Wine Chronicles: Mercato del Gusto — A Question Built as an Answer
By Tim Carl, with contributions from Dan Berger
Article Thumbnail: V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena has unveiled Mercato del Gusto (Italian for “Taste of the Market”), an 8,000-square-foot expansion with an upscale deli, sweeping cheese wall and seated tastings. The debut comes as Napa faces flat tourism, declining wine consumption and a surge of fast-casual markets and cafés. Yet V. Sattui stands apart: its rare dual zoning makes it one of the only wineries in Napa County where food and wine can legally be served together at this scale. Whether that advantage can define success at the level V. Sattui seeks in today’s changing valley is the question Mercato del Gusto puts on the table.
ST. HELENA, Calif. — For nearly 50 years, V. Sattui Winery has been one of Napa Valley’s busiest destinations. Its new marketplace, Mercato del Gusto, has been built as an answer — a way to double down on food, wine and hospitality. But in many ways it asks the harder question of what Napa Valley’s future will look like as wine consumption falls and tourism shifts.
Now, nearing completion of its first major renovation in five decades, the winery has opened Mercato del Gusto — an 8,000-square-foot marketplace and deli that doubles down on the same formula: wine plus food, scaled up but still accessible.
It’s a bold move. Tourism numbers in Napa Valley have largely leveled off. U.S. wine consumption is in decline. Discretionary income is tighter than at any point in recent memory, and the valley is now full of bakeries, delis and eateries competing for attention. Yet Sattui and his longtime business partner Tom Davies say the bet is about controlling what they can.
“We can’t control county regulations or global wine demand,” Davies said. “But we can control hospitality, our offerings, the quality of the wines and the overall experience. That’s what Mercato is about — over-executing on what we can do well.”
From VW Bus to Mercato
The new Mercato del Gusto is sleek, bright and expansive, with vaulted ceilings, stone walls and wood floors. Visitors move through rows of cheeses, charcuterie, antipasti, desserts, prepared foods, olive oils, honey, cutting boards and other specialty items.
The deli menu is overseen by chef Jeffrey Lloyd, a Culinary Institute of America graduate who worked at Aqua and Olives, helped launch Michael Mina’s San Francisco restaurant and spent 15 years as executive chef at Café La Haye in Sonoma. At Mercato, he brings pastas, sandwiches and seasonal dishes that complement the winery’s wines. On weekends, a V. Sattui food truck outside adds made-to-order barbecue and grilled favorites.
Four tasting bars frame the space, including a round bar with 24 seats topped by a dramatic chandelier-like rack holding 35 cases of wine. All tastings are seated, and a wines-by-the-glass program has been added, with pours priced from $14 to $36. Guests can still order food to take outside to the shaded picnic grounds. Tastings start at $45 though the winery continues to offer free flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
According to Davies, the changes may be new but the roots reach back to the 1970s. In those years, Dario Sattui sold sandwiches from a $200 used deli case, poured free tastings and tallied sales in a wooden box. He slept in his van, showered with a winery hose and scraped by until the idea of offering wine with casual picnic-style food on-site — unheard of in Napa Valley at the time — began drawing crowds.
The site was fortunate — or shrewdly chosen — for having dual zoning: part of the property is Commercial Limited, allowing food service and events, while part remains under agricultural zoning. That rare arrangement has let Sattui legally host weddings, serve food and expand retail space in ways most Napa wineries cannot. By the 1980s, the picnic grounds were buzzing. By the 1990s, the winery had added weddings and one of Napa’s earliest wine clubs. Today, with more than 50 wines produced exclusively for direct-to-consumer sales, V. Sattui is among the region’s most successful independent wineries.
The path to the Mercato expansion was not simple. The winery secured a permit nearly 10 years ago to expand the original 1,500-square-foot deli, but the project was delayed by the challenge of staying open during construction, then pushed back again by wildfires and the pandemic. The building was finally stripped to its studs in May 2024, underpinned with a new foundation, and extended by 28 feet with a clerestory roof that floods the space with light.
Sit on the Grass
According to Davies, many of Napa’s early tasting rooms greeted guests with signs telling them where they couldn’t go. “Stay off the grass” was the standard message. Dario Sattui flipped that. His grounds invited people to spread out blankets, share bottles and spend the day.
That philosophy — openness, accessibility and inclusion — is still what Davies says sets V. Sattui apart.
“So much of the valley has become exclusive — little private tastings behind closed doors,” he said. “That has its place. But we want to get back to what created loyal, happy wine drinkers in the first place: accessibility, authenticity and conversation.”
The lawn, lined with picnic tables, remains the winery’s heart. It’s where the Mercato’s food finds its purpose and where wine is meant to be shared.
