About Vino Noceto
Vino Noceto is named for the walnut grove on the Shenandoah Road property — noceto being Italian for 'walnut grove' (from noce, the Italian word for walnut). Jim and Suzy Gullett's estate is named for what was growing on the land before the Italian wine varieties arrived: the native walnut trees that gave the property its character before Sangiovese was planted.
Vino Noceto is California's most seriously committed Sangiovese estate — not Napa Valley Sangiovese as a novelty, but Sierra Foothills Sangiovese as a genuine viticultural conviction. Jim Gullett has been growing and refining Sangiovese in the Shenandoah Valley since 1990, making him one of California's longest-tenured Sangiovese specialists.
Wine Advocate has scored Vino Noceto's Amador County Sangiovese at 88–92 points, recognizing the quality achievable from the Sierra Foothills' warm, clay-rich soils and the decades of accumulated single-variety expertise.