A Family Affair - Four Brothers Offer Premium Napa Wines

Ever since the Buoncristiani brothers could walk, they followed in their father’s footsteps – right out to the family garage to make wine. It was a hobby then, but it’s serious business now. The four brothers graduated from that garage to a cool cave in the hills of Napa, and today their premium wines delight the most discriminating palates.

The brothers founded Buoncristiani Family Winery as a first generation, self-made winery upon their first commercial vintage in 1999. Since that time, they’ve been featured more than once in Wine Spectator, which, in 2006, called the Buoncristiani brothers “The Rising Stars of Napa Cabernet.”

The brothers are Matthew (Matt), 36, managing partner and distribution liaison; Jason (Jay), 34, winemaker and direct sales; Aaron, 30, production; and Nathan (Nate), 28, production and direct sales. Jason and Aaron also are artists who create original artwork for two of the seven Buoncristiani labels.

The four grew up in the Napa Valley, helping their father with winemaking and later working for other wineries. Matt, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from St. Mary’s College in Moraga and Masters of Science from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, worked in cardiac rehabilitation. He studied language and wine in Florence, Italy before returning home and working for Rudd Estate Winery in Oakville and later for Caldwell Winery as Cellar Master. He now works full time for the Buoncristiani Family Winery.

Jay, who received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, Biology and Physics from Santa Clara University, originally was headed for medical school. Instead, he worked as Enologist and Winemaker for The Hess Collection Winery before devoting full time as Consulting Winemaker for Buoncristiani.

Aaron received a Bachelor of Arts degree in film studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He splits his time working for Buoncristiani and with Philleppe Melka as Assistant Winemaker for Roy Estate Winery as Assistant Winemaker.

Nate received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing from Chico State University and divides his time between Buoncristiani and Rudd Winery as a lead on the wine production team. He also studied in Northern Italy.

Buoncristiani was bonded as a winery in 1999. The brothers started small with just two wines: 300 cases total of Cabernet Sauvignon and a blend called O.P.C. They now have seven different wines and bottle close to 3,500 cases. Wines are available through their web site, BuonWine.com.     “Winemaking is a passion of ours that we’ve turned into a profession,” says Matt. “We’ve grown steadily and surely. We are located in a 20,000 square-foot underground facility where we have a little bit more elbow room than the garage.”

Sipping fine wine in the cave’s tasting room is a pleasant experience, reminiscent of the “old days” in Napa where visitors sat with the winemakers and tasted wine.

The brothers credit their Italian heritage and honor their grandfathers with two notable wines. “We like to say we have the two grandpa wines,” Matt explains.

Buoncristiani’s Dolcetto di Nonno ($40) is named for their paternal grandfather, Osvaldo Buoncristiani, 94, who came from Orentano of the Toscana (Tuscany) region of Italy to San Francisco at age 18. Dolcetto is rarely grown outside the Piemonte (Piedmont) region of Italy, but the brothers planted some of the grapes in Yountville and also source some Dolcetto from the Unti Family in Dry Creek Valley. In the label notes, the brothers pay tribute to and thank their “Nonno,” which is grandpa in Italian.

The O.P.C. is “Ol’ Pa’s Cuvée,” the Buoncristiani Proprietary Red ($40). “This wine is a tribute to my Mom’s Dad whom we called “Pa” for grandpa,” Matt says. “It’s become our flagship wine, fruit forward, smooth tannins, yet full bodied with a fleshy texture, and is very delightful on the palate.” A blend of Cabernet, Syrah, Malbec and Merlot, all Napa fruit, O.P.C. just earned 95 points from Wine Enthusiast for February 2009.

The Buoncristiani logo also reflects their family bond. All the brothers had a part in designing the logo, a backward and a forward B side-by-side for their family name. The four lobes represent the four brothers.

Their label designs vary. The Buoncristiani Syrah Rosato label is an open rose and the petals are profiles of women’s faces. “It’s very feminine,” says Jay. Rosato is a dry Rosé exhibiting a strawberry and mixed red berry nose, completely dry and nice acid backbone. It’s perfect with any meal in settings that range from black tie to flip-flops.

The Buoncristianis number their bottles of Cabernet, just as artists number their prints. “Cab is king in Napa, in high demand,” says Matt. The Buoncristiani Cabernet is full-throttled exhibiting notes of cassis, blueberry, coffee, chocolate with fine grain tannins and French oak. Wine Enthusiast gave their 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon 94 points. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is $90.

Aaron is responsible for the label on the 2005 Napa Valley Syrah ($60) in the Artistico Series. The Artistico (artistic in Italian) Series was created to fuse the brothers’ passion for winemaking with other forms of art expression. The label changes annually with original artwork complementing the wine. The Syrah, which Matt describes as having a lot of blackberry, blueberry and dark chocolate, was given 92 points by Wine Spectator.

Buoncristiani is moving to a new underground cave facility in the heart of the Napa Valley. The move is part of the brothers’ long-term dream to offer a place complete with outdoor kitchen, private lunches and dinners and incredible views overlooking Yountville and San Francisco on a clear day. It’s certain to be a destination where guests can spend an entire afternoon taking in the fabulous sites and enjoying fantastic wines.

Buoncristiani Family Winery offers limited private tours and tastings by appointment only. To schedule a visit, call 707-363-0835.