Audrie Walsh, Assistant Winemaker
Audrie Walsh, Assistant Winemaker
Meet Audrie Walsh, Castello di Amorosa’s Assistant Winemaker. Born and raised in California’s Mojave Desert. At a young age, she developed an innate fascination with the natural world. It was not uncommon for her to scour the countryside looking for and photographing interesting flora and fauna to study. This sense of adventure and creative mindset laid the groundwork for her role as Assistant Winemaker.
Ms. Walsh earned a bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from UC Irvine and started working in the lab and cellar at Estancia Estates, where her interest in the art and science of winemaking emerged. She decided to pursue it further, traveling halfway across the world to the University of Adelaide in South Australia, where she earned a Masters in Oenology.
She returned to the U.S. and started urban winemaking in San Francisco’s Dogpatch and on Treasure Island before landing in Napa in 2015. Working harvests at Robert Mondavi Winery and Louis M. Martini was followed by several years at Treasury Wine Estates, where she made wines for Chateau St. Jean, Beaulieu Vineyards, Provenance, and Beringer Vineyards. In 2021, she joined Bundschu Company, where she worked on Gundlach Bundschu, Abbot’s Passage, and various custom crush wineries.
But wine isn’t her only passion. As a mother to 2 small children (daughter Aoife and son Ronan, names courtesy of her Irish husband, Richard), her free time is filled with park visits, mother/daughter brunches, dance classes, and the occasional moonlight pottery throwing or music recording session. She loves spending time in her husband’s homeland, especially Dublin, saying, “Too bad you can’t grow grapes there!”
If you asked her colleagues to describe her, they might say “creative,” “analytical,” and “a calming force,” particularly during the rush of harvest!
Dario Sattui, Owner
Dario Sattui
Dario Sattui, owner of Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga, California, and great-grandson of San Francisco, California pioneer vintner, Vittorio Sattui, was born in San Francisco in 1941 and raised in San Francisco and Fairfax in Marin County. He attended Drake High School and then the College of Marin.
As a child, Sattui was an entrepreneur and loved playing sports. He started various businesses in grammar school, high school and college and gained valuable experience in the basics of business.
His great grandfather Vittorio Sattui, an Italian immigrant, founded V. Sattui Winery in 1885 in San Francisco. As Vittorio lived to be 94 years old, Dario got to know him and was fascinated by his stories and photos of the old winery, above which the Vittorio Sattui family continued to live even after Prohibition closed the old V. Sattui Winery. As a child, Dario would play among the barrels and tanks in the underground cellars while dreaming of reviving V. Sattui Winery when he grew up.
He kept this dream alive as he furthered his education receiving a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from San Jose State University in 1965 and then an M.B.A. with an emphasis in Marketing from University of California, Berkeley in 1969.
Following graduation, Sattui traveled around Europe for two years in an old VW van. It was during this period his fascination for medieval architecture began to take shape. Living out of his van, Sattui would visit medieval castles, monasteries, palaces farmhouses and wineries studying their designs, taking photographs and completing detailed sketches and renderings.
In 1972, Sattui returned to the U.S. with the intent of re-establishing his great grandfather’s original V. Sattui winery which had been dormant for more than 50 years. With $8,000 and a novel approach to the wine business he re-opened V. Sattui winery in St. Helena and turned a profit in the first year of operation.
Armed with his vault of medieval architectural renderings and another passionate dream, Sattui purchased a 171-acre vineyard property in Calistoga in 1993 and began construction of Castello di Amorosa Winery in 1994. Clearly, the success of V.Sattui winery built the 121,000 square foot, 12th-century style, authentic Tuscan castle winery. Read Castello di Amorosa’s History & Owner to dive deeper into Dario Sattui’s vision.
His hobbies include travel, sports, nature, eating and drinking well, business ideas, and restoring medieval buildings.
Learn more about Dario’s inspiration for building Castello di Amorosa.
Interviews
♦ Michael Horn’s “What’s Cookin’ on Wine” with Nicole Nielson, December, 2022 (Interview Starts at 38:00)
♦ How I Turned $8,000 Into a Wine Empire, June, 2021 (Interview)
♦ Sattui Donates $1 Million to Calistoga Schools, July 2, 2020
Articles
♦ A History of The Project – Part 1, by Dario Sattui
♦ A History of The Project – Part 2, by Dario Sattui
♦ A History of The Project – Part 3, by Dario Sattui
Georg Salzner, President
Georg Salzner
Austrian-born food and wine aficionado Georg Salzner joined Castello di Amorosa as president in 2008.
At the young age of 16, the legal drinking age in Austria, Salzner developed a passion for food and wine which led him to an extensive career in wine and food management.
Prior to joining Castello di Amorosa, Salzner spent five years as Banquet Manager, Sommelier and Wine Buyer at the famous, Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. He furthered his career at Jefferson Hotel as their Food and Beverage Manager and, in 1995, he returned to his native Austria to continue his career as Food and Beverage Manager for the Vienna Hilton.
In 1997, Salzner expanded his experience as Director of Public Gastronomies with the United Kingdom-based and food giant Compass Group in Austria where he managed 280 employees in the country’s largest conference center and in other Compass Group venues such as stadiums, museums, airports and fine dining. Part of Salzner’s responsibilities included the management of e-Catering; one of Austria’s largest caterers.
Brooks Painter, Director of Winemaking
Brooks Painter, Director of Winemaking
Brooks Painter has been a winemaker for over 30 years. His impressive resume includes positions as operations manager at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville and winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Leeward Winery, and Felton-Empire Vineyards.
