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Rob Sinskey, Daydream Believer, Vintner
Rob Sinskey believes that the goals of making luxuriously elegant wines and farming with earth friendly methods are not mutually exclusive. Rather, he has found that caring for the land and conscientious business practices have helped define the well-crafted wines of RSVnapa. Rob and winemaker, Jeff Virnig have adopted methods that not only produce wines of individuality, but leave a minimal footprint on the land.
A native Californian, born in Los Angeles, raised on the Central Coast in the little town of Cambria, Rob has lived in Napa and San Francisco for the past 30+ years. Rob followed many breadcrumbs on his indirect path to today – a stint as a Future Farmer, a wanna-be Chef and even an appreciator of the seductive qualities of wine. These were all part of his youth but, in his teens and early twenties, he thought he would become a photojournalist and received a degree from Parson’s School of Design in NYC.
His life in wine began when a six-month assignment assisting his father turned into a thirty-plus year obsession. “After a stint in advertising, I was looking for something real where I could, excuse the pun, put down roots. Then, my father called for help. His avocation in wine growing had developed into a fledgling business and he needed assistance. I think a week had passed before I discovered that his avocation had become my obsession.”
Rob has grown his organic, biodynamic, and regenerative winegrowing operation with a philosophy that “Wine is not an athletic event.” The goal is to make “pure wines of character that pair well with cuisine.” Rob believes that wine should not be a “quick study,” but rather seduce you as the wine opens in the glass and bottle.
Rob Sinskey can be contacted at rsv@robertsinskey.com.
Maria Helm Sinskey, Chief Cook & Bottle Washer
Maria Helm Sinskey has been surrounded by food and wine for most of her life. Raised in Upstate New York, her large family embraced a life of food and wine. “After spending my childhood weekends watching my father’s forays into gourmet cooking,” she recalls, ” I became fascinated with the art and joy that comes from creating a meal. Wine served at the table seemed mystical to my young senses.”
A student exchange trip to France in her senior year of High School opened her eyes to a whole new world of food, wine and the art of dining. This one experience planted the seed that would eventually grow and blossom. A career in advertising and media buying seemed to be on track after her graduation from Union College in 1983, but fate dealt a different hand. “I had applied to Law School and was on the cusp of attending when my father proposed culinary school instead.” She knew at that point that her heart was in the kitchen not behind a desk. Food and wine had shadowed her entire life and it was about to take center stage.
Maria graduated from the California Culinary Academy and Conditerie Tivoli Pastry School in Denmark in April of 1988. After graduation she worked in several highly acclaimed Bay Area restaurants. During this time she cooked in the French Michelin starred kitchens of George Blanc, Paul Bocuse, Mark Meneau and Emile Jung. In 1995 she took over the reins at PlumpJack and Balboa Cafes in San Francisco and PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn. Her partnership with Bill Getty and Gavin Newsom flourished as together they expanded the PlumpJack Restaurant Group empire. In 1996, she was selected as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs, San Francisco Magazine’s Rising Star Chef and San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 5 Rising Star chefs. It was a year that planted her firmly in the national spotlight.
In 1997, Maria married vintner Rob Sinskey of Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa, California. She left PlumpJack in the summer of 1999 soon after the birth of their first daughter. It was then she assumed the role of Culinary Director in charge Food and Wine Programs at their winery. Their second daughter was born in 2000.
Maria has appeared as a guest chef on many TV shows. Cooking with Bobby Flay, Ina Garten and Harry Smith of CBS’s The Early Show are highlights. She continues to write for Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, Bon Appetit and has penned 2 cookbooks, The Vineyard Kitchen (Harper Collins 2003) and Family Meals (Oxmoor House 2009).
Maria Helm Sinskey can be contacted at rsv@robertsinskey.com.
Jeff Virnig, WineCrafter
Jeff graduated in 1984 from Cal Poly with a BS in agriculture business management. From there he attended the school of hard knocks, gaining valuable hands-on viticultural experience working amongst vines at the Mayacamas vineyard and winery. In 1988, he joined RSV as an assistant winemaker and became one of the youngest winemakers in Napa Valley when he was promoted to winemaker in 1991.
He has been integral in all aspects of RSV including developing most of RSV’s vineyards. His emphasis has been on improving wine quality by helping the vine achieve a natural balance through soil building with organic regenerative farm methodology. Jeff picks and keeps the various ranch blocks separate during fermentation so they may be evaluated for their unique, subtle attributes. The separate lots allow flexibility in that Jeff can apply different fermentation techniques to each lot to accentuate that lot’s individual character. His attention to detail has greatly contributed to the quality and consistency of RSV wines.
Jeff Virnig can be contacted at jeff@robertsinskey.com.
Kari Flores, Farming Operations Manager
Kari Flores is the Farming Operations Manager for Robert Sinskey Vineyards, where she has worked in various capacities for over 6 years. Kari has a strong commitment to organic agriculture, and has been farming organically (and Biodynamically) for 20 years. She knows the importance of sustainable and regenerative farming practices that promote soil health and are both economically viable and environmentally sound.
Kari holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Horticulture and Agronomy from the University of California, Davis. At RSV, Kari manages all aspects of farming wine grapes, fruit trees, olive orchards, bee yards, and sheep.
When she’s not roaming around RSV’s vineyard, pastures, and orchards, Kari can be found tending to her own small farm, which includes a small herd of Olde English Southdown sheep, Great Pyrenees dogs, a flock of chickens, and a Merlot vineyard.
Kari Flores can be contacted at nitty-gritty@robertsinskey.com.
