Piazza Del Dotto opened on September 1, 2017; this is the latest winery in the Del Dotto Napa Valley portfolio. The property is in the southern part of the Oakville appellation located slightly north of Yountville; it is 22 acres of which 8.5 are currently planted to Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery was built in phases; phase one included the opening of La Barchessa or in Italian, “the Italian Barn”. Referring to a barn in name only, this palatial hospitality center is built like a home for royalty with Italian furnishing (including the grand chandelier made in Florence), paintings and various furniture. Remarkably 70+ containers of construction materials, statues, marble, furniture, doors and other décor was shipped over from Italy. Local vintner, Claudia Fleury was responsible for much of the interior design.
La Barchessa features two floors including a VIP space and several luxurious tasting spaces upstairs. An outdoor terrace offers gorgeous views on clear days – overlooking the property and nearby vineyards.
All the bricks lining the driveway and parking area were hand-laid and were imported from Italy.
Phase two of construction was the cave. The footprint of the cave was initially drilled into the side of a knoll (approximately 10,000 square feet) but it was many months of prolonged construction before the cave was ready to see visitors. In early September 2018, one of the finer underground spaces in all of Napa Valley opened. The interior cave walls and ceilings are lined with gorgeous marble. Dave brought over Italian stone masons to build the interior after the initial drilling of the cave’s footprint was competed.
Barrels line the edge of the cave walls (no stacked barrels here). And what is probably a first for a Napa winery are several marble barrels – these were imported from Italy and entirely hand-crafted from Carrara marble including the barrel heads. As of our last update, Piazza del Dotto owns two of these barrels. The centerpiece of the cave is the largest room, roughly in the middle; it can be used for sit-down hospitality experiences including some of their culinary pairings.
From a visual perspective, perhaps the most stunning part of the cave is the Piazza del Grotto with its impressive chandelier composed of Madagascar red agate encircled by Venetian glass. A number of hand-painted murals line the ceiling – created by artists from Italy. And if one knows what they are looking for, they can spot several members of the Del Dotto family depicted in the murals.
Real estate and TV infomercial man, now Napa Valley winery mogul, Dave Del Dotto is the visionary talent behind Piazza Del Dotto. He traces his ancestral roots back hundreds of years to family living in Venice, Italy. His Italian heritage plays a big part in the style and décor of his wineries as well as in the actual wine making, employing both old-world and modern wine making techniques. La Barchessa is everything a classic Venetian villa should be from the ancient, gnarled olive trees in the courtyard, the marble façade on the outside to the luxurious Italian décor and furnishing inside.
Similar to the other Del Dotto properties, hospitality is a big part of the experience here. Dave believes you learn and enjoy wine through storytelling, not necessarily through rote facts. And combine this with the culinary world and create an atmosphere where guests are comfortable engaging with each other. Ultimately this all blends into a fun environment between both guests and employees – creating memorable experiences that people will share with friends and family.
All visits are by appointment; guests can choose from several tasting experiences; all include a tour of their cave. Del Dotto used to offer Poppers where several wines are paired with small bites prepared by their culinary team. During an early visit, select tasty bites for their Poppers experience included Florida frog legs, house cured bacon & black truffle, Sonoma County duck and a Snake River Farms short rib in a potato crust with a grape on top. This experience has since transitioned into the Cave Experience & Barrel Tasting with the food pairing one of their house-made pizzas.
Most wineries in the valley offering food and wine experiences are fortunate to have one commercial kitchen on site; Piazza Del Dotto has two sizable and impressive commercial kitchens located inside La Barchessa. Visitors often taste at a counter overlooking chefs preparing food at the primary kitchen. This kitchen features an impressive French made Molteni stove which Dave calls “the Bentley of stoves” perhaps referring to the price but also to its unparalleled performance. In the world of cooking, Molteni is certainly one of the world’s great luxury kitchen ranges.
