Our Story
A family name rooted in winemaking since the 1400s. A dream planted in Napa Valley in 1988.
Where It All Began
In 1988, Dave Del Dotto was on a wine-buying trip in Napa Valley with his wife Yolanda when they stumbled upon a beautiful 1912 craftsman house in the desirable Rutherford appellation. Dave had a palate for fine wines and a love for real estate, and he knew the Rutherford property had the potential to produce something remarkable.
He and Yolanda purchased the 17-acre property on the spot after falling in love with the view. Shortly after, the family moved from Kona, Hawaii, and in 1990, continued the 800-year-old Del Dotto legacy by planting new rootstock of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Sangiovese.
That first planting became the foundation of everything that followed.
A Vision Unlike Any Other
It was always Dave and Yolanda’s dream to build a winery on the Rutherford property. Dave envisioned a grand Venetian palace in homage to the Del Dotto family’s heritage dating back to 1150 Venice, a space where wine tasting would be a full sensory experience.
Nineteen years after purchasing the property, the Del Dotto Venetian Estate opened to the public in 2007. A long, marble and stone-lined corridor stretches beneath the estate, illuminated by Murano chandeliers and framed by rows of aging oak barrels. The space evokes the reverence of a cathedral and the quiet drama of an art gallery.
In 2017, Piazza Del Dotto opened just north of Yountville, a second cave tasting location where the Italian-inspired architecture meets the outdoors, surrounded by 8.5 acres of Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon and beautiful gardens.
Liquid Art
When Dave first began sharing barrel samples with family and friends, everyone was struck by the remarkable difference between barrels, even with the same wine from the same vineyard. No two barrels tasted alike. That observation changed everything.
Del Dotto became the first winery in the world to bottle wines directly from individual barrels and offer them to guests as a standalone selection. The result is an array of expressions from a single vintage and vineyard, upwards of 40 different Cabernet Sauvignons, each shaped by the forest, the craftsman, and the time the wine spent inside.
Some of these wines exist as a single barrel for the world. They cannot be recreated. Like a rare painting pulled from a private collection, except instead of hanging on a wall, you pull it from your cellar and share it at the table.
This is what we call Liquid Art.
“Wine is the reduction sauce, and the barrel is the spice rack.”
– Dave Del Dotto, Founder
Grown With Care
Del Dotto is a certified California Sustainable Winegrower. We go further still, no chemical sprays, no synthetic fertilizers, and all weeding performed by hand or by our resident sheep. Our vineyards are meticulously cared for by professional vineyard workers who have worked alongside our family for decades.
It took 30 years to assemble the right collection of sites. Each vineyard was chosen for one reason: the potential to produce world-class wine. That patience is reflected in every bottle.
Our Family
Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto, along with their children Desiree and Giovanni, live and work in Napa Valley, overseeing every aspect of their two wineries from the vineyards to the caves.
The family’s influence is present in everything: the architecture, the wines, the food pairings, the design of the caves, and the warmth of the experience guests find when they visit. For the Del Dotto family, wine has never been just a business. It is how they live.
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