Napa Valley garagistes, Robert & Milli Pintacsi are making fascinating micro-cuvées ranging from classic Chardonnay and Petit Sirah to trail blazing Teroldego and Tocai Friulano.

St. Romedius

Is a rare find! An upstart family affair making garagiste wines in Napa Valley, St. Romedius is reinvigorating the new world’s most prestigious region with new varieties, new ideas, and the pioneering spirit that has marked this valley for generations.

When Robert Pintacsi is not making wine at Far Niente, he and his wife Milli (with no shortage of hands-on help from their three little ones!) are crafting super exciting wines out of a cooperative Napa cellar.

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.

Classics like their Chardonnay and their Lamorinda field blend are beautifully rendered, heart warming cuvées while their use of off-beat Italian varietals and their minimalist approach reveal both new aspects of Cali terroir and new varietal characteristics for Italian grapes like Teroldego, Tocai Friulano, Muscat Canelli, and Sangiovese.

More on St. Romedius below, but first…

2020 LUCCIOLA

Lucciola, meaning firefly in Italian, is a dazzling white blend that tickles the senses. When Robert Pintacsi was young he spent the summer in the mountains of Emilia-Romagna where they'd take evening dinner on the patio. As the sun faded, Robert could see hundreds of mesmerizing, tiny, yellow lights, slowly flashing and lighting up the hillside behind the house—lucciole, fireflies, and this was the first word he learned in Italian. This is the feeling he finds most conveyed by this new blend. A touch of effervescence on the palate with a bright crisp nose, a go-to for hot days and tacos. Rich, ripe stone fruit mingled with orange blossoms. Crisp on the palate with a refreshing zing and an orchard-in-spring fragrance.

40% Tocai Friulano, 40% Sangiovese, 20% Muscat Canelli

Fermented in a mix of oak and stainless steel vessels. 48 hour cold soak maceration for the Muscat component. No temperature control. Aged in neutral oak for seven months on the lees with no bâtonnage.

ABV: 12.5%

Only 116 cases produced.

2020 NAPA CHARDONNAY

Beautiful straw yellow color. Rich spice notes on the nose accompanied by fresh and bright tropical as well as stone fruit. Subtle hint of coconut along with some light bacon fat aromas. Bright and refreshing on the palate with good length on the finish. This is varietally and terroir correct but the interpretation favours elegance and finesse over the raw power and heavy oak Napa has come to be known (and at times ridiculed) for. This is beautifully integrated and well-developed example of the white that made Napa famous.

A blend of tank fermented and barrel fermented wine (native yeasts and no additions except sulfur) using French Oak barriques (15% new). Aged 10 months in same. Bottled without fining or filtration.

Vineyard & Vine Age: Sourced from a certified sustainable vineyard in the Napa Valley's Los Carneros AVA. Site originally planted in 1883, current vines 32 years old. (Grower must remain unnamed due to the fruit usually going to a very high end Napa producer.)

ABV: 14.25%

Only 47 cases produced.

2019 RED TABLE WINE

This wild blend of Sangiovese, Teroldego, and dry Muscat Canelli is a table wine for any occasion, but don't let the name belie its complexity! With it's light body, lifted fruit, and bright acidity, the 'Red Table Wine' pairs perfectly with wood-fired pizzas, burgers, tacos, or most anything else honestly, so versatile and delcious. You can serve it at cellar temp or throw it in the fridge to create a dangerously refreshing thirst quencher. Light magenta color. Hints of raspberry, watermelon, and blueberry along with an inviting ferrous character on the nose. A soft and bright entry with lots of life on the palate. Juicy through the finish with just a hint of tannin and long, lingering fruit.

43% Sangiovese, 43% Teroldego, 14% Muscat Canelli



Made with native fermentation and minimal intervention in a combination of open top stainless steel and oak vessels. No temperature control. Manual punch downs. Macerated 7 days. Aged six months in neutral oak. Bottled without fining or filtration.

ABV: 12.5%

Only 165 cases produced.

2019 TEROLDEGO

Aged 7 months longer and standing alone, this is a portion of the same Teroldego plot Robert uses in his 'Red Table Wine' cuvée. Teroldego in California might be unusual, but it happens to hail from the same Northern mountains of Italy where the infamous story of St. Romedius took place. It's famed deep dark colour is perhaps even darker here. Fermented it on it's skins using only the native yeast present from the vineyard, Robert was carefully and gently managed his cap with manual punch downs to avoid an overly tannic wine. The result is a rich, deep red with a subtle nose of dried flowers and herbs. It surprises you with its bright palate, chewy tannins, and lively acidity, and full Cali-style body while avoiding astringency or over-extraction. A beautiful wine with pork chops, mushroom risotto, or meatballs.

Spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeast. Gentle punch downs to avoid an overly tannic wine. Aged in neutral French oak one year and bottled without fining or filtration.

ABV: 14.5%

Only 75 cases produced.

2018 LAMORINDA RED

This co-planted field blend and harvested at once for a beautiful terroir wine with a specificity of site that supersedes it's varietal composition. Based on yields and vintage, Robert estimates the blend is something like 45-65% Petite Sirah, 30-40% Syrah, and 5-10% Zinfandel. A deep purple, rich, savoury brawler with a world of dark fruit and dried flowers on the nose. A powerful entry with a rich structure and ripe fruit on the palate. Juicy and chewy through the finish with lingering fruit flavors... Blackberry and blueberry preserves, cracked black pepper, cloves, bittersweet chocolate, anise. Embrace your inner Californian and lay up with this teeth-staining, gnarly red.

Field blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Zinfandel

All varieties picked and co-fermented in open top oak tanks with native yeast and minimal intervention, punched down by hand. Whole cluster. Aged 22 months in all neutral Hungarian and French Oak barrels. Bottled without fining or filtration.

From historic Buckeye Ranch Vineyard outside Lafayette.

ABV: 15.0%

Only 100 cases produced.

*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.