A second kitchen offers outside stool seating at the ‘food bar’ where small bites can easily and quickly be served. The surrounding courtyard also features a sizable garden planted in raised beds complemented by several 150+ year old olive trees. And in a reminder of when Piazza Del Dotto was going to be called Ca’ Nani (House of Dwarves), a number of tiny ‘nani’ statues are located among the gardens. Additional courtyard attractions include a brick pizza oven (there is never a shortage of food at Piazza Del Dotto) and a number of live animals including chickens, turkeys and peacocks.
During decent weather, in our opinion, this one of the more relaxing places on the property to hang out.
Guests looking for a more in depth tasting and culinary experience should strongly consider Piazza Delicacies. This experience was originally offered at their Rutherford estate but has since been moved to this property. It is a fun experience, offering barrel samples followed by a sit-down pairing in either one of their upstairs VIP spaces or outside in the courtyard. Like at any of the Del Dotto properties, the use of oak is an extremely important tool in their winemaking and visitors will have the chance to taste the same wine from both French and American oak barrels.
Small plates are prepared on site; while no longer with Del Dotto, talented chef Joshua Schwartz (formerly of Bouchon and French Laundry) would always prepare a diversity of tasty bites. The last we heard Joshua is traveling the world as a fishing guide and chef for his own company, Travel Creek Hospitality. Allow about 90 minutes for this experience. While the bites are small – unless you are famished, this tasting/culinary experience makes a nice light lunch, and you typically won’t leave hungry. The bites are seasonal often using ingredients sourced from their garden at their St. Helena Estate, the garden in the back of La Barchessa or using their house prepared salumi. Conveniently a salumi curing chamber is located on site and guests can also purchase from a selection of meats stored here. A few selections from a recent Piazza Delicacies offering included Wagu Beef, Steelhead and roe and Maine lobster roll on a toasted brioche.
In addition to their Napa Valley winery properties (Rutherford Estate, Historic Napa Caves Estate and Villa Del Lago on Pritchard Hill), Del Dotto also owns select vineyard properties in the valley. These include several vineyards in St. Helena, Oakville and Howell Mountain. And outside of Napa Valley they own a 359-acre premium vineyard in the Fort Ross-Seaview appellation of neighboring Sonoma County called the Cinghiale Vineyard (meaning ‘wild boar’ in Italian). The temperatures at this property are moderated by the frigid waters of the nearby Pacific Ocean. However, the appellation certainly receives more sunshine than directly at the water’s edge due to its elevation – but this is still a very chilly place to grow grapes.
In addition to producing their own wines from this vineyard, Del Dotto also sells grapes to other wine producers. Incidentally, Del Dotto is not the only Napa based winery to source grapes from this part of Sonoma County. And we have noticed over the years, that wines from Fort Ross-Seaview typically showcase bright acidity and freshness.
Select Wines
Whites
The 2021 Del Dotto Chardonnay Fort Ross-Seaview, Sonoma Coast is from the Del Dotto owned Cinghiale Vineyard. This gorgeous piece of property is located close to the Pacific Ocean and is planted to a number of other varieties including Pinot Noir, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Cinghiale, pronounced ching-gyah-lay is Italian for wild boar. This wine is medium gold in color; nose. The bouquet is a bit closed when its cold, but opens as it warms in the glass. It offers scents of pear, apple, white peach, white nectarine and citrus blossom. It offers a refreshing crispness from the entry through to the finish. On the palate there are flavors of Sierra Nevada gooseberry, grapefruit pith, red delicious apple, honeycomb, pineapple guava, white peach, and pineapple. The fleshy texture is balanced perfectly by its bright acidity. Easy drinking. Looking for an oaky or buttery expression? That is not this wine nor the characteristics of this cool weather site.
The 2021 Piazza del Dotto Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford Napa Valley is medium gold in color; the abundant aromatics are immediately tropical including scents of pineapple, guava, dried mango, honeysuckle, citrus blossom and lemon curd. There are no varietal characteristics showing in the bouquet that one would typically find from a cooler climate grown Sauvignon Blanc. The mouth feel is fleshy, rounded and supple and is complemented with a richness of flavor which is especially noticeable on the finish. This bottling offers intense flavors including of pineapple and cantaloupe.
