For many years, all Patrick Cappiello dreamed of was owning his own restaurant in New York. A long time later, with 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry and career as a sommelier giving him access to four of the world's greatest wine cellars.
Patrick had been named ‘Sommelier of the Year 2014’ by Food & Wine Magazine and ‘Sommelier of the Year 2015’ by Eater National and was indeed the proud owner of a successful New York establishment.
However… the dream had evolved, and he was compelled to move to California chasing the possibility of actually creating wine.
In 2018, Patrick teamed up with longtime friend Pax Mahle, proprietor of Pax Wine (one of the leaders of California’s third wave of wineries). Together they craft beautiful, un-manipulated, terroir-driven wines from organic, family-run vineyards across California’s North Coast.
Patrick's philosophy is to showcase undervalued grapes to make hand-crafted wines in the spirit of old California. With this idea in mind he keeps the winemaking simple.
Spontaneous fermentations take place with whole cluster grapes in stainless steel and concrete, and ageing takes place in neutral oak barrels. The goal is to make moderate alcohol, higher acid, fresh wines, naturally.
We’re excited to bring these pure, balanced, fruit focused wines to Australia.
Featured Wines
Skull Sparkling
2021
Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Vermentino
This fun sparkling wine is fermented in a combination of stainless steel and old wood barrels after each grape was fermented separately.
Skull White
Chardonnay
2021
Clairette, Colombard, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc
This unusual white blend is made from organically farmed grapes, fermented in neutral vessels to give a bright wine with a refreshing amount of acidity and some food friendly texture.
Skull Red
2021
Zinfandel, Syrah, Mission, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouchet
Boasting six different varietals, rarely blended together, this beauty features organically grown, hand-harvested grapes from six different vineyards.
Each varietal undergoes carbonic maceration for 6-10 days in stainless steel and is then pressed into concrete and stainless steel to ferment separately for 8-12 days using natural yeast.
The wines are then blended and aged for 10 months in neutral oak barrels to preserve the natural fruit and acidity.