Founded in 1885 in San Francisco by Vittorio Sattui, an Italian immigrant, V. Sattui Winery was re-established in St. Helena in 1975 by great-grandson Dario Sattui – of Castello di Amoroso fame. V. Sattui wines are sold directly at the Winery and also by mail-order through the internet, but are not sold in stores or restaurants. The property in St. Helena boasts award winning picnic grounds, the original stone building and a retail Marketplace and Deli amply stocked to satisfy the most sophisticated of gourmands. It is a favorite stopping point for most visitors to Napa Valley and the facilities are in high demand for weddings, events and meetings.

For the past five years V. Sattui has partnered with the Napa Valley Vintners Adopt-a-School program and has also offered its resources in the form of a grant to the hiking club. Additionally, the winery has delivered a catered lunch from the gourmet Marketplace and Deli as recognition for teachers, staff and administrators. The Winery has participated in a Summer Scavenger Hunt as well as the annual educational field trip for the eighth graders of Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School.

The field trip to V. Sattui Winery sparks a lot of interest among the 8th grade class. Winery President, Tom Davies comments: “So much of today’s education is teaching so students can perform well on tests. In real life, there are no tests, but real life situations and decision making. Hopefully this field trip will give the students a glimpse of how businesses are started and grown, and if we can inspire a few of the students to start their own business in the future that’s icing on the cake.” The outing is a joint effort created by the V. Sattui Staff and by the RLS 8th grade teachers as a tool for unifying core subjects of history, social sciences, language arts, mathematics, and science into the real-world workplace.

The students arrive at 9 am and are greeted by owner Dario Sattui who speaks to the students on his family’s 19th Century immigration to the USA, and a history of the winery including how they survived prohibition in the 1920’s. They then break into small groups where they attend short lectures presented by the V. Sattui Executive Management team on topics such as the science of winemaking, mathematical applications in business, and language arts as it applies to communication with consumers and employees. At noon students are then treated to a picnic lunch.
The field trip is not just a simple escape from the four walls of their normal classroom, but a hand’s on exercise in real world business planning. The students are required to write a detailed, sequential six paragraph expository essay that recounts their experience at the winery and write their own life plan.

The Napa Valley Vintners partnered with the Napa County Office of Education to create the Adopt-a-School program. The program creates public/private partnerships between local Napa Valley wineries and our local public schools. There are currently 47 public schools in Napa County, including continuation and court schools and the NVV is actively working with member wineries in developing partnerships between these schools and their member wineries.

For more information on events at V. Sattui please visit: www.vsattui.com To find out more about Napa Valley Vintners Adopt-a-School and educational partnership programs please visit www.napavintners.com