Donatoni Winery

Donatoni wine making began in a little village called Ossenigo in the valley of the upper Adigi river of northern Italy. In fact Hank's Aunt lives in the family home depicted on our Sangiovese label and still grows pinot grigio to sell to the cooperative.Hank learned to make wine when the property he bought had 1 and 1/2 acres of vines already ripening. Since he was flying to New York that month as a DC-8 co-pilot, he went to Little Italy and bought a book on how to make wine. Of course this opened a whole new world. Soon he was taking classes at Davis, bought his first Paso Robles grapes in 1969 and helped start an amateur wine club called Cellermasters. Originally some of the members learned to make wine in Hank's basement.As his wine making skills increased, so did his desire to have more then a home winery. He found the perfect place where the runway at 2.5 right ended at LAX. He opened his doors in 1979 to the Donatoni Winery.