To say these are the only two people that matter would be grossly negligent. From the vineyard managers and workers, to all the people in the cellars, the volunteers who help us sort grapes and the folks on the bottling line, our materials suppliers and all the people that work for them, there are teams of folks who never get their due credit for making our wine as good as it is. To them we say THANK YOU!
After many years in New York on the sales marketing side of wine and spirits, and one too many frustrations about how great vineyards were being homogenized by big corporations, Chris headed west to make great wines with character. Having worked with many well-known luxury brands and some of the top restaurants in the world, Chris was eager to combine his business expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and love of wine. Creating a winery in the Russian River Valley that focuses on the fruit and the land, C. Donatiello Winery shows the delicate balance between the character of the land and the skill of the winemaker.
Chris enjoys the challenge of working with classic varietals to evoke a powerful sense of place. Using traditional methods and modern equipment, his goal with C. Donatiello Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is to deliver an experience that is vivid, individualistic, and memorable. In doing so, he’s creating wine that exemplifies both the Russian River Valley, and the man behind the name.
Webster is a dyed-in-the-wool East Coaster who ended up in Northern California chasing after wine knowledge and experience. After two years of training as an Assistant Winemaker in the fairly unforgiving grape-growing climate of Virginia, he moved to Sonoma County and joined Williams-Selyem.
At C. Donatiello, Webster crafts wines that are representative of their terroir and that are a joy to drink. He does this by spending long hours in the vineyards and treating the grapes with care and respect. He especially loves making Russian River Valley wines because both the esteemed history and bright potential of the wines from the region. In addition to his work at C. Donatiello, he co-owns a small label called Anthill Farms.
