Associate Winemaker

Tony took a few detours on his way to becoming a winemaker. After seven years in the United States Navy Submarine Service, followed by a long career in high-tech, he left the East Coast, took a continent-wide leap of faith, and came to California to do what he'd always wanted to do: make wine.

To Tony's grandparents, immigrants from Italy, and to his parents who raised him near Boston, food was important, creative and greatly enjoyed. His earliest memories are cooking alongside his mother and working in the family garden. Even after years of a high-tech career, whenever he got together with work associates or friends Tony found himself talking about food and wine instead of computers. It was time, he realized, to really commit himself to his passion.

He knew that he wanted to go to UC Davis, but, was told to be admitted as a freshman, Congress would have to get involved.  Rather than waiting for Congress, he enrolled in Napa Valley College to prepare for the university.  Later he was admitted into UC Davis with a Regents Scholarship, and then followed it up with a Fellowship from the International Wine and Food Society, and an award from the Enology Department for academic achievement.

Davis supplied him with a solid base of science and agriculture and it also sent him out into the fields and cellars, into the real world of winemaking. As a viticulture intern at Napa's Stagecoach Vineyards, he walked the rows of vines every day for the entire growing season. “Being alone in the vineyard, you have no choice but to observe and absorb what's going on with the vines.”  In 2006, his fellowship sent him to France to train at Maison M. Chapoutier. “Decades of winemaking gave them a closeness and deep knowledge of their vineyards that really made an impression on me.”

Two years as Assistant Winemaker at Nickel & Nickel in Oakville gave him the chance to work closely with 25 single vineyard wines from various Napa appellations. It was an intensive education in the finer nuances of the Napa Valley: it's appellations, and their expression of terroir.

In 2009, after meeting Heidi Barrett, she asked him to work with her on a new project, Fantesca Estate, as associate winemaker. “When I became Associate Winemaker at Fantesca, I found myself working under the Napa Valley winemaker that I most admired, we instantly felt very much on the same page in matters of winemaking style and philosophy. I've learned many things from Heidi; and first among them is that through the art of blending, two plus two can equal five.”

Tony puts all his experiences into his winemaking, including the detours, bringing together art, science and agriculture.