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Expanding the Experience
The renovation wasn’t just about space — it was about depth. To build credibility around cheese, Davies recruited James Ayers, a cheesemonger with more than two decades at Sunshine Market, after a nudge from cheese expert Janet Fletcher. With Ayers leading the program, Mercato del Gusto already offers hundreds of selections from around the world, with plans for tastings and classes aimed at drawing both visitors and locals to the Mercato. The centerpiece is a 26-foot refrigerated cheese wall and an in-house salumeria that underscore how central food has become to the experience. Last month alone the team offered 256 different cheeses from around the globe, according to Davies.
Cheese may be one of the draws, but wine remains the focus. To widen the circle of who can participate, V. Sattui recently launched its first non-alcoholic bottling, a gewürztraminer crafted by winemaker Audrie Walsh. After tasting through commercial non-alcoholic wines that Davies called “the worst lineup we’d ever tasted,” the team decided to focus on an aromatic grape to preserve flavor after the alcohol was removed.
“It never dawned on me before, but there are people who can’t or don’t drink — for health reasons, pregnancy or personal choice,” Davies said. “This way, they still feel part of the experience. It even pairs well with cheese and salami.”
For Davies, these additions are part of going beyond just “checking all the boxes” — experimenting with natural and skin-contact wines, adding wines by the glass, pairing them with small plates, offering free tastings and rethinking the deli.
“If someone tastes the wine, they typically buy,” he said. “The goal is to get more people tasting again.”
Visitors Take Notice
On a recent visit, the tasting bars at V. Sattui were humming with activity — staff pouring flights, guests lining up at the deli and others drifting toward the picnic grounds. The effect was a true hybrid: part deli, part tasting room.
Among the visitors was a German couple, Leutgart and Karl-Heinz “Charlie” Heid, hosted by their family friends Kenny and Isabell Kirk, who both work at Encore Glass in Fairfield. Although the Heids drink wine, neither Kenny nor Isabell does. That didn’t stop Isabell from finding a winery that would work for everyone.
“I went online and looked specifically for a place in the Napa Valley that had non-alcoholic wine,” Isabell Kirk said. “I even chatted on their site with someone named Stephanie who was excellent and answered my questions. Then a friend in St. Helena told us this was the number one place to go. That’s when we knew this was the winery for us — our guests only had time to visit one winery on this trip.”
The group spent the afternoon tasting and shopping. They bought olive oil, honey, cutting boards, wine, non-alcoholic wine and grape juice, and shared food from the deli.
My own lunch — a turkey panini ($13.50) pressed warm with generous portions of meat, two deviled eggs (one topped with smoked salmon, $2.75, and one plain, $1.25) and a small cup of potato salad ($15 a pound) — underscored the mix of strengths and weaknesses. The sandwich and eggs were well made and satisfying. The potato salad was not.
At the cheese counter, the scale was unmistakable: a 26-foot wall of refrigerated cases filled with selections from around the world. For some, it was dazzling. For others, daunting. One guest told me it was “fun but a little overwhelming” to confront so many options, even with an expert behind the counter.
Hospitality as Strategy
Much of the design is meant to break down barriers. Inside, shared counters and stools replace private tasting rooms, encouraging conversation between guests and staff. Outside, the picnic lawn remains open and welcoming to both kids and dogs.
Davies said he is exploring a system that would let valley residents bypass the concierge desk and enter the marketplace directly — a way to welcome back locals who may have stayed away when the winery grew too crowded.
“We’ve always believed in engaging our guests as much as possible,” he said. “If we’re crushing grapes, they can be right there watching. If we’re bottling, we let them see it. Where others put up ropes, we’ve tried to invite people in.”
Standing Apart in a Crowded Market
Sattui’s expansion doesn’t arrive in isolation. Across Napa Valley, a surge of fast-casual eateries, bakeries and cafés has reshaped the landscape — from Oakville Grocery, a stalwart less than five miles south, to Understudy, a café directly across the street. New restaurants in Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga, many tied to luxury resorts, have opened or are preparing to open, each aiming to keep guests fully satisfied on-site.
How does V. Sattui compete?
“We’re not like other deli and marketplaces in the valley — unlike us, they don’t make wine,” Davies said. “And here in the Napa Valley it’s still all about the wines — made by people you can meet, on property where the grapes are crushed. Food matters, but wine is the anchor.”
The Train Stops Here
Another part of the strategy has been partnerships. The Napa Valley Wine Train’s Legacy Tour now stops at only select wineries: Charles Krug and V. Sattui. Each day, a group of 52 guests disembarks for seated tastings before moving into the Mercato. Davies said it has become an important way to introduce new visitors to the property, blending history with the food-and-wine model they’ve refined over decades.
A Legacy of Philanthropy and Controversy
Dario Sattui has long been both celebrated and criticized in Napa Valley. His generosity is widely recognized: more than $1 million to Calistoga schools, major gifts to the Boys & Girls Club, conservation easements protecting hundreds of acres and multimillion-dollar contributions to medical research. Castello di Amorosa, the medieval-style castle he built in Calistoga, has become one of the region’s top tourist attractions.
