AvinoDos: a winery created by friends, for friends
Friendship forms the foundation of AvinoDos, friendship that started over good wine. Our founders, Dan Dexter and Lorin Brambila, enjoy everything about wine, from working the earth to labeling bottles. But mostly they enjoy sharing wine with friends. That’s the fun part.
When they seized the entrepreneurial spirit of the West and launched AvinoDos, two things became immediately clear: First, they needed to make good wine that was true to the essence of Napa Valley. For that, they turned to Lorin’s father, Gustavo Brambila, an accomplished winemaker who helped write some of the rich history of Napa Valley. Second, they wanted to create a winery that embodied the friendship that helped launch it. A winery where you can relax and experience wine, regardless of how much or how little you know about it.
So, they created a winery that invites you to do more than just taste the Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Sauvignon Blanc. You’re invited to share the experiences and connect with the people who make it happen. You’re invited to join our wine club, where you can enjoy catered dinners, special offers and other events. You’re invited to enjoy small, personal wine tours where you can taste wine still aging in the barrel. Come at the right time and you might be invited to pick grapes in the fields or roll up your sleeves and crush grapes to make wine.
When you experience these things for yourself, you’ll understand what inspired Lorin and Dan to uncork their ambitions and launch AvinoDos, or “wine from two.” Maybe you’ll even catch the entrepreneurial spirit. Hopefully you’ll gain a greater appreciation for wine – and make a few new friends.
Read the rest of the AVinoDos story.
Our wines set us apart. Our people move us forward.
Gustavo Brambila, a lifelong winemaker who’s made his mark on Napa Valley
Gustavo Brambila grew up in California’s Napa Valley wine region, surrounded by the people who helped shape the region’s wine culture. He is the son of a migrant vineyard worker who settled in Rutherford, Calif., the heart of wine country. Being surrounded by the climate, the fruit and the people who labored to produce wine made a profound impression on Gustavo. He went on to become one of the first Latino graduates from the oenology program at University of California, Davis, earning his degree in fermentation sciences.
Gustavo spent about a year working at Chateau Montelena, one of the wineries that shocked the world in the 1976 “Judgment of Paris,” the competition that trumpeted the arrival of California wines on the world stage. The story of Chateau Montelena’s Chardonnay inspired the 2008 film “Bottle Shock,” in which Gustavo Brambila was portrayed by Freddy Rodriguez. While the film took some creative license, it accurately captured Gustavo’s passion and dedication to winemaking.
After his tenure at Chateau Montelena, Gustavo joined Mike Grgich when Grgich Hills Cellars opened in 1977. There, Gustavo made wines for more than 20 years. Since 1996, Gustavo has produced wine under his own label, Gustavo Wines, and his career now stretches to nearly 40 vintages. In 2012, Gustavo began making wine for AvinoDos, a winery co-founded by his son Lorin. Today Gustavo continues to make wines inspired by old world techniques while maintaining his dedication to small vineyards and the highest-quality fruit.
Our Winemaker
Dan Dexter
Dan Dexter, an entrepreneur who found a connection to wine through his Midwestern roots
Dan Dexter grew up amid 400 acres of grain fields farmed by four generations of Dexters in Toulon, Ill. Yes, he was born in a small town, thank you, John Mellencamp. (For the record, Dan did not grow up in a little pink house.)
He did grow up in a family where farming isn’t just a career, but a way of life. A family that values hard work and doing what’s right – values that Dan still carries today. Growing up on a farm also planted the seeds for Dan to one day “be his own boss.”
Early in his career, Dan traded the family farm for a cubicle farm, working in Chicago in healthcare finance. In 2003, Dan married his college sweetheart, Julie. As they traveled the world and their circle of friends expanded, so did their appreciation for the wines they sampled from France, Italy, Spain and, of course, California.
In 2007, Dan and Julie left Chicago for jobs in California. There, while working for a biotech company, Dan met Lorin Brambila. The two men became fast friends, finding common ground over their shared agricultural background, their mutual interest in wine, and their entrepreneurial drive. Lorin, who was involved in winemaking through his father, Gustavo, eventually invited Dan to help with a grape harvest. That first experience felt invitingly familiar to Dan, and it reignited his connection to agriculture.
As the friendship grew, Dan and Lorin began sharing a vision of producing wine, and AvinoDos was born. Dan has helped shape the company around those same Midwestern values that surrounded him while growing up. Values of hard work, honesty, and commitment that drive an outcome of excellence.
Dan has made countless friends from talking one-on-one with other winemakers, particularly at small, family-owned wineries. He continues to be inspired by the many winemakers he’s met who accepted the challenge to venture out on their own. And he’s grateful for the many people who’ve shared a bottle of wine with him along the way.
Dan wants to grow AvinoDos in a way that enables customers to feel that same kinship. He wants his customers to feel as welcome as other winemakers have made him feel.
Lorin Brambila, the son of a winemaker who’s comfortable establishing his own style
Lorin Brambila grew up around vineyards and wineries. Through his teens and into adulthood, he helped his father, Gustavo Brambila, with harvesting, crushing and any other winemaking responsibilities that needed to be done. Bottling wine was as familiar to Lorin as baseball practice and cutting grass. Being actively involved in the wine business created closeness to his family, and it instilled within Lorin a desire to carry on the family legacy.
Lorin attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, where he received a degree in business with an emphasis on agriculture and a minor in viticulture. Though he studied business, Lorin constantly applied his education to his first love, the craft of winemaking. His finance career introduced Lorin to Dan Dexter. The two men quickly discovered they shared a background in agriculture and a mutual interest in wine, which cultivated an enduring friendship.
As a youngster, Lorin always thought his father made the best wines. But his father taught him proper appreciation for wine. The most important lesson Lorin learned is that everyone has their own style and their own preferences for wine. This lesson opened Lorin’s mind – and it gave him a greater appreciation for wine, particularly the Napa Valley wines produced in the region where he grew up.
It also made him realize he, like anyone, could have his own style in terms of the wines he likes and the wines he makes. That lesson continues to guide both him and Dan as they build AvinoDos.
Lorin Brambila
