Warren Winiarski

1928–
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Stags Leap District

Warren moved with his family from Chicago to Napa Valley in 1964 to pursue a life in wine rather than academia. After working for Lee Stewart at Souverain, at Maynard Amerine’s suggestion, and then Bob Mondavi at Robert Mondavi Winery,Warren started consulting for other companies while preparing to go out on his own. In 1970 he sought out Nathan Fay for advice fora client on irrigation. The meeting ended with a glass of Nathan’s homemade wine. Warren promptly looked for vineyard land nearby and was able to buy property next door in orchard, vineyard and pasture. He planted new rootstock and that same fall grafted Cabernet and Merlot for his Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars venture. Cabernet budwood came from Nathan’s vineyard and the Mays’ Martha’s vineyard.

In 1972, quite by chance,Warren learned that less than a mile away, a house on a hill and thirty acres were for sale by Marian and David Back us. Warren bought the property, which provided the Winiarskis with both a house and a site for a winery. In 1973, just before harvest, Warren walked his vineyard blocks with André Tchelistcheff and André was delighted with the flavors of the grapes. He consulted with Warren on his first wines, and the two remained lifelong friends. In 1976, at “The Judgment of Paris,” Stephen Spurrier’s tasting of twelve California and eight French wines (ten Cabernets and ten Chardonnays) in Paris, Warren’s 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars won first place for Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1986, Warren bought most of Nathan Fay’s property, including the outbuilding where the benchmark Fay 1968 Cabernet wine was made. In 2006, Warren hosted a book signing for George Taber’s Judgment of Paris for both Napa Valley Wine Library members and friends of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.

Dick came to know Warren because of his close association with Nathan. Warren’s first sitting with Dick didn’t go well because of poor light. After several months, with the help of Warren’s secretary, Dick succeeded in scheduling another sitting, and this time got several good shots.