V. Sattui: A Napa Valley Tradition
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Now a Leader
in Organic Farming, World Renowned
V. Sattui Winery Remains the Must-Visit
Winery of Napa
Tradition and innovation have often been cast as opposites, but at V. Sattui Winery, one of Napa’s top wine experiences, pairing tradition and innovation has been the secret to their decades-long success. Tradition for Dario Sattui, who re-established the family business in 1976, means continuing the legacy of his great-grandfather Vittorio Sattui, who immigrated to the United States from Genoa, Italy, in 1882. Dario and the Sattui family are still bringing the experience of an Italian family winery to Napa all these years later while always innovating to create the best wine experience for the winery’s thousands of yearly visitors and members.
At V. Sattui, the traditional Italian wine experience turns guests into members and members into family. The V. Sattui experience, called “Napa d’Italia” by Dario and the generations of winemakers who followed, makes V. Sattui a place where no matter who you are, you can come and experience the good life like family. V. Sattui’s Estate Winery features lush hidden gardens, stunning mountain views, expansive picnicking grounds, beautiful vineyards and impressive rustic Italianate architecture, including a stone winery and tower. The grounds include a barrel room, museum, artisan deli, marketplace, and multiple event spaces, making V. Sattui the outstanding one-stop wine destination of choice in the Napa Valley.
V. Sattui is unique in Napa Valley because nearly every aspect of the winemaking and artisanal cuisine process happens in-house, overseen by a tight-knit team of master winemakers, cheese mongers, cellarmasters and and culinary experts — including a Michelin-starred chef. From grape growing, crushing, bottling and cellaring V. Sattui’s award-winning handcrafted wines, to preparing and cooking a variety of house-made delicacies in their off-site kitchens, salumeria, and gelateria, V. Sattui takes pride in Old World processes.
“Working at V. Sattui is not a job, it’s my life,” says long-time V. Sattui leader and legend Tom Davies, who like many of V. Sattui’s devoted team, has been with the winery for decades. “Everything is intertwined with the winery.”
Visiting V. Sattui is an all-encompassing wine experience featuring every aspect of winemaking, tasting and curated food-pairing. Alongside their Artisan Marketplace & Deli — which features over 200 cheeses, house-cured salumi, fresh-made pastas, panini, sandwiches, salads and house-made desserts — and Vittorio’s Estate Honey harvested directly from the estate vineyard, the newest addition to V. Sattui is an orchard of 100-year-old olive trees. The olive grove provides shade and elevates the al fresco walking, picnicking and tasting experience. With weekend BBQs, an on-site food truck serving up delicious cuisine, themed events like Dog Days and, of course, a gift shop, V. Sattui is the only Napa winery you need to visit to have a complete esperienza enologica di Napa d’Italia.
Where Generations Come Together
The historic grounds of V. Sattui winery have been bringing generations of families together to celebrate life events both big and small for nearly five decades. Playing host to large gatherings of friends and family is a V. Sattui tradition, where sharing food, wine, friendship and the warmest hospitality this side of Genoa is considered key to living the good life.
“Anytime we can welcome folks into our home is time well spent,” says Craig Truesdell, a restaurant veteran with a lifelong love of cultivating relationships who serves as V. Sattui’s Hospitality Manager. Under his guidance, the experience at V. Sattui is always welcoming, a big reason why V. Sattui has become a lifespan winery where every milestone of a person’s life can be celebrated.
For the greatest among these life milestones, V. Sattui is one of a very select few Napa Wineries proudly hosting weddings. Honored as one of the “Top Five Winery Wedding Venues in The World” by Destination Weddings and Honeymoons Abroad, V. Sattui offers its entire winery for a truly unmatched, exclusive experience. Happy couples can choose from a variety of settings to host the ceremony and the reception, from the intimate cellar courtyard to the festive wedding lawn to the romantic Vittorio Terrance. Best of all, weddings held between April and October are catered by 15-time Michelin Star awarded Chef, Stefano Masanti, whose visionary cuisine has been hailed from his native Italy — where his Il Cantinone restaurant dazzles skiers in the Italian Alps during the winter months — all the way back to his adopted summer home at V. Sattui, where he and his wife, professional sommelier Rafaella Masanti welcome guests of special events all season long.
V. Sattui is the only winery one must experience when visiting Napa Valley. Unparalleled beauty, iconic Tuscan architecture, highly rated wines for novices and experts alike, all farmed sustainably, plus food, fun and events for all ages. Decade after decade, the winery’s blend of tradition and innovation continues to produce memorable wines and unforgettable experiences. This year, make V. Sattui the centerpiece of your wine experience. No matter the occasion, V. Sattui is the place to go. Plan your visit today at www.vsattui.com.
It's not only weddings that give V. Sattui its reputation as a lifespan winery. Family-friendly, dog-friendly, wine-novice friendly and connoisseur friendly, V. Sattui has become the backdrop for generations of guests who feel like they have a place to call home in the Napa Valley. From snacking on deli items and drinking fresh pressed grape juice on the picnic grounds as children to celebrating 21st birthdays to hosting their nuptials and anniversaries with annual (or more!) celebrations, to various parties, international cruises and trips through Tuscany, V. Sattui’s loyal clientele have become part of a global family.
By StoryStudio on June 6, 2023 11:19AM
SPONSORED BY V. Sattui winery
The Original V. Sattui, Pre-Prohibition
We enjoyed having our wedding at Sattui because it is a beautiful setting and we had all the space we needed for an outside wedding and indoor reception. It was a fun spot as well and the staff were attentive and helpful."
Tom Davies, V. Sattui President & Managing Partner
A Vast Collection of Handcrafted Wine, a Napa Valley Wine
Tasting Institution
V. Sattui wines are sold only at the winery. As inclusive as the wine experience is at V. Sattui, the handcrafted wines of V. Sattui Winery are available for purchase exclusively from the winery itself, one of a select few Napa Valley wineries who eschew unsustainable distribution methods in favor of traditional wine selling, where on-vineyard tasting experiences drive sales. The brand’s monumental success as a Napa Valley tasting institution is proof of concept.
Under the supervision of Director of Winemaking Brooks Painter, V. Sattui wines are crafted in small lots using a blend of time-honored winemaking methods, technologically advanced techniques and sustainable farming practices.
“Winemaking is the process of writing the story of a vintage,” says Painter. “A bottle of wine is quite literally an entire year captured in a bottle. The technique and craft of winemaking is the art of storytelling. At V. Sattui, we’re writing the story our specific place and specific time so you can always remember the time you spend with us.”
Painter is supported by head winemakers Jason Moravec, Peter Velleno, and his tight-knit winemaking team, which allows V. Sattui to offer one of the largest wine selections in the valley. As a passionate innovator, Moravec continues to expand V. Sattui’s iconic brand, ushering in a new line of grape-based spirits in tandem with V. Sattui’s first Madeira-aged Brandy — just released in 2022 and available only for purchase at the winery.
V. Sattui’s highly rated wines boast a depth of flavor, complexity and richness that excites the palettes of both wine enthusiasts and novices alike. With 70+ small-lot vintages produced per year, V. Sattui offers a diverse portfolio of wines, from iconic favorites like critically acclaimed single-vineyard Cabernets and Bordeaux Blends from the most celebrated Napa AVAs to classic Italian varietals like Sangiovese and Vin Santo, to dessert wines, sparkling wines, 13 terroir-driven Zinfandels, Estate Chardonnays and Pinots, Grappa, Madeira-aged Brandy, and more.
With so much to offer, the best way to discover V. Sattui wines is by tasting them for yourself. Led by a great-great grandson of Vittorio Sattui and nephew to Dario, Tasting Room Manager Brien Little ensures V. Sattui tasting experiences are not to be missed. With the choice of both indoor and outdoor venues to taste, new and expanded food pairings, and a lengthy selection of wines featuring both crowd-pleasing fruit-forward varietals as well as connoisseur-level 90+ point rated single-vineyard Napa Cabernets and Bordeaux blends, each V. Sattui tasting experience is as unique as the people enjoying it. And with tasting experiences beginning at around $50, V. Sattui remains accessible to any level of wine enthusiast.
Tasting experiences expand on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with highlights including Bubble Bar Tastings on the Terrace — a seated experience celebrating V. Sattui’s sparkling wines with sweet, savory and charcuterie pairing opportunities — and the Reserve Tower Tastings, an elevated tasting experience of top-tier wines and the undivided attention of wine experts secluded from the hustle and bustle with charcuterie pairing upgrade available. Reservations for special tastings are always encouraged, but the winery is open seven days a week and ready to welcome you, your friends and your family for an unforgettable visit. It’s no surprise that Great Wine Capitals has awarded V. Sattui as a 2023 Best of Wine Tourism destination.
As of 2023, V. Sattui Winery farms all of their estate vineyards organically as part of their commitment to sustainability for generations to come. As a family-run, holistically minded business, V. Sattui understands our children are our future and that sustainable practices are good for both winemakers and the community.
“We’re not just talking the talk of sustainability, we’re walking the walk,” says Ali Paterson, VP of Marketing for V. Sattui. “You have to start and then stay committed.”
Replacing gas-powered tractors with ones that run on electricity, transitioning to all-organic farming practices at every single V. Sattui estate vineyard, moving to plastic-free in-house food packaging in Deli & Marketplace and offering compostable utensils for picnicking — thereby preventing over 116,000 plastic utensils from ending up in landfills in 2022 alone — V. Sattui’s climate-responsible innovations are already making an impact.
“It goes without saying that Napa Valley winemakers can’t solve climate change alone,” added V. Sattui President Tom Davies. “We’re making an effort to be part of the solution.”
With drought and water scarcity a real concern, V. Sattui has transitioned to sustainable growing solutions like dry-farming, planting drought-resistant rootstocks and maximizing irrigation through carefully researched models. A new emphasis on solar and fire mitigation adds to the breadth of V. Sattui’s sustainability practices.
A Steward of Napa’s Future
V. Sattui: Where Being You Is Celebrated
There’s always something happening at V. Sattui. Any time of year, adults can enjoy wine and a bite while kiddos play on the grounds. There’s always something new from their rotating menu of food truck delicacies plus weekend BBQ. Private and corporate events take advantage of catered luncheons and dinners in secluded portions of the winery designed for any type of celebration, including weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, team building, meetings or anything else guests can conceive.
The winery also throws epic parties. These signature events are a chance to experience the tight-knit bond of a family winery celebration and see firsthand why many of the winery’s staff have been with the winery for decades. As you rub elbows with the renowned makers of Napa Valley, you may just hear one of the many stories from V. Sattui staff members who have basically become family.
Event highlights include formal parties like the annual Harvest Ball in September featuring a Michelin-star multi-course banquet and live stage show as well as mini-events leading up to the big bash. For memorable fun, V. Sattui’s Crush Party is a yearly fave, offering guests the chance to see the whole winemaking process, including the delightful grape stomp, and plenty of behind the scenes access with the V. Sattui team and growers.
-Tommy Ciapponi, former V. Sattui groom
Decade after Decade, V. Sattui
Remains a Top Winery
-Stefano Masanti, 15-time Michelin Star awarded chef and partner of V. Sattui
I love working with V. Sattui Winery because it shares the same values I grew up with. V. Sattui is rooted in tradition, invested in sustainable business practices and organic farming. They have a deep respect for people, and provide a familiar, fun,
and relaxed environment.”
