St. Romedius

Napa Valley, California, USA

Robert and Milli Pintacsi & Sons

St. Romedius is a rare find, an upstart family affair making garagiste wines in Napa Valley, reinvigorating the new world’s most prestigious terroir with new varieties, new ideas, and the pioneering spirit that has marked this valley generation after generation. 

Husband and wife Robert and Milli Pintacsi (with no shortage of hands-on help from their three little ones!) are working out of a cooperative space with shared equipment and making some extremely intriguing wines with a deft hand, revealing new aspects of California terroir and new varietal characters for the many off-beat grapes they’re passionate about. Robert & Milli credit their Hungarian and Punjabi heritages with imbuing their home with many languages and cuisines, translating to the palate and to their unique insight into new style possibilities for their Californian wines.

Their minimalist treatment of classic old-vine field-blended parcels of Zinfandel and Petit Sirah and Syrah are compeered by their thrilling Teroldego, Tocai Friulano, Muscat Canelli, and Sangiovese treatments.

Milli and Robert both grew up in the East Bay but, ironically, met in 2007 while studying abroad in Florence. Their love was built on their mutual appreciation for food, wine, and travel, exploring the many wine-ways of Europe together. It was Italy that tipped the scales for them and ultimately inspired them to return home to make wine their vocation. 

After years of harvests, countless internships, a degree from UC Davis Viticulture and Enology, an Indian Wedding, a Hungarian wedding, and a variety of wine production positions throughout Napa Valley, in 2015 the couple was able to finally launch St. Romedius while Robert was still working as assistant winemaker at Farm Niente and at Dolce. It was in that year a friend introduced them to the owners of the Buckeye Ranch Vineyard in Lafayette, farmers who were seeking a promising winemaker to utilize the fruit of their beautiful vineyard. 

Thus St. Romedius Wine was born, making wines that are true to the Pintacsis' beliefs and values for terroir driven, fun, delicious wines. They and their three sons, two dogs, and six chickens are crafting drops that have seriously expanded the idea of California for us in a way that really excites our wine imaginations. 

*Who is St. Romedius anyhow?

St. Romedius began his life as a son of a nobleman in Austria in the 4th century. He spent most of his time hanging out, alone, meditating in caves. After his parents died and he gave away all of his possessions, he embarked on a trip across the alps to visit a friend from his childhood, the Bishop of Trento, in Northern Italy. Along the way his horse was attacked and torn apart by a bear. Instead of killing the bear St. Romedius threw a saddle on it's back and rode him the rest of the way to Trento.

This story, aside from being pretty bad ass, is a symbol of the Pintacsis' approach to winemaking. They feel that through their approach to winemaking they are doing something akin with the gorgeous fruit of the Buckeye Ranch and the other farmers they work with. By taking a minimal intervention approach they guide the wines to bottle instead of forcing them into a specific style. But just like a bear being ridden like a horse, sometimes the wine takes a turn in an unexpected direction. This allows them to try new things and gives their wines a unique, raw, rustic quality you rarely find anymore in the large commercially produced wines of Napa. Our goal is to make one-of-a-kind wines that taste delicious while being true to our beliefs of intervening as little as possible in the natural progression of grape to wine. In the cellar, they only take steps that will benefit the health of the wine, eschewing any manipulations that would bend the flavours toward a style the vineyards are not naturally inclined to produce. The aim to make fun, unique wines at prices that make you comfortable popping that cork any day of the week and for any occasion.

Ten Questions with Robert

If you want to know more about the characteristics of this area you can take a look at www.vinerra.com