About Our Paso Robles Boutique Winery

It all started with a honeymoon trip through the Russian River Valley north towards California's border, Humboldt County. Through this experience, the focus from being in the fishery business changed dramatically to the wine business, but with one thing in common...the desire to produce quality. After returning from our adventure, we continued the journey in Ventura County making home wines with strawberries and other fruits.From there we joined "Cellarmasters" in Woodland Hills, CA and learned the ropes of making quality wine. Many classes and awards later, we make a commitment to our dream and passion for the wine industry.

Our vineyard, Torie Ranch, is located on the West Side of San Miguel with nearly three acres planted in the Estrella River and French clones of Syrah. We farm our vineyard by hand, using the latest vineyard practices to produce quality grapes for our Syrah. Tom is our winemaker, whose background includes over fifteen years experience with the Central Coast's very own prestigious wineries, such as Justin, Treana, Zenaida and Paso Robles Wine Services.

The name, Black Hand Cellars, evolved through many stories our great grandmother on the Banish side of the family told about how her husband made great wine...and how the Black Hand Mafia found a liking to his wine and would seek him out for it. From this era we found the stories of our great grandfather's experiences interesting. With our identity chosen, we have enjoyed focusing our theme around the lifestyle of the roaring 20's along with saluting the stained hands of workers harvesting the rich, red wine varietals.

Cheers!
The Banish Family