In 1980, Dario Sattui hired Tom over a game of ping pong just a year after he graduated from Chico State University. “Dario gave me a bottle of Amador Zin, a baguette, and some brie and I returned to my tent in the State Park (where I’d been sleeping to save money while looking for a job). I remember drinking the wine and having brie for the first time and thinking, ‘This is really cool.’ From that moment on, I knew I could combine my passion for wine and my enthusiasm for business,” Tom says. Among the first 10 employees at V. Sattui, Tom’s business sense and wine industry knowledge drove his ascent through multiple positions, to his current role as president.

Tom was born and raised in Palm Springs, where his father managed a country club. He learned a lot from his dad, including how to put a great party together. He took that into his college years, working part-time for the first bonded winery in California, Brookside Vineyards. Soon after he started at V. Sattui, he met a co-worker who would soon become his wife. They later welcomed their daughter Michaela to the family, and recently celebrated 40 years together. When asked about what’s most important to him about V. Sattui, he said, “It is not a job, it’s my life. Meeting Cara and getting married, having an amazing daughter, experiencing the beauty of Napa Valley… Everything is intertwined with the winery.”

Together with Dario, Tom pioneered several wine industry innovations, including the direct-to-consumer wine model, one of the first wine clubs in the nation, direct shipping of wine, and experienced-based winery hospitality. He co-founded The Coalition Napa Valley, sits on the Board of Directors of the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Visit Napa Valley (serving as chair from 2022-2023), and also champions community-based programs including Adopt-a-School, NapaLearns and Fields of Opportunities. Despite all this, he says, “Even after all these years, I am still trying to prove myself.” (Tom, we think you’ve made it!)

When he’s not at the winery, you’ll find him cycling (he rides Napa Valley almost every weekend), listening to music (especially jazz), or visiting Italy (every summer). He’s an adventurous dad, attending Burning Man with his daughter for the last 10 years. If you’re visiting the winery, you’ll know him by his broad-brimmed hat and the red bandana handkerchief he always carries in his right rear pocket.