A Match Meant to Be
“I was attracted to Jess on first sight,”
Roni Jo said. “He had a confident air
and a salty sense of humor I didn’t
understand so at first I was a little
nervous around him. One day we were
talking and he opened up about his life
and challenges. I saw his vulnerability
and grew to like him.”
That was back in the late 1960s
and early 70s, when prejudice against
people of Mexican descent, like Jess,
was all too common. Roni Jo’s and Jess’s
parents were uncomfortable about their
budding relationship, and Roni Jo’s
parents moved to keep them apart.
“Our friends from school used to
deliver our love letters to our school
lockers,” she said. “We would sneak out
to see each other. Eventually our secret
was discovered. My parents tossed me
out for dating a Mexican. Jess’s parents
did the same. They weren’t fond of him
dating a white girl.”
Defying the Odds
Despite their youth and lack of family
support, Roni Jo and Jess managed to
rent an apartment, attend classes during
the day and work part-time jobs at night
and on weekends in order to graduate
from high school in 1974.
As Roni Jo recalled, “I worked as a
pharmacist’s assistant at Payless Drug.
Jess managed a Kentucky Fried Chicken
at night and worked for his father and
a gunite company on weekends. He
also went to vocational school to be a
cabinetmaker.
“My parents hadn’t gone to college
and my mindset was that I’d never be
able to afford to go. I had great grades
but didn’t know how to access programs
that would help me get into college.
“Jess briefly studied Criminal
Justice but decided he wasn’t cut out
for that. He was already a journeyman
finisher so he followed the construction
business instead.
“There were times when little work
was available. If someone said, ‘I’ve
got this job that really isn’t your line of
work but can you do it?’ he’d immedi-
ately say, ‘Yes I can!’ And he did!”
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Meanwhile, Roni Jo and Jess
continued to experience discrimination.
“I got fired by my Mexican supervisor
for dating a Mexican. Luckily the store
manager called and asked me to return.
People stared at us and many times I
was referred to as ‘white trash.’”
Facing social pressures together
made their relationship stronger. They
worked hard, saved their money, and in
1976 they were married.
The Castillo’s bought what Roni Jo
thought would be their “forever home”
in Jackson Oaks in 1984. They adopted
son Michael and went on to have two
more children, Nathan and Vivienne.
Having moved so often as a youth, Roni
Jo was eager to put down roots. Jess, on
the other hand, had grown up in one
house and didn’t mind change.
A Family Business is Born
By 1985, Jess had earned his
contractor’s license as a concrete
construction specialist. He launched
Castillo Construction, which continues
to thrive today.
“As long as I’ve known him, if Jess
walks on a job and sees a mistake,
he won’t rest until it’s fixed,” Roni Jo
said. “His reputation for quality work
grew and through word of mouth, his
business did too. Most of his projects
are high-end residential but he’ll take
on most anything, from installing ADA
ramps at YouTube headquarters to
an elegant cliff-side pool for wealthy
physician to laying sidewalks for
Gilroy’s cost-sharing program.”
Early on, Jess’s success created the
need for a full-time administrator and
bookkeeper, and Roni Jo stepped in.
“It was and is not my forte but I’ve
always made a point of doing the best
I can. I keep things on schedule and
watch the finances to make sure new
ventures are sustainable. We balance
each other out.”
One rainy day in the late 1990s, Jess
was driving along East Main Avenue in
Morgan Hill when he spotted a ‘Home
For Sale’ sign laying on the side of the
road. Curious, he inquired with the
owner of the property.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
FALL/HOLIDAY 2019
Becoming Winemakers
“The property had an eighty-year-old
farmhouse and bunkhouse, along
with ramshackle corrals,” Roni Jo said.
“Clearly the place hadn’t been used as
a ranch for years and it was severely
neglected. Jess loved the property and
finally convinced me to move there. I
could see his vision, but also the work
that lay ahead of us.”
The Castillo’s remodeled the farmhouse
and used it as short-term living quarters
while architectural plans were drawn
up. During the six years it took to get
building permits, they put in land-
scaping, a garage, and an art studio, and
remodeled the barn. When the time
came to build the main house, Roni Jo
participated in the design of the exterior
and all of the interior design, which is
nothing short of elegant.
Becoming Winemakers
The Castillo’s had already planted a
Cabernet vineyard when they were told
their property was part of the William-
son Act. They would have to plant more
of their acreage to get their building
permit. They were also required to gen-
erate at least $3800 per year from their
yield, and so they added Petite Syrah.
They had issues with the grapes at
first, due to a lack of knowledge. Deer
ate the plants, and the person tending
their vines didn’t prune them properly.
After a few years they had a harvest, but
not enough to sell, so they made some
wine. Jess turned to George and Gene
Guglielmo for advice.
“We produced a barrel of each
varietal,” Roni Jo said. “Then Jess took
a five-gallon jug of it to his hunting
club dinner. Everyone liked it and the
Guglielmo’s suggested that another
winery was needed on the east side of
Morgan Hill. That was all it took for Jess
and the next thing I knew, we were in
the wine business.”
“The Guglielmo family was very
helpful and generous. They allowed
us to use their equipment for our first
bottling run and consulted with us dur-
ing our first year.”
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