Celebrating 35 years as a commercial winery

The history behind Donatoni Winery is apparent – memorabilia and photographs from the owners Hank Donatoni and Sandi Baird’s history in the airline industry cover the walls and adorn the tasting bar. Though they are retired now, Hank and Sandi’s connection to the airline business is still strong. Many of their friends were once co-workers, and even members of the aviation community they have never met find their way to Donatoni through their shared histories.

In 1968 Hank was a pilot working out of Los Angeles International Airport. On a trip to New York he had some time to explore the area and decide to go to Little Italy to buy a book on winemaking. As Hank laughingly says, this was “the beginning of the end” for him. His home in Topanga Canyon was on acreage planted with grapes, and until this time he had not known what to do with the grapes when they ripened. With this book on winemaking as his guide, Hank began making wine, a hobby that would eventually become Donatoni Winery.

Hank and Sandi met on a flight while they were both working, Hank as a pilot and Sandi as a flight attendant. One of the tasting room photos shows Hank and Sandi goofing around the day they met; someone just happened to snap a photo of the moment. Sandi says, “The whole winery is based on the airline theme because that is what we did our whole adult lives.”

Quality grapes produce quality wines

Hank recalls the first vintage of wine that he made with fruit purchased from vineyards in Paso Robles as excellent wine. At the time he thought that its quality was due to his innate talent as a winemaker, but later realized that much of the credit should be given to the grapes themselves.  The old-vine Zinfandel that Hank was purchasing helped to form his opinion that the quality of the grape is very important to the quality of the wine it produces. Hank says that he considers himself a “wine watcher instead of a winemaker,” and believes his duty is to shepherd the great fruit he starts with into becoming great wine.

In this initial foray into the world of grape buying in Paso Robles Hank began to establish many relationships that he still maintains today. He says that one grower even insists on tasting each vintage of the wines that Hank makes with his grapes, as he enjoys seeing what Hank does with his fruit.

Donatoni also has vineyards on its property, and released their first estate wine in 2014 – the 2011 Zin No Mo – just in time to celebrate 35 years as a commercial winery. The Donatoni estate vineyards are made up of Zinfandel, Mourvèdre and Petite Sirah, with the winery producing numerous wines, including many blends. Hank says that they are known for their Cabernet and their Zinfandel.
Family-owned & operated

Hank and Sandi run every part of the company themselves, and the winery is located steps from their home. Sandi runs the tasting room and business aspect of Donatoni Winery, and even designed their label. Hank makes the wine and does everything from crush the grapes, ferment the grapes and bottle the wine on their property. They have an annual production of around 800 cases, and enjoy the level of involvement that this small size allows them.

Visit the Donatoni Winery tasting room, located at 3225 Township Road in Paso Robles on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 5 p.m. or by special appointment; closed during the month of January. Call (805) 226-0620 or go to www.donatoniwineryandvineyards.net for more information.

— Kate Joyce