Tom Rinaldi

Coming Up

Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon gives Tom Rinaldi his present material: vineyard fruit from Teaderman Vineyards in Oakville, United States, handled by a winemaker whose career has moved through some of Napa Valley’s defining Cabernet houses.

Where They Are Now

At Patent Wines, Tom Rinaldi works as owner and winemaker with the same Napa Cabernet frame that carried through his earlier posts at Freemark Abbey, Duckhorn Vineyards, Pellet Estate, Provenance Vineyards, and Hewitt. The throughline is place-led Cabernet, with UC Davis as the formal base and Oakville fruit as the current ground.

Signature

Tom Rinaldi's signature wines include 2010 Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstrom, Le Sauvage Élégant, Utilitarian, and Trouvaille. The list points to a Cabernet-led portfolio shaped across vineyard-designate bottlings and named wines rather than a single house style.

In Their Words “Early in my career, I realized that certain barrels showed the divergence from the norm; and certain rare barrels, exceptional wines that were extraordinary, I would rate those with a special chalk-mark.”

Honors

Tom Rinaldi's honors include Hewitt Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon named to Wine Spectator's Top 10 in the world and #1 Wine in California.