Faustini Wines. Proprietor Anthony Faustini has been a wine collector for many years. Looking to transition from serious collector to wine maker he began his research on Long Island in New York, visiting wineries and trying numerous wines. Looking to expand his palate and wanting to make a California wine he came to Napa Valley where he was introduced to Crushpad when they were located in San Francisco. Faustini’s first commercial vintage was tiny – merely 50 cases in 2005 from the Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard in St. Helena.
This vintage was a teaser for Anthony and made him realize how much he wanted to be in the wine business. He started taking remote courses through UC Davis and because of his work for Cisco he frequently found himself traveling to California. While here for work he also started nurturing vineyard and wine making connections. Today he lives in New York and commutes to Napa Valley a number of critical times each year, primarily for blending sessions and during harvest.
Each one of their wines involves a unique story. Over the years Faustini has produced several sub labels bottled under the Faustini brand including 1023, Beach House #34 and for several years, Play Date (no longer produced). The label for the Faustini wines creatively combines features from each of Anthony and Michelle’s last known coat of arms.
Play Date came about as a result of a dinner at Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. Anthony and his wife Michelle were dining there with several friends when their friends mentioned they were going to be at Lake Tahoe that weekend on a “play date” with other friends and their children. They asked Anthony if he could recommend a good Chardonnay to bring with them (at this time Faustini only made a Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon). This got Anthony thinking, “why don’t we make a Chardonnay”. The very next day he started working on trade marking “play date”. Faustini used to also produce a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Sauvignon Blanc under this label.
Based on Anthony’s interests and work at Cisco, he has a strong a background in technology. Incorporating technology into his wine label was a natural transition and he called ‘Play Date’ his “interactive wine brand. Each bottle of Play Date wine lists an SMS number and a word. While no longer working, those who used to text the word, playdate to 25827 would access additional information about that particular bottle of wine or be able to join their mailing list for updates. Play Date also used Zork, a plastic cork that was reusable, recyclable, renewable and did not require a corkscrew.
Select Wines
Whites
The Faustini Beach House #34 is named after the specific beach house at Castle Hill Inn in Newport, Rhode Island where Michael and Anthony were engaged. We have tried several vintages over the years; consistently this wine over delivers for the price.
The 2022 Faustini Beach House No. 34 Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford Napa Valley is pale to medium straw in color; the bouquet is highly attractive, diverse and immediately open knitted with aromas of pineapple, pineapple guava, white peaches, lime juice, pomelo, red apple, lychee and honeydew melon. Give this wine time especially; its scents keep evolving and revealing additional layers. What we love about its aromas is that it is not green nor grassy as often cooler weather climate wines from this variety are expressed, nor is it overly tropical like from warmer growing regions. Rather it straddles a pleasing aromatic balance between the two. The palate is supple and rounded with a texture that glades through from the entry through the finish. This wine sports flavors of apple, grapefruit, lime, pineapple and a light lingering herbal note. t drinks well by itself, but if we were to pair it with something delicious it would most likely be with a Thai spicy seafood salad.
The 2010 Faustini Play Date Chardonnay tones down the profile of what is thought to be a typical California Chardonnay (oaky, buttery, creamy, notes of honey). Nuances of these components are present in the wine, however they do not dominate. The very aromatic bouquet is pleasing; it shows tropical fruit including notes of pineapple and a hint of toasted oak, vanilla and baking spices. As the wine breathes more tropical aromas develop. The palate is rounded and creamy and this mouth feel continues through to the finish. It shows a clean finish which lingers with flavors of lemon and other citrus.
Reds
The 2022 Faustini Charm + Hammer Rosé is deep pink in color; the bouquet is distinctive and we would like to think we could easily pick this out of a blind tasting of other rosé bottlings. It offers scents of old library book, burnt toast, orange tangerine jolly rancher, candied orange peel, rhubarb and cranberry. For reference, we tasted this wine two years post vintage; aromatically it perhaps shows older than its vintage date. Minerally on the palate, it also offers flavors of raspberry, notes of white toast and rhubarb. This wine offers a texture that is soft, rounded and somewhat creamy like in its feel. We envision paring this wine with freshly seared ahi tuna.
1023 is named in honor of the birth of Michael and Michelle’s daughter Ava in 2009 whose head first popped into the world at exactly 10:23 AM. The 2021 Faustini 1023 Proprietary Red Wine is deep ruby and crimson in color; the bouquet is dark and seductive expressing both primary and secondary aromatics. These include blackberry, dark and spicy plum skin and boysenberry along with notes of roasted coffee bean, mocha, dried tobacco leaf and a woodsy spice. If this bouquet was a personality it would clearly be a gregarious one. Dark, layered and well-flavored across the palate this wine echoes some of the aromatics including dark plum, boysenberry, dark cherry, mulberry and a light note of crushed dark peppercorn and tobacco. The grainy tannins parallel the fruit for quite some time on the extended finish. This wine is highly enjoyable by itself, but how about a well-marbled porterhouse please?
The 2016 Faustini Malbec Napa Valley is 15.3% alcohol. This wine is deep ruby in color; the bouquet is all about dark fruit with scents of blackberry, raspberry along with notes of chocolate and hints of dried herbs. For reference, we tried this wine 8 years post vintage; it is showing in a sweet spot at this age and perhaps still showing more youthful than its actual vintage date. It is fresh and fruit forward. The palate reveals flavors of plum, cherry and vanilla. We immediately noted the words complex and layered to describe its character. With its age, the tannins are resolved nicely and well-integrated into the smooth but lengthy finish. Drinking this wine made us want to be in Mendoza during spring time, at an Argentinean asado (BBQ).
