Maria Valley |
| Founded | 1969 |
| First vintage | 1973 |
| Key people | Michael Brughelli, Christopher Hammell, Trey Fletcher, Nicholas Miller, Marshall Miller, Stephen Miller |
| Parent company | Thornhill Companies |
| Varietals | Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Barbera, Roussanne, Nebbiolo |
| Other products | Avocados, Meyer Lemons |
| Website | http://www.biennacidovineyards.com |
Bien Nacido Vineyards is cool-climate vineyard on the central coast of California. Located midway up the Santa Maria Valley, it is known for growing Burgundian and Rhone varieties of wine grapes. Bien Nacido has the distinction of being one of the major viticultural nurseries in the state for certified, varietal budwood. Most of the vines were originally from stock grown by the University of California at Davis. While the average increase block in California is less than 10 acres (40,000 m2), Bien Nacido Vineyards has several hundred acres of certified Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and a number of other varieties. Much of the Chardonnay planted in California in the last twenty years began as Bien Nacido Vineyards cuttings.
Bien Nacido Vineyards produces a small estate wine program run by Trey Fletcher. Additionally there are two independent winemakers who make their wine on the vineyard, Bob Lindquist of Qupe Winery and Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat.
The vineyard traces its roots back to 1837, when Tomas Olivera received the two square league Rancho Tepusquet Mexican land grant from then Governor of Alta California, Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant covered nearly 9,000 acres (36 km2) ranging upward to the San Rafael Mountains from the Santa Maria Mesa, which bordered the Sisquoc and Cuyama Rivers. The ranch was generously watered by Tepusquet Creek, so called by the Chumash Indians to whom it meant "fishing for trout." Thomas Olivera sold Rancho Tepusquet in 1855 to his step daughter, María Martina Osuna and son-in-law Juan Pacifico Ontiveros. Juan Pacifico Ontiveros started construction on an adobe in 1857 and moved to the ranch the following year. He and his wife raised horses, cattle, sheep, several grain crops, and grapes for the production of wine. During subsequent years, his heirs divided the property until only about 1,400 acres (5.7 km2) remained surrounding the Ontiveros Adobe.
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