Winemaker Interview Series – David Natali – Robert Biale Vineyards – March 2026

On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, we interviewed David Natali. David is the Winemaker at Robert Biale Vineyards. We covered six single-vineyard Zinfandels from the 2023 vintage. Next, we covered two 2023 Petite Sirah wines. It was another great tasting! In this post, you can learn what we learned about David and the history of the winery and read our reviews of all of these terrific wines.

Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits that David shared in the interview.

• Tell us a little bit about the history of Robert Biale Vineyards?
  • The farm been in the family since the 1920’s and early 1930’s. It is still family run today.
    • It is in the Oak Knoll district, which is the cooler southern part of Napa Valley.
    • Aldo Biale and his mother Christina maintained the farming growing walnuts, prunes, Zinfandel, and other fruits and vegetables and were also raising a hundred chickens after the death of his father. Aldo was only 13.
    • Aldo needed to supplement the ranch income, just like his father had done. So, Aldo learned to make Zinfandel wine in the barn from his Uncle Angelo. He sold his jugs of Zin to friends and neighbors on the “down low.” It was so good, the orders kept coming in.
    • While prunes were the cash crop. Selling jugs of “Black Chicken” Zinfandel saved the ranch. To keep the operation underground, the customers called it “Gallo Nero” which translates to “Black Rooster” or “Black Chicken.”
    • Only a small portion of Aldo’s grapes were made into his Zinfandel. Most of the grapes were sold to St. Helena’s Cooperative Winery, where they were processed into wine. A lot of them were in the good quality Gallo “Hearty Burgundy” wine.
    • Aldo sold the “Gallo Nero” jug wine for 20 to 30 years.
    • In 1989, Aldo’s son Bob was drawn back to the farm and he decided to pursued a career in winemaking.
      • Bob worked as a harvest intern at Beringer, which later became a 10-year cellar position.
      • In 1991, they legally formed Robert Biale Vineyards with Dave Pramuk, Al Perry, and his father, Aldo Biale. They then formally started selling Aldo’s Zinfandel legally for the first time.
      • The first year of the new “Black Chicken” Zinfandel was in 1999.
    • In 2005 they completed the current winery building on site.
    • Today, most of their grapes are sourced from heritage sites.
      • They purchase 80% of their fruit.
      • 20% come from Aldo’s Estate Vineyard.
      • Everything is hand harvested and hand sorted.
• Tell us about David Natali and your background and how you made it to the Robert Biale Vineyards?
  • David is a Long Island New York native.
  • David graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.
  • He developed a passion for winemaking after bottling at a friend’s small winery.
  • Intrigued, in 2004 he applied for a cellar hand position at Clos Pegase and was there for 7 years.
  • David left there to pursue a master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology from University of Montpellier in France.
  • After spending 2.5 years in the Languedoc region of France and northern Italy, David returned to California to become the Assistant Winemaker for La Rochelle Winery in Kenwood, CA. While there he produced small-lot and single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
  • In 2018 David arrived at Robert Biale as Assistant Winemaker. He had many roles and became Head Winemaker in 2021-2022.
• So, tell us about these wines which come from the 2023 vintage?
  • 2023 was a big vintage. Late rain helped add to the clusters.
  • You could pick when you wanted.
• Tell us about the wines you make?
  • We make a lot of Zinfandel. 17 different offerings.
    • Zinfandel has thin skin.
    • Zinfandel grows in large clusters, even on the old vines.
    • Zinfandel is not the most tannins of wines.
    • They prefer to punch down vs. pump over.
  • We also make Petite Sirah
    • Back in the day, Petite Sirah was one of the largest valley floor fruits. Today it is only 3%.
    • Tidbit – Petite Sirah is thicker skinned, so it is picked a little later than Zinfandel but earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon.
  • They use 14 different barrel makers for their wines.
• Tell us about the Appellations and Heritage Vineyards you use?
  • Morisoli Vineyard in Rutherford.
    • He kept calling for grapes. He finally got some. 2020 was the first vintage.
    • The 1985 block is their source in the vineyard.
  • Pagani Ranch in Sonoma Valley.
    • They have been making a Zin from here since about 2010.
    • The ranch is mostly dry farmed and 15% of the grapes are mixed blacks.
  • R.W. Moore Vineyard in Coombsville.
    • This is the oldest vineyard in Coombsville. It was planted in 1905.
    • Coombsville is much cooler than Oakville. Many Cab producers are moving there.
    • Many cuttings from this vineyard are used by others.
  • Heminway Vineyard in Napa Valley.
    • Named after Jay Hemingway, the founder of Green & Red Vineyard.
    • They have purchased fruit from here since 2009.
    • This vineyard is located on the top of the Vaca Mountains in northeastern Napa Valley, between the southern end of Howell Mountain and just north of Pritchard Hill.
    • Their section is called Tip Top Vineyard. It is a terraced part of the vineyard.
  • Monte Rosso Vineyard on Moon Mountain.
    • This vineyard was originally planted in the 1880’s.
    • There is over 200 acres planted.
    • They are happy with Gallo’s management since they bought it.
    • They have been buying fruit here since 1995.
    • Biale is likely their longest continuous buyer.
  • Stagecoach Vineyard in Napa Valley.
    • They have been buying fruit here since 2015.
    • There is over 600 acres planted. It is a giant vineyard. It is so rocky.
    • There is only 2 acres of Zinfandel planted in the vineyard and they are the only Zin producer making wine from this vineyard.
  • Palisades Vineyard in Calistoga.
    • Palisades shows off the delicate aspect of Petite Sirah.
    • It is also a source for Carlisle, Bedrock, & Joel at Once & Future.

Below is a summary of the wine offerings from the Robert Biale Vineyards that we covered with David. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Robert Biale Vineyards website.

1) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Morisoli Vineyard” (Rutherford) 100% $72 (KWGTP 95)
2) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Pagani Ranch” (Sonoma Valley) $65 (KWGTP 94.5)
3) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “R.W. Moore Vineyard” (Coombsville) $65 (KWGTP 94.5)
4) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Heminway Vineyard” (Napa Valley) $62 (KWGTP 95)
5) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Monte Rosso Vineyard” (Moon Mountain) $88 (KWGTP 95)
6) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Stagecoach Vineyard” (Napa Valley) $70 (KWGTP 93.5)
7) Robert Biale 2023 Petite Sirah “Palisades Vineyard” (Calistoga) $68 (KWGTP 95)
8) Robert Biale 2022 Petite Sirah “E.B.A” (Extended Barrel Aged) (Napa) $90 (KWGTP 94.5)

Additional Dry Creek Vineyard Wines Covered In Other Tastings
9) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Black Chicken” (Napa Valley) $55 (KWGTP 94)
10) Robert Biale 2023 Zinfandel “Party Line” (California) $28 (KWGTP 92)

You can find reviews of past and future Robert Biale wines that we cover on the Robert Biale KWG winery page on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! – Ken