Description

Massimo di Costanzo is part of the new generation of Napa winemakers crafting balanced, elegant wines that evoke an earlier, ‘classic’ era in California winemaking. Di Costanzo, born and raised in the Bay Area, spent his childhood summers in Florence and Positano, Italy, visiting grandparents, family, and developing a deep understanding for the connection between a place and its culinary and viticultural traditions. After graduating from UC Davis, Massimo worked under influential winemakers in Tuscany, Stellenbosch, Mendoza, and Napa. In 2006 he returned to Napa as the day to day winemaker for Screaming Eagle for the 2006 and 2007 vintages. It was here, under the guidance of Andy Erickson, that Massimo began to articulate his own winemaking vision, both philosophically and in the wine. The goal is to make wines with a timeless, age worthy style that value transparency, terroir, and elegance over sheer force and concentration. His approach emphasizes the purity of fruit by limiting manipulation throughout every phase of the winemaking process: harvesting at moderate brix levels, fermentation in small stainless steel vats, aging in mostly used French oak, and bottling without fining or filtration.