AvinoDos: a winery created by friends, for friends
Friendships form the foundation of AvinoDos, friendships that start over good wine. Our founder, Dan Dexter enjoys everything about wine, from working the earth to labeling bottles. But mostly he enjoys sharing wine with friends. That’s the fun part.
When he seized the entrepreneurial spirit of the West and launched AvinoDos, two things became immediately clear: First, he needed to make good wine that was true to the essence of Napa Valley. Second, he 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, he created a winery that invites you to do more than just taste the Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Zinfandel, Rosé, 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 Dan to uncork his 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.
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.
Victor Orozco
Victor Orozco, a Wine Master who has over 42 years as a Sommelier and Wine Educator
Victor Orozco is our Wine Master, dedicated to provide a first class wine service to our clients and friends with his warm, cheerful style, which is also truly educational.
From the moment he arrived in Miami from Colombia he got involved with wine and, very soon, became a sommelier, a profession he has been practicing since 1976.
He worked for several years at the famous restaurant “The Forge” in Miami Beach, at a time when French wines were, not just the most recognized, but usually served by European sommeliers at high-end establishments. The Forge restaurant, with an extensive list with vintages dating back to 1822, allowed him to acquire a wide knowledge on wines, especially the French.
In 1986, Victor hosted a Bordeaux tasting of 1961 First Growths, a vintage widely regarded as the best of the century. Jean-Michel Cazes, one of the guests at this event, president of the Commanderie de Bordeaux, personally offered to sponsor him to be an honorary member of this prestigious wine society the same year. In 1990 he moved to Dallas, Texas, where he worked for exclusive hotels and restaurants.
In 2004 he would be honored with a similar distinction as he became a member of the legendary Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in Burgundy. At that point in time he made the decision to pursue his lifetime dream: Living in a wine region, surrounded by vines, wines, and wonderful people in the wine industry.
Victor arrived in 2010 with his family to Napa Valley where he started working for different wineries while teaching about wine at Napa Valley College. As we met him some three years ago, we decided to make him part of our team in charge of our clients and club members private tastings. He’s been with Avinodos ever since.
