The Picchetti family built their winery in 1896 so they could produce their own wine after previously selling grapes to other local wineries. Theresa Picchetti urged her husband, Vincenzo, to withdraw about $8,000 in savings from the Union Savings Bank in San Jose and invest it in the winery, a fortunate decision because the bank failed soon afterward. Stables at the site housed horses essential for work in the vineyards and orchards, and boarding horses there brought the family additional income. For a time, a room on the north side of the stables served as a bedroom for ranch workers, and a bocce ball court along the north end of the winery and fermentation building provided entertainment for the family, their guests, and their workers. The winery building underwent structural repairs in 1986, and between 1992 and 1993 the barn and blacksmith shop were restored with Proposition 70 grant funds from the California Wildlife, Coastal, and Park Lands Conservation Act of 1988. After the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989 brought stricter standards for masonry buildings in California, the winery building was seismically retrofitted in 2006 with grant support from the California Heritage Fund through the Park Bond Act of 2000 and the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Commission. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and bottles from the original winery operation remained stored on site for generations.