The 2015 Del Dotto Cinghiale Vineyard Chardonnay saw 50% malolactic fermentation and was aged in 100% new French oak. It was also aged sur lie. In the glass it shows a rich golden color with tropical aromas including honeysuckle and some toasted oak; as the wine opens, the aromas of toasted oak dissipate and aromas of honey and brown sugar show. The palate is a mix of tropical notes (guava and white pineapple) with hints of citrus including mandarin. Decent acidity but there is also some weight bringing a nice balance to the wine.
And in addition to their still wines from their property at Fort Ross-Seaview, they also make several sparkling wines from this same property.
Reds
There is a common thread through the Del Dotto red wines; they are ripe, fruit forward, higher alcohol and rich – with a texture that always to some degree regardless of vintage, features the Del Dotto trademark suppleness.
The 2021 Del Dotto Pinot Noir Fort Ross-Seaview, Sonoma Coast is pale to medium ruby in color; the bouquet offers scents of dark raspberry, cherries and blueberries with a healthy dose of bacon fat. And there are additional aromatics which become more pronounced as the wine evolves, including of mocha, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, white pepper and old cedar box. This not an earthy or overtly spicy showing, but has plenty of aromatic appeal to draw one in, although we are not sure we could identify this as Pinot Noir in a blind tasting. On the palate there are flavors of cherry, dark raspberry and dark chocolate. This wine lingers with some ‘coffee in the morning’ flavors including mocha, espresso and roasted coffee bean. The tannins are fine-grained and polished and linger seamlessly with a subtle drying character on the fruit and barrel influenced finish. This is a riper expression of the variety; the alcohol is a listed 14.8%.
The 2022 Del Dotto Vineyards Zinfandel, Napa Valley is from the historic Tofanelli Vineyard in Calistoga. This wine is pale to medium purple in color; the bouquet is an immediate ‘hit me with fruit’ expression. It is ripe but doesn’t cross into the territory of being overly ripe or overtly jammy. Its highly attractive aromatics include cherry pie, baked plums, strawberries, raspberry jam and red licorice. Other aromatic layers include vanilla, toasted coconut, mocha and white chocolate. The palate is a showcase of both ripeness and voluptuous texture. There are flavors of cherry, strawberry and raspberry accompanied by pie crust, cloves, white pepper and dried anise seeds; this latter flavor reminded us of mukhwas, the fennel seeds we have enjoyed as an after dinner palate cleanser during our visits to India. The mouth feel here is very rounded with supple tannins gently caressing the palate as if one was running their fingers over a cashmere sweater. This wine delivers plenty of pleasure in its youth. 15.2% alcohol.
The 2022 Del Dotto Vineyards Sangiovese, Napa Valley (Pope Valley) is medium ruby in color; the bouquet is brimming with berries and cherries with raspberry, red plum, dried apricot, dried figs, tomato leaf and a hint of white pepper, mocha and toasted coconut. The focus here is on the fruit and its ripeness and a fruit forward expression of the variety. On the palate there are flavors of strawberry jam, red cherry, raspberry jam, ripe Santa Rosa plum, Graham cracker, cinnamon, caramel and chocolate. The rustic and savory character that this variety is known for has been bred out with ripeness. Already in its youth the tannins are highly polished and their rounded character complements a fruit filled finish. Also lingers with dark and pepper spice, but is not peppery as the fruit outshines its spice characteristics. We wouldn’t mind pairing this with the Moto Guzzi pizza with its smoked mozzarella, Caggiano spicy Italian sausage and slow roasted sweet onions at Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Santa Rosa, CA.
