Howell Mountain, Napa Valley
Pestoni Family Estate Winery is a family-owned and family-run winery that was founded in 1892 when Albino Pestoni, originally from Monte Carasso, Switzerland built a winery and established a 20-acre vineyard in St. Helena. The winery was closed in 1919 due to prohibition, but Albino moved to Rutherford and began making bootleg brandy at another winery there. The Pestoni family continued to grow grapes for sale until 1994 when they purchased a small winery and began producing wines bearing the Pestoni name.
The winery remains very much a family affair; Greg Pestoni is the general manager who does everything including “product creation, moving tables, sorting grapes, and sweeping floors.” His brother Andy was the winemaker from 1995 -2008 and then again from 2017 to 2023. Andy is currently retired from winemaking but is still a board member and is involved in major decision making. However, when Andy retired the family brought in consultant Aaron Pott who then recruited winemaker Jeremiah Moore. But back to the family: Greg’s mom, who just turned 89, is the owner and has yet to miss a quarterly meeting. Greg’s sister Christy is also equally involved in all aspects of the winery and according to Greg, “has a great palate and is the one who tastes what Aaron and Jeremiah put together before our bottlings.” Manuel has been the cellar master for the last dozen years and Greg states, “he’s the glue that holds it all together.”
Greg’s wife Aimee fills the role of director of hospitality, and the family has just hired Peter Huls as the estate director and head of direct-to-consumer sales.
Greg is proud to let Club 672 members know that Pestoni is a 5th generation family owned and operated business with his cousin Nick Pestoni leading tastings and Greg’s nephew Dominic working in the vineyards. His niece Lucia Abreu helped put together the new tasting salon and his nephew Matteo just graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s viticulture program. Even Greg’s son Massimo—who is only 8 years old—participates in welcoming guests to the winery.
Pestoni Family Estate Winery now boasts four estates including the addition of 12 acres planted on Howell Mountain, 16 acres in Rutherford, and 7 acres in Lake County.
Regarding the Three Tears Cabernet Sauvignon in this quarter’s shipment, Greg says, “We call this vineyard Three Tears Vineyard because it is located just to the east of an area on Howell Mountain known as Three Peaks. Also, this site is located on three very different tiers that descend the eastern side of Howell Mountain, the first at 2,100 feet above sea level, the second at 1,800 ft and the lower tier at 1,600. I could say that we spell it tears because of tears in a wine glass or something but just felt it was more fun.” The Pestonis sell about half of the grapes to other growers but keep the middle, or B, section for ourselves as is their favorite. “We have been told it’s on an ancient landslide, giving it deeper soils than a hillside usually gets. We are also eastern exposure, letting us get morning sun and falling into shade by the heat of the day,” which gives our grapes an outstanding softness that is unusual for Howell Mountain.
Pestoni Family Estate wines are available directly from the winery, but they are available in slect markets in California in the near future the family is hoping to have distribution to New Jersey and New York. Visitors to the winery can choose to sample Pestoni wines in the newly remodeled tasting room or the outdoor area that allows guests to picnic with their children and pets.