At the same time his ventures have drawn scrutiny. Castello di Amorosa has been cited for permit and fire code violations. Environmental groups have challenged his reliance on wells. Additionally his businesses have been named in labor lawsuits, including class actions over alleged labor code violations at his Napa wineries. Sattui has also stirred local tension with blunt comments on firefighter pay and vineyard rules, drawing criticism from parts of the community.
At 84 he remains both a major philanthropist and a controversial figure — celebrated for contributions but often at odds with regulators and neighbors over his business practices and public stance.
History and Legacy
The renovation marks another milestone in a story rooted in risk. In 1975, Dario Sattui opened his winery on land with rare commercial zoning, which allowed him to serve food alongside wine — an uncommon concept in a valley with few dining options at the time. He lived frugally, sometimes sleeping at the winery itself, until the model gained traction.
In 1980, Tom Davies, having fallen in love with wine while traveling in Europe, arrived in Napa with a business degree from Chico State, sleeping in a tent at Bothe campground while looking for work. On his first day, he knocked on Sattui’s door. That night they played a game of ping pong, and Davies walked away with a $5-an-hour job. Forty-six harvests later, he is the winery’s president and managing partner.
Davies credits Sattui’s instincts — the picnics, the deli, the castle — as examples of ideas that seemed improbable at the time but proved wildly successful.
“Dario has always had that Midas touch,” he said. “There wasn’t a playbook. He just believed in putting out a blanket with salami, cheese and a bottle of wine — and it worked.”
Looking Forward
Napa Valley is changing. Luxury resorts now design experiences to keep visitors on property. Younger generations are drinking less and looking for alternatives. Tourism growth has flattened after decades of expansion. Tastings that once free or cost $5 now often run $100, $200 or even $300, reshaping who visits and how long they stay.
Davies insists the answer is not to close doors, but to open them wider.
“We have to take responsibility, innovate and make wine part of people’s lives again,” he said.
For V. Sattui, the path forward is more than food. It’s shared seating, non-alcoholic options, an expanded cheese program and tastings that remain within reach. The aim is to create a setting where visitors and locals alike feel part of the winemaking process rather than kept behind ropes.
As the winery marks its 50th vintage in 2025, the gamble is clear: evolve while preserving the accessibility that defined its rise. Mercato del Gusto may have been built as an answer, but it ultimately asks the question — can openness, affordability and a mix of wine, food and community still anchor success in a valley in flux?
“We’ve always believed that if we get people here to experience what we offer and taste our wine, they’ll buy and enjoy our wines at home,” Davies said. “That’s still the name of the game.”
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Tim Carl is a Napa Valley-based photojournalist.
Dan Berger has been writing about wine since 1975.
Wine Discovery:
2023 V. Sattui Dry Riesling, Mount Veeder ($34) – It is extremely unlikely that this mountain region in Napa Valley has any riesling growing in it because it is so perfect for cabernet, but Sattui’s winemaker, Jason Moravec, was intrigued by what this special vineyard does with riesling. There is a hint of TDN (petrol) in the nose, along with lemon peel, lime and exotic chamomile tea notes. From the Sattui website: “Our 2023 Mt. Veeder Dry Riesling was produced from a single vineyard block located on our estate property, Hibbard Ranch. While part of the estate falls within the Los Carneros AVA, a small portion of our upper blocks is located in the distinct sub-appellation of Mt. Veeder, which lies above the fog line. The rugged mountain elevations feature complex, Marine Franciscan Formation soils, including metamorphosed marine sediments such as Haire loam, Cole silt loam, Fagan clay loam, and Felton gravelly loam, with small amounts of more recent Sonoma volcanic soils. The cool climate of the Mount Veeder appellation, overlooking the San Pablo Bay, allows the fruit to mature slowly, developing incredibly rich, concentrated flavors through the extended hang-time of the grapes. The wine does not seem to be completely dry, and 13.5% alcohol surely adds to the richness. But the balancing acidity is absolutely wonderful. — Dan Berger
2024 Non-Alcoholic Gewürztraminer ($25) — Though not made or grown in Napa — it’s produced at BevZero in Sonoma — this alcohol-free white is sourced from Anderson Valley, where Pacific air fosters slow ripening and firm acidity. Spinning cone technology preserves gewürztraminer’s hallmark aromatics: rose petal, lychee, ginger and Turkish delight, with supporting notes of pineapple and melon. On the palate, orange oil and peach lead to a crisp, refreshing finish. Stainless steel–aged and under 0.5% alcohol, it’s a clean, textured pour. Pair with gorgonzola, khao soi or ginger sorbet. — Tim Carl
Today’s Polls:
This Week's Word Challenge Reveal:
The correct answer is B. “Soil effects on plant growth”
“Edaphic” (pronounced eh‑DAF‑ik) describes conditions or factors arising from the soil — its chemistry, texture, drