San Antonio Winery
San Antonio Winery is a historic Los Angeles winery producing and marketing varietal, table, dessert, and semi-sweet wines.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
San Antonio Winery is a California winery based in the Lincoln Heights district of Los Angeles. Founded in 1917 by Santo Cambianica, an immigrant from Lombardy, Italy, it has operated at its original site east of downtown Los Angeles for more than a century. Cambianica named the winery for Saint Anthony, or San Antonio, as a gesture intended to bring good fortune to the new enterprise. The winery remains associated with its historic Lamar Street premises, which include wine retail, a gift shop, a restaurant, and rooms used for private events. The business was established during a period when Los Angeles was developing a significant wine and agricultural economy. Its continuity was tested by Prohibition, which began nationally in 1920. San Antonio Winery received permission from the Catholic Church to continue making wine for sacramental use, helping it remain in operation while much of the American wine industry was restricted. The winery also sold grapes to home winemakers during that period. This combination of religious production and grape sales enabled the operation to preserve its physical presence and commercial activity through a difficult regulatory environment. San Antonio Winery is now a vertically coordinated wine business with activities spanning grape sourcing, winemaking, bottling, distribution, hospitality, and brand marketing. Its fruit supply includes grapes from the Riboli family's approximately 500-acre farm in Monterey, grapes from a smaller Napa Valley vineyard, and fruit purchased from other California growers. In addition to its original Los Angeles bottling and distribution operation, the company has an energy-efficient winemaking facility in Paso Robles. A Paso Robles tasting room opened in 2016, extending the brand's visitor experience beyond Los Angeles. The winery's portfolio includes red and white varietal wines, table wines, dessert wines, and semi-sweet offerings. One of its most prominent brands is Stella Rosa, a line associated with lightly sparkling or frizzante wines made through arrested fermentation using the Charmat method. The grapes for Stella Rosa wines are sourced from the Asti area of Piedmont, Italy, where the wines are produced. According to Nielsen-based reporting cited in the winery's Wikipedia entry, Stella Rosa ranked seventh in total U.S. wine sales and was the fastest-growing wine brand in 2020. San Antonio Winery occupies a distinctive position between historic destination winery, regional producer, hospitality venue, and modern branded-wine company. Its Los Angeles site has been designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 42, making the property part of the city's built and cultural heritage. At the same time, the winery's production facilities, vineyard relationships, tasting rooms, and national brand portfolio allow it to operate beyond the original urban location. The business therefore combines local historical identity with a broader California and international wine-sourcing model.
History
San Antonio Winery was founded in 1917 at its present location in Los Angeles by Santo Cambianica, an Italian immigrant from Lombardy. The choice of name reflected Cambianica's devotion to Saint Anthony, known in Italian as San Antonio, and connected the new winery to the religious and cultural traditions he brought from northern Italy. The winery was established east of downtown Los Angeles in what is now the Lincoln Heights district, an area that became closely associated with the city's early industrial and food-processing activity. The winery's early history coincided with major changes in American alcohol regulation. When national Prohibition took effect in 1920, commercial wine production was severely constrained. Cambianica sought and received permission from the Catholic Church to continue producing wine for communion. San Antonio Winery also sold grapes to home winemakers, an activity that helped maintain a connection with consumers during Prohibition. These measures allowed the business to continue operating at its original site rather than disappearing during the period's restrictive legal environment. After Prohibition, the winery continued as a family-associated Los Angeles wine business. Its operations developed beyond the production of wine at the original premises to include bottling, distribution, direct retail, hospitality, and event use. The Los Angeles property eventually became more than a production site: it incorporated a wine and gift shop, a restaurant, and rooms for private functions. The location's continuity and architectural significance led the City of Los Angeles to designate the winery as Historic-Cultural Monument No. 42. In its modern operating model, San Antonio Winery sources fruit from several locations rather than relying exclusively on one estate vineyard. The Riboli family farm in Monterey provides grapes from approximately 500 acres, while a smaller Napa Valley vineyard and contracted California growers provide additional supply. The company also developed an energy-efficient winemaking facility in Paso Robles. Opening a tasting room there in 2016 broadened the winery's consumer experience and connected its brand to another major California wine region. San Antonio Winery's portfolio includes red and white varietal wines, table wines, dessert wines, and semi-sweet wines. The company also produces and markets brands beyond the San Antonio name. Stella Rosa became especially prominent in the U.S. wine market. Its wines are associated with a semi-sweet, lightly sparkling style, with grapes sourced from the Asti area of Piedmont, Italy. The wines are fully produced there and use arrested fermentation through the Charmat method to create a frizzante texture. The winery's history consequently has two complementary dimensions. It is a preserved Los Angeles institution whose original site has operated since 1917, and it is a contemporary wine business using multiple production locations, external growers, international sourcing, branded marketing, distribution, tasting rooms, and hospitality. This combination explains why San Antonio Winery remains both a local historic landmark and a producer with reach beyond its Los Angeles base.
- 2020
Stella Rosa records strong U.S. market performance
[1]Nielsen-based data cited in reference material places Stella Rosa seventh in U.S. wine sales and first in growth among wine brands.
- 2016
Paso Robles tasting room opens
[1]San Antonio Winery opens a tasting room at its energy-efficient Paso Robles winemaking facility.
- 1920
The winery adapts to Prohibition
[1]After national Prohibition begins, the winery receives permission to produce communion wine and also sells grapes to home winemakers.
- 1917
San Antonio Winery is founded in Los Angeles
[1]Santo Cambianica establishes the winery at its present Lamar Street location in Los Angeles and names it for Saint Anthony.
Los Angeles designates the winery a historic monument
[1]The original winery site is designated Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 42.
Products and positioning
A historic, family-associated California winery combining Los Angeles heritage, visitor hospitality, California wine production, and nationally marketed wine brands.
Semi-sweet and frizzante wine brand
Stella Rosa
Stella Rosa is San Antonio Winery's prominent semi-sweet wine brand. Its wines are associated with a lightly sparkling, frizzante character created through arrested fermentation and the Charmat method. The grapes are sourced from the Asti area of Piedmont, Italy, where the wines are fully produced. The brand became one of the most commercially visible parts of the winery's portfolio and was reported as a leading U.S. wine brand in 2020.
Red and white varietal wine
San Antonio Winery varietal wines
The winery produces and markets red and white varietal wines made from grapes sourced through its Monterey farm, Napa Valley vineyard, and other California growers. These wines form part of the producer's broader portfolio alongside table, dessert, and semi-sweet offerings.
Table and dessert wine
San Antonio Winery table and dessert wines
San Antonio Winery's portfolio includes table wines and dessert wines in addition to its varietal and semi-sweet ranges. The categories reflect the winery's broad production and marketing strategy rather than a single narrowly defined wine style.
Brand decisions
2016
Expand visitor operations to Paso RoblesStrategyBackground
The winery had developed an energy-efficient winemaking facility in Paso Robles in addition to its historic Los Angeles operation.
Action taken
San Antonio Winery opened a tasting room at the Paso Robles facility.
Aftermath
The brand gained a second identified tasting destination in a major California wine region.
1920
Continue operating through sacramental wine and grape salesStrategyBackground
National Prohibition restricted ordinary commercial wine production in the United States.
Action taken
Santo Cambianica obtained permission to produce communion wine and the winery sold grapes to home winemakers.
Aftermath
The business maintained activity at its Los Angeles site during Prohibition and continued as a winery after the restrictions ended.
Recent events
- 2020
Stella Rosa ranks among leading U.S. wine brands[1]
Other
Nielsen-based data cited in reference material placed Stella Rosa seventh in total U.S. wine sales and identified it as the fastest-growing wine brand for the year.
- 2016
San Antonio Winery opens a Paso Robles tasting room[1]
Other
San Antonio Winery expanded its visitor-facing presence by opening a tasting room at its Paso Robles winemaking facility.
Sources2 sources
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