The 2022 Del Dotto Vineyards Cave Blend, Napa Valley is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 6% Sangiovese, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petite Sirah and 2% Malbec. The first vintage of this wine was in 2000. It is deep ruby in color; the hedonistic bouquet offers ripe aromas of blackberry jam, strawberry, raspberry preserves along with clove, cinnamon, cardamom and fennel. If some of the Napa Valley spas would ever create wine aroma focused sensory experiences, they would model their scent choices fully after the bouquet on this wine. On the palate there are flavors of ripe blackberry, dark cherry, raspberry and dark plum. Opulent from the entry through to the finish, the ripe fruit continues to persist for some time accompanied by lightly grainy but already very well integrated tannins in its youth. Lingers also with a subtle dryness. This wine doesn’t really need food; pair with a pool party, warm weather, lots of splashing and appropriate excitement.
The 2021 Del Dotto Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 7% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. This wine is deep ruby and nearly opaque; the jammy, fruit forward and uber ripe bouquet offers aromas of blackberry jam, boysenberry preserves, stewed mulberries, baked plums and cherry pie with additional scents of cocoa powder, mocha, espresso and other assorted baking spices. The flavorful palate offers notes of blackberry at the peak of ripeness, boysenberry, Pakistani mulberry, dark raspberry and vanilla. The tannins show some of this vintage grip from Napa Valley red wines produced in 2021 but are in no way overtly gripping or course. Their grainy edged and light drying character outpaces the fruit on the finish. For those looking for pleasure from ripeness, this is a crowd pleaser. While high octane in terms of alcohol at a listed 15.5%, there are still higher alcohol Napa Valley red wines; we have seen red ‘dry’ wines bottled in the mid 16 percent range before. This wine lingers with a light warmth but is not as ‘hot’ as one would expect.
The 2014 Del Dotto Napa Valley Petit Verdot (blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) is very dark in the glass. It shows a noticeable sweetness of aroma including dessert spices. There are notes of plum and a spicy pepper as the wine evolves in the glass. On the palate this wine presents both big flavors and big structure. Broad shouldered and somewhat chewy, the finish lingers for quite some time with both wood and grape tannins.
Villa del Lago is a premium Del Dotto owned property high above Lake Hennessey in Pritchard Hill. This property once housed a beautiful home, but this was since been torn down to make way for what at the time was planned to be a high-end 8-room boutique hotel; we don’t have any other details as to the status of this or if this has been put on hold. And for a short while, some of the wines for Girard Winery were produced here – our first visit to this property was many years ago.
The 2014 Villa del Lago Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley was made entirely with free run juice (no pressed juice). It is a big wine aromatically but is very well balanced both on the bouquet and the palate. Shows bright fruit on the appealing bouquet including notes of dark cherry. Somewhat soft and rounded but still layered on the palate, this wine offers flavors of both darker berries and cherries. Dusty tannins float delicately on the back of the palate, noticeable but not out of balance. Fairly approachable. Only 400 cases were produced of this tasty Cab. Villa del Lago produces one wine each year – a Cabernet Sauvignon from vines with very low yields, typically less than a ton per acre.
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Refreshingly Del Dotto produces a limited number of their red wines in 375ml bottlings. While we are not sure about the general demand from the market for these smaller bottles, we know one thing: As a wine writer who often purchases wines to sample, the 375ml bottles make a lot of sense for us from an economic standpoint as well as being a more convenient bottle size for sampling.
Total annual production varies but is around 20,000 cases. For more information about visiting and their tasting experiences, to purchase wines or to to join either their wine club or the more coveted VIP membership, visit www.deldottovineyards.com/visit/piazza
PHOTOGRAPHY
Entrance
Grounds
La Barchessa
Cave
Piazza del Grotto
Culinary
Hello!
I saw on a recent tv clip that you have some wines in marble barrels? I find this very interesting and would love to know a little more. Why you do this and what effect it has on the wine?
Thanks! Gemma
Gemma – there are photographs of these marble barrels above listed in our “Cave” photography section. I would think aging in these barrels is probably fairly neutral for the wine – maybe some textural benefits in a new marble barrel (depending on the interior finishing). Just a guess. Also just a guess, aging in marble barrels is a conversation piece – it looks good and sounds good!