About Paul Biane &The Biane Family

A true vintner carries the love of wine with them throughout their lives. It is almost as if wine itself flows through their veins instead of blood. However, the interest, dedication, and the ability to make fine wine are not things that one is born with. It requires years of learning, experience, sampling, and testing. For me, wine was a family heritage. As far back as my memory reaches, I can recall walking through the vineyards with my father, Pierre, and my grandfather, Philo. It was then, working in the fields and the winery as a young man, that I began my love affair with wine, which has become my life.

My family’s heritage in America dates back to 1832, when the first members of my family arrived with other Frenchmen seeking relief from Napoleon’s wars. Theophile Vaché and his three nephews, Adolphe, Emile, and Theophile II, came to the Monterey area and planted vineyards that still produce wine grapes today. Deciding their fortunes lay in the Southland, the nephews brought their vines to the banks of small rivers in the San Gabriel and Cucamonga Valleys.

In 1892, my great-grandfather, Marius Biane, arrived from France and was hired to work for the Vaché family. In the Vaché enterprise, he discovered a vineyard awaiting his energy and enthusiasm. He also discovered Adolphe Vaché’s daughter, Marceline, whom he wisely married. Together they extended the “Brookside” vineyards throughout the Cucamonga Valley while raising two sons, my grandfather, Philo, and my great-uncle Francois.

Philo had two sons, my father Pierre and Michael, and together with Francois and their cousin Rene Biane, they continued building the Brookside brand. Pierre also had two sons, myself, Paul, and my brother Jean-Pierre and we continue to make wine under the Biane Brothers’ name. The legacy of my ancestors has made the Biane family one of the oldest continuous winemaking families in California.

Today, my family’s home is the Biane Brothers Winery, located on the property of the former Pierre Biane Winery and California Bonded Winery #1, one of the oldest-standing California wineries. The deep stone walls shelter our wine production and cellar activities. I look forward to passing on this beautiful heritage to my children, the seventh generation of our family, to be associated with this great industry. But wine is more than history….it is a way of life. It is a source of pleasure and joy. Let me encourage you to explore the wide range of high-quality wines from our winery with both your mind and palate. I think you will agree with me that a fine wine ranks among the great pleasures life has to offer.

Please visit us for wine tastings and tours at the winery in Rancho Cucamonga, with views of the slopes of Southern California’s glorious San Gabriel Mountains, the birthplace of the California wine industry.

Cheers!