Phil Abram, General Manager
A Buffalo (NY) Boy, Phil was raised in a land where a perfect Food and Beverage pairing meant spicy chicken wings and cold, Canadian beer. Wine, except for the occasional holiday box of Chardonnay, was as foreign a concept as a moderate winter.
Leaving the comforts of home, Phil made his way across New York State to graduate from Syracuse University with degrees in Finance and Supply Chain Management. If you had told him then that the Hospitality Industry would be where he would apply those trades, his reaction would have sounded something like sarcastic laughter followed by a “keep dreaming” rebut.
Keep dreaming, he did. Upon arriving in New York City to pursue a career in the Stock Market, he was exposed to a new world of food culture and, with a sweetheart to impress, his interests were drawn in a different direction. The hook was set when he landed a moonlight, barback job with AvroKO Hospitality Group. He spent a year working up the ranks of almost every post in the restaurant with the aim of becoming a Chef until a glass of Sancerre turned wine curiosity into a new obsession.
Phil then trained with the Court of Master Sommeliers at the International Culinary Center by day and worked as a Floor Sommelier by night, tasting everything he could get in a glass. When Napa Valley called his name, the opportunity for a terroir believer to live at the epicenter of California wine was too much to pass up. He spent five years in the downtown Napa restaurant scene as General Manager and Beverage Director of two restaurants before a chance meeting with Rob Sinskey opened the door for him to join the RSV squad with a mission to spread the gospel of guilt-free hedonism.
Tiffany Barber, Wine Temptress
“There’s always great wine coming out of the cellar and wonderful aromas wafting from the Vineyard Kitchen. It’s the perfect place to work—a winery that brings wine, food and good living experiences together.”
Tiffany began her love affair with wine as many people do, by way of white zinfandel… she was eight years old. Her parents let her have a tiny glass of wine at holidays and special occasions. Luckily, her mother’s palate soon began to gravitate toward Sancerre and Côtes du Rhône. After a brief, painful regression with Boone’s Farm during her freshman year in college at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Tiffany soon realized that Strawberry Hill did not pair well with food and resulted in a wicked hangover.
Tiffany’s true epiphany with wine & food occurred during a semester abroad in Florence, Italy. She dined in local trattorias drinking Antinori Tignanello back when the exchange rate made it affordable, and she spent her free time roaming the Mercato Centrale, fascinated by the butcher shops, handmade pasta, and local, seasonal produce. “I’d never seen a baby artichoke, and I remember peeling an orange during my first week. It was the most beautiful red I’d ever seen, but I thought there was something wrong with it because it wasn’t orange—so I threw it away.” She doesn’t throw away blood oranges any more.
After graduating with a degree in Cultural Anthropology, she headed to Providence, RI, and put herself through culinary school while waiting tables at Al Forno. “I knew I didn’t want to be a chef, but I wanted to do something with food and wine. I was hoping that culinary school would help me find that focus.” Next, she moved to San Francisco and soon landed in Napa where she found the place she had been looking for—RSV.
Demi & Nico, Wilding Farm Guardians
Introducing two Central Asian Shepherds, Demetrius (Demi) and Nicolai (Nico), to our menagerie. They will grow to between 100 and 150 lbs and will work together to fend off any known predator… a necessity after losing 7 head of sheep on Wilding Farm to mountain lions! Their funny-looking cropped ears and tail are practical in that their adversary has less to grab in a scuffle, but hopefully, their presence alone will avoid conflict. Central Asian Shepherds have evolved to compensate for their cropped ears with thick, wiry hair protecting their ear canals. The loose skin around their neck allows them to move and counter even when something has latched on. They are formidable yet lovable creatures that, from our point of view, are the best solution to a natural problem.
Bob Sinskey, Founder
08/10/24 – 06/21/15
Bob Sinskey had a simple idea. Starting in the mid-sixties, he began to theorize that the American diet would soon be changing. He foresaw the move away from saturated fats and the integration of international ingredients into American cuisine. And with that change would come a desire for lighter-bodied red wines…and thus his passion for Pinot Noir was born.
In the late seventies, anticipating retirement from medicine, Bob decided that he would become a grape grower and embarked on a journey to find that “perfect” Pinot land. The Napa side of Carneros became the center of his attention as he purchased a small fifteen acre farm on Las Amigas Road. There he met the founders of the Acacia Winery and, since they were looking to expand their vineyard designated wine program, Bob became a limited partner in the Acacia project. The Acacia alliance seemed perfect: Bob just wanted to grow grapes and Acacia wanted to buy them. So Bob bought more land. By 1985, he had 115 acres entering production when Acacia stumbled and sold to the Chalone group. With no home for his grapes, Bob hired one of the ex- Acacia winemakers and went into the business of making wine. But he hadn’t yet retired from medicine. During the time he was developing his vineyard land, an invention of his went big-time. He created what is now known as the “Sinskey modified J loop intra-ocular lens.” His new design for an artificial human lens revolutionized cataract eye surgery. Suddenly, artificial lens implantation went from being experimental to status-quo and Bob became a teacher, lecturer, and a much in-demand surgeon. Needless to say, he was not going to retire anytime soon.
The doors to the winery opened in 1988 and Bob convinced his son to take over the management of the winery while he continued to oversee the vineyards and to tend his thriving medical practice. It wasn’t until 1996 that the reins to the vineyards were handed over to Rob as well.
Bob Sinskey officially retired from medicine in 2000. He passed away in June 2015. He is greatly missed.
The Inside Track
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