Makers' Stories
DLynn Proctor
— Travel is Life is Love
What is your winemaking philosophy?
Of the year and of the place, always.
What's your all-time favorite food and wine pairing?
Cacio e Pepe e Barolo
What does "cultivating excellence" as a Napa Valley vintner mean to you?
Cultivating excellence is living it, breathing it and doing the actual work.
What is your favorite memory as a vintner working in Napa Valley?
At Grace in 2004 picking on the hillside.
What’s the strangest word you’ve used to describe the smell or taste of wine?
I honestly still think cat pee is pretty weird.
Name a Napa Valley vintner who has influenced you and briefly explain why.
More than one.
The Matthiassons, Staglin-Johnsons, Beers, Emersons and Victoria Coleman.
If you weren't a Napa Valley vintner, what would you be doing?
An Italian Vintner!
I kind of am.
If you could open a bottle of your wine and share it with any three people (living or not), who would they be?
I've actually had wine with everyone living that I've wanted to. Not living - I'd say Napoleon III, Bartolo Mascarello and Max Schubert.
How did you get started in the wine business?
My entry was bussing tables in the mid 90's and cellar work in the early 00's in Valpolicella.
What's one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
There are sincerely more than a few things.
Est. 2014
Pensman
03
The Makers