About

Pat Vinatieri has always known that his Italian family name Vinatieri means literally “wine maker.” So it is no wonder that he developed an interest in wine making early in life. In 1970 while he was traveling in northern Italy, France, Morocco, and Spain he tried many different wines, exploring their various characteristics and developing his knowledge of wine. Ultimately, he decided that Italian wine was his favorite and began researching the techniques of the wine makers in northern Italy. As he traveled through various regions he would seek out the premiere wine-master whose wine was considered the best in that region to find out his techniques. He began to find similarities in the various wine-master’s techniques and began to understand why their wines were better than the rest. He took note of these traditional Italian wine making techniques and eventually put them into practice in his own vineyard.

In 1978 Vinatieri bought a home in Yountville on 3 acres of prime wine-growing land. Due to the responsibilities of raising a family, it wasn’t until 1993 that he finally planted his vineyard. Vinatieri didn’t just want Cabernet or Merlot, he wanted to be able to make any style and complexity of wine that he desired, so he picked 5 varietals of grapes; Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, and planted them all in his vineyard. At that time, no one in that region had planted so many varietals in one vineyard. The common practice was to plant Cabernet on the best land, and the other varietals on inferior land. Vinatieri chose to plant all varietals in the high quality land so that they would have similar characteristics and each produce the best fruit possible.

The vines immediately flourished. Vinatieri hand-nurtured the vines through 1993 and by 1994 they were producing 30-40 gallons of wine. Right from the beginning, the wine was so good it disappeared fast. With each year that passed he produced more and better wine. The wine was very unusual for the area. Vinatieri developed a reputation for having an unusual and complex, full-bodied, old-world Italian-styled wine. The hit of many parties, Vinatieri was pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming response to his wine. Vinatieri was told consistently that he should sell his wine, which he began looking into in 1996, finally receiving his license in 2001. Due to its exceptional reception by people all over the world, Vinatieri wine, which was previously produced only for family, friends… and friends to be, was finally released to the public in 2004.

Pat Vinatieri’s interest has always been in his friends and family enjoying the wine. When asked about the business of making wine, Vinatieri says “It’s about making great wine and the enjoyment of it that’s important.” This true love of making and enjoying wine is what accounts for the quality of his wine. In a nutshell, he says, “It boils down to how we treat the vines.” Extraordinary care and dedication go into every step of the process, from the hand-tending of the vines, late nights of tasting and blending wines to get that perfect combination, and hand-bottling of the final product. As Vinatieri says, “a wine maker is a chef of wine.”