The 2009 Faustini Play Date Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with a small amount of Syrah. This wine was made to be approachable, easy drinking and a step-up in quality above an everyday wine. The bouquet initially shows an herbal note, smoky tobacco and as it opens becomes more elegant revealing aromas of black fruit. This wine has bright acidity with a tartness similar to a red currant accompanied by fine well integrated tannins. Refreshingly, no heavy handed structure here.
As with Faustini’s other wines, the Secret Veil features an interesting story behind the label. In 2006 Anthony began preparing for his wedding; Michelle knew of his passion for wine and told him to hold off on making any new wine for financial reasons as well as needing to focus on their upcoming wedding. During a business trip he was told that some rare grapes from a well-regarded Howell Mountain vineyard had become available for sale. Unbeknownst to his wife Anthony purchased this fruit and made wine. Whenever she would visit the winery in Napa, he would have one of the workers cover those particular barrels with a tarp. During a visit to Las Vegas, they found themselves in one of photographer Peter Lik’s galleries standing in front of a photograph, titled, the “secret veil”. Realizing timing is everything, Anthony revealed his “secret” wine to his wife while standing in front of the “secret veil”. Perfect!
The 2007 Faustini Secret Veil Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with small amounts of Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Anthony calls this his “cocktail wine” and stylistically this is the type of wine they wanted to make from their vineyard sources. The bouquet is ripe showing rich notes of blackberry and black cherry; it was aged entirely in new French oak barrels which have imparted a pleasing spice component including of white pepper. However, this characteristic remains in the background. Opulent shows especially mid palate including flavors of blackberry jam and black cherry paralleled by rounded tannins.
Anthony will quickly admit the reason he started Faustini Wines is because of the richness and depth of Cabernet Sauvignon growing in Napa Valley. The Faustini Cabernet Sauvignon is Faustini’s flagship wine. The 2007 Faustini Cabernet Sauvignon is a robust and bold Napa Valley bottling of this variety. Black fruit shows on the very aromatic bouquet followed by an entry that is surprisingly soft but very quickly shows complexity and depth of flavors. This wine is all about the mouth filling richness of Napa Valley fruit including blackberry and black cherry complemented by notes of dark chocolate. This wine shows plenty of structure with coarse tannins lingering for some time along with notes of sweet fruit.
—
Most of the Faustini wines are distributed direct via a mailing list, but for obvious reasons their wine has limited distribution in New York and New Jersey. As of our latest update to this review, select Faustini wines are available at POST, the intimate single room tasting salon at Carneros Resort & Spa – about a 12-15 minute drive from downtown Napa and a similar distance from downtown Sonoma. POST moved to a new space a short distance from the original space in May 2024. The current space is more centrally located than the previous space. Both wines, spirits and cigars are available; during late Friday afternoons, local winemakers hang out in the space pouring their wines. Several wine stations are on premise, offering a rotating selection of wines. POST accepts both reservations and walk-in visitors.
And some of the Faustini wines are available in 100ml (3.2 oz) sized glass screw cap bottles here either for sampling on site for for take-away; these are TSA friendly and are the maximum volume allowed to be carried on a plane. We wish more wineries would bottle their wines in these compact sample size bottles.
Current POST Tasting Room
Original POST Tasting Room
Marbue Marke (who we originally met along with Anthony) was their winemaker for several years starting in 2007 when he joined Faustini to help with the final blends; he is no longer the winemaker at Faustini but we keep our notes here for historical reference. As of our latest update to this review, Kian Tavakoli is the winemaker for Faustini.
Marbue was born in Sierra Leone (West Africa) and came to the USA in the early 1990s to escape the country’s civil war as well as for education. Marbue knew at a young age that he had an interest in wine. He was enrolled in Medical School at UC Davis but wasn’t satisfied with that career path. Someone asked him to “pick something you love” and he mentioned wine. As it were, UC Davis has one of the best viticulture and enology programs in the country and is the primary “feeder” school for winemakers in Napa and beyond. Ultimately he studied sensory science at UC Davis. He wasn’t able to enjoy beer as he found it too bitter; with a super sensitive palate he was better suited to tasting and identifying wine. He remembers being able to identify merely 0.1 percent quinine in sensory tastes. Now that is someone you want on your winemaking team.
After graduating from UC Davis before he was of drinking age, he found himself working at J Winery in Sonoma County and often fielded questions about the legality of being able to work in a wine cellar because of his age (yes, its legal!). During a ten-year period, he furthered his wine education with wide variety of wine jobs ranging from in the cellar work to executive work at GALLO to becoming an expert on barrels and barrel aging. His focus has always been and will be to make great wine and learn and improve each and every year.
For more information, to join their wine club or request a tasting reservation in Napa Valley, visit: www.faustiniwines.com
Old Tasting Rooms
Die-hard Napa Valley wine enthusiasts, or just those who wanted to enjoy a fun wine tasting in a relaxed space, could make an appointment at what was their tasting room in the cute town of Red Bank, New Jersey. This tasting room opened in 2013 (and we were able to visit) but closed down a few years later.
Following the closure of the Red Bank Faustini tasting room, Faustini opened another tasting room in Long Branch, New Jersey. This has also since closed. While Faustini used to produce their wines at Caldwell Winery in Coombsville, today they produce their wines at Laird Estate Winery, just north of the city of Napa. Possible plans call for opening another Faustini stand-alone tasting room. If this materializes, we will be sure to visit and update our notes here accordingly.
Leave a Reply