La Filice Winery is a micro-boutique winery dedicated to the handcrafting of honest, non-manipulated wines. Winemaking has been our personal vocation and passion for over 30 years, continuing a family tradition that spans several generations.

In 2000 we began focusing our efforts on the vineyard-expressive wines originating in France’s Rhone region, specifically Syrah and Petite Sirah. We located our operation in the heart of California’s Central Coast in order to source grapes from the finest vineyards of this region. Paso Robles has grown to become an area that produces Rhone varietals of outstanding quality, and La Filice vintages represent the very best of the region.

In the beginning... the garage...

The story of La Filice began in 1991 when Ed Filice inherited winemaking equipment that had belonged to a beloved uncle, Carmen LePiane. LePiane, a home winemaker, had kept his equipment in excellent condition. The newly acquired grape crusher, press and fermenter were begging to be put to use.

By that time Ed had been in the wine industry for more than 20 years. As a winemaker, Ed was able to apply his passion and love for wine every day. Excited by the opportunities the new equipment would bring, Ed turned to his cousin Tim Filice, with whom he shared many of life's pleasures, Not the least of which was wine. Tim`s family heritage included a 40+ year ownership of San Martin Winery located in California`s Santa Clara Valley. The prospect of creating handcrafted, quality lots of wine and “returning to his roots” proved irresistible. Tim provided shelter for the equipment in a building located on his family property in Gilroy, and the location soon became a working grape-crushing and wine-storage facility for the wines of “La Forza Winery.” The name was appropriately taken from an Italian Opera by Giuseppe Verde, “La Forza Del Destino,” as the cousins felt the new winery was the product of fate.

And then... La Filice...

“La Forza” wines were well received by friends and family, and Ed and Tim were pleased with the style of the wines being produced. In 2000 the cousins established “La Filice Winery” and made a commitment to continue creating small, quality lots of exceptional wine. Struck by the flavor profiles and personalities that were embodied in Rhone varietals, La Filice became synonymous with fruit-forward Syrahs. Furthering family involvement, Ed's son Nicholas helped source Syrah and Petite Syrah vineyards in Paso Robles and Monterey County. La Filice wines were then embraced and enjoyed by a larger audience, garnering several Gold Medals at The San Francisco International Wine Competition and Double-Gold Medal “Best of Class” awards on two occasions at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

In 2007, La Filice Winery opened their wine club mail order program to the public, and introduced their Estate grown Via Della Vigna. While Co-Founders Tim and Janice Filice are no longer involved with the business aspect of the winery, they remain avid supporters of La Filice. Ed and his wife Malinda continue La Filice operation from their Templeton vineyard location and are assisted by their children, Jennifer and Nicholas.

All La Filice wines are made utilizing traditional techniques. The grapes are hand-picked, partially destemmed and fermented by means of added natural wine yeast. We do not add enzymes, tannins, color stabilizers, oak chips or oak dust. We do add a less than industry standard amount of sulfur dioxide to inhibit wild yeast and spoilage bacteria growth. When necessary we add natural grape-sourced Tartaric acid to lower pH of the juice, again to retard yeast and bacterial spoilage. The wines are aged in French Oak barrels (59 gallons), or puncheons (132 gallons). Our combined cooperage inventory is approximately 30% new.

We will do a moderate filtration on occasion to reduce naturally occurring tartrate crystals, tannins and barrel residue. Please note that after extended cellaring or refrigeration one may expect the formation of natural sediment due to unstable color pigment and tartrates. This may be handled by a simple decanting. We use only top-grade natural cork from, in our opinion, the finest producer in Portugal.

We continually endeavor to avoid adding anything that is not naturally present in the grapes or to unnaturally alter the sensory experience, thereby encouraging the unique experience of Regionality and Vineyard.