Dan O’Brien was introduced to us first by Dan Petroski when they worked together at Larkmead.  Dan began as part of the winemaking team and transitioned to become the Estate Director at this historic Napa property.  In addition, Dan spent time working with both Cultivar and Long Meadow Ranch wineries. This experience laid the foundation for Dan to eventually step away and concentrate solely on his own winery, Gail.

Dan hails from the East Coast, without a family history of winemaking in California. He grew up in Rhode Island where “helping the old Italians in my neighborhood shovel their driveways and rack their homemade “chianti” gave him his first taste of hard work and wine. In high school, he worked at the local package store in Providence, stacking cases of wine. During college, he tended bar and shucked oysters in downtown Providence. Eventually, he became a Sommelier at one of the best restaurants in Boston. From there, he moved west, settling in San Francisco, where he helped open a luxury hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant.

Before Dan made the move to California he lost his mom, Gail to a rare disease called amyloidosis. Her strength, love, and encouragement to pursue something meaningful is what pushed Dan to take the leap into wine. Those years taught him grit, resourcefulness, and the importance of community. With a little savings, a lot of encouragement from mentors, and the help of friends and family, he bootstrapped his first harvest in 2013.  They picked, pressed, and produced a few barrels of wine.

There are two separate labels that Dan produces, bottled under the Gail and Doris names. The wines are named after the two women who shaped his life: his mother Gail and his great aunt Doris. Dan’s goal with Gail is to make wines reflect the great, old vineyards they come from while still being approachable. Dan began blending barrels together that didn’t quite fit the single vineyard profile of the Gail wines, and Doris was born. The Doris wines are a nod to the inexpensive, quaffable wines of his neighborhood. “My Auntie Doris was my great-aunt, a modest, old-school Italian-American. She was a product of the vibrant community of Italian families that emigrated to my hometown. She wasn’t pretentious; she served wine from a box—but it paired perfectly with her accent, warmth, and home cooking.” The Doris wines are house wines; wines for the table, not the cellar.

The Gail wines are single vineyard expressions based on some of the Sonoma Valley’s most famous vineyards, reflecting both the flavors of the variety and the place in which they’re grown. Dan is very careful in selecting individual sites and the farmers he works with. Fermentations for both the Gail and Doris wines are natural, in neutral oak, and are aged on the lees for a period of time before bottling. Everything is bottled unfiltered. The labels reflect the simplicity of Dan’s approach to winemaking, expressed in a watercolor inspired by the color palette of New England. These are delicious, soulful wines that reflect the Sonoma Valley where Dan has made his home.