WINEMAKERS

DiBacco Importing & Distributing prides itself on over a decade of creating, nurturing, and celebrating relationships with winemakers in the United States, Italy, and beyond. Each of these artisans are not only extremely skilled at their craft, but also demonstrate immense care for the environment. Get to know some of our favorite winemakers who work with us to bring you the hand-crafted wines that make every occasion memorable.

Thomas Rivers Brown

One of the country’s top talents, Thomas Rivers Brown was named 2010’s Winemaker of the Year by Food & Wine magazine. He has been in Napa since 1997, where he began his career at Turley Cellars and now makes wines for select premium labels. Over the last decade, Thomas has received more 100-point scores than any other Napa Valley winemaker. He was awarded two 100-point scores from Wine Spectator, the first American winemaker to receive a perfect score. Beyond generosity and roundness in tannins, his wines have few common traits and are very individual, reflecting each vineyard’s unique terroir.

BRANDS: HERITAGE SCHOOL, RIVERAIN

Julian Fayard

With more than two decades of winemaking expertise, Julien Fayard is one of Napa Valley’s most respected winemakers producing California varietals with French finesse. He believes in producing wines with an identity, exploiting what makes each one unique. Julien’s wines are a pure expression of their terroir, highlighting the specificities and characteristics of the fruit, vineyard management, soil and climate. He has a track record of building brands both in terms of quality and market presence. 

Originally from France, Julien began his career as a winemaker producing quality rosé at his family’s winery in Provence. In Bordeaux he worked at Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite before relocating to Napa Valley. In Napa, he was Philippe Melka’s director of winemaking for a few years before launching his own projects.

BRANDS: FAYARD WINES, NICHOLSON JONES, COVERT ESTATE

Kirk Venge

Kirk Venge follows his father’s creed, “making wine in the vineyard,” and his grandfather’s footsteps, in the Napa Valley soils where he was raised.

No ordinary winemaking legacy, this one continues to culminate. After Nils Venge chalked up Robert Parker’s first perfect 100 point score for an American winemaker with his 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Kirk picked up the baton and rattled the sabre of the next generation of avant-garde American winemakers.

Years of schooling, decades of training, and a half-century of family farming in the heart of the Napa Valley culminated in Kirk’s 1999 co-founding of Venge Vineyards, producing wines worthy of the storied family name. Firmly established in his native valley and widely regarded as one of the top young winemakers around the world, he now lends the Venge legacy to vineyards and cellars seeking to “raise their glass.” 

BRAND:  HUNNICTUTT WINES

Phillipe Melka

 He is one of the world’s most respected winemakers, who is best known for "finding the voice of the vineyard through its terroir," as Philippe puts it.  He began his career working at wineries in France (Château Haut-Brion and Château Petrus), Italy (Badia a Coltibuono), Australia (Chittering Estate) and California (Dominus and Ridge) before settling in the Napa Valley in the '90s.

Named as one of the top nine wine consultants in the world by Robert Parker, Melka said: “my style is to show the site through the wine, to respect the grape as much as I can. So every single wine I make will be very different, because every one has a unique site. We should emphasize the estate much more than the winemaker. You have to minimize the technique as much as you can.”

BRAND:  ROY ESTATE