Brooks has been director of winemaking at Castello di Amorosa since 2005, producing a variety of highly acclaimed 90+ point wines that have gained recognition from Robert Parker, Wine Spectator, and Wine Enthusiast. In 2014, he received the distinguished Winemaker of the Year award in the American Fine Wine Competition.
He discovered his passion for wine while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. His work has been published in The American Journal of Viticulture and Enology, Biochemistry, Practical Winery, and Wines & Vines. Brooks is a professional member of the American Society of Enology and Viticulture and a former chair of the Microbiology Committee for the California Enological Research Association.
For the past 15 years, Brooks and his wife Beth have lived in Napa. They’re actively involved in the Napa Valley community, charitable organizations, and long-range public planning for local city and county government.
Interviews
♦ Wine Life Radio Welcomes Brooks Painter, September 7, 2013 (Podcast)
♦ Life Between the Vines interviews Brooks Painter, May 27, 2013 (Podcast)
♦ What’s Cookin’ Today on CRN Radio, Mike & Paul talks with Brooks Painter, August 18, 2014 (Podcast)
♦ VinVillage Radio interviews Brooks Painter, November 17, 2014 (Podcast)
♦ Winner, Winner April Dinner: Fine Wine Gala Announces Number Ones, February 17, 2015
♦ Wednesdays with Winemakers, Brooks Painter, February 10, 2016
♦ Sommtalks, Castello di Amorosa Director of Winemaking Brooks Painter Joins Us, April 17, 2017
Peter Velleno, Winemaker
Peter Velleno, Winemaker
Peter Velleno studied winemaking, brewing science, microbiology, and food engineering at the University of California at Davis. In 2003, he was the only student to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in fermentation science.
After graduation, he went to work in the laboratory at William Hill Winery, where he quickly worked his way up to assistant winemaker specializing in Chardonnay production. Peter went on to work for the ultra-premium small winery Hartwell Vineyards, where he helped craft some of the most highly regarded Cabernets in the Napa Valley.
Peter’s career path took a sharp turn in 2008 when he joined Castello di Amorosa as the associate winemaker. He was promoted to winemaker in 2014 and manages production of the Castello’s wines. If asked, he will tell you that making wine in a Castle is even more fun than it sounds.
Peter and his wife Lauren have lived in Napa since 2003. They have two children and enjoy playing tennis, biking, cooking, and spending time outdoors with their dogs Cooper and Ruby.
Interviews
♦ Winemaking from A Castle in California, March 26, 2021 (Interview)
♦ We Like Drinking, March 24, 2021 (What Two Wines Would Winemaker Peter Velleno Recommend)
Margarito Rivera, Cellar Master
Margarito Rivera, Cellar Master
Margarito Rivera joined the Castello di Amorosa team in 2017, having worked with Director of Winemaking Brooks Painter nearly two decades ago at another Napa Valley winery. His dedication and excellent work ethic have made him a valuable addition to our winemaking team.
Jim Sullivan, Vice President PR & Marketing
Jim Sullivan, Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing
Jim Sullivan, Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing spearheads Castello di Amorosa’s publicity and marketing initiatives.
With over 20 years of marketing, public relations and business development experience with professional motorsports teams and in a variety of healthcare organizations in Southern California, Jim first joined Castello di Amorosa in 2008 as Public Relations and Marketing Manager.
An avid cyclist, Jim fell in love with wine and wineries while exploring the Washington State countryside. His love of wine was reinforced during subsequent trips to the Napa Valley to visit family.
Jim holds an MBA from the University of Redlands and a Bachelor of Science from Central Washington University. He resides in Calistoga, Calif.
Articles written by Jim Sullivan:
Madeleine Reid, Vice President of Events and Hospitality
Madeleine Reid, Vice President of Events & Hospitality
Madeleine was born into the event and hospitality industry, a product of two restaurateurs. She began her career working for a luxury catering company which taught her the intricacies of planning events and also afforded her the opportunity to travel and participate in international food and wine shows. After years of honing her craft on catering side of the event industry, Madeleine ventured into the wine business. Her enthusiasm for luxury events and wine brought her to Treasury Wine Estates where she spent five years designing custom event experiences for clients across 7 wineries through Napa and Sonoma, seeing the events from beginning to fruition. In her current role at the castle Madeleine focuses on supporting the hospitality team, all-encompassing experiential design, incredible wine & food pairings and pushing the limits of creativity to deliver incredible events that wow our guests.
Madeleine is fiercely passionate about events and is dedicated to the betterment of the Event Industry as a whole. Currently, she serves as the Past President of the Napa Sonoma Chapter of the International Live Events Association (ILEA) and Director of Communications of Wine Country Special Event Professionals (WCSEP). In these roles, she is committed to leading the board to produce effective and informative educational programs and opportunities for members of the industry to connect and network.
In her free time, Madeleine enjoys cooking, spending time with her dog & family, going to the beach, exploring art galleries, traveling, painting, and crafting.
David Bejar, Vineyard Manager
David Bejar, Vineyard Manager
David Béjar brings over 40 years of experience to Castello di Amorosa. Born in Michoacán, Uruapan, David was just 8 years old when he began picking at one of Ensenada’s oldest wineries. David’s father died when David was 11 years old, so he took up boxing at $8.00 a fight to supplement the family income. At the age of 16, after immigrating to the United States, he began work as a tractor driver in Santa Rosa and continued to work his way up in the wine industry.
Recruited by Dario Sattui in 1996, Béjar now manages over 300 acres of vineyards. He is responsible for the sustainable and organic vineyard practice and provides the projections for the size of the harvest each season.
Every year, the North Bay Business Journal acknowledges leading individuals and businesses from across the wine, beer, and spirits industries in the region. We are thrilled that David Béjar was awarded Vineyard Manager of the year in 2018.