Napa Vintner

In 1964, Warren Winiarski left the University of Chicago for a life in the vineyard, settling in the Napa Valley. To learn the business he worked for veteran winemakers like Lee Stewart and Robert Mondavi, and attended extension courses taught by researchers at UC Davis. In 1969 he bought about thirty-five acres of farmland, which he planted to Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. The wine he made from his second crop, harvested in 1973, placed first in the 1976 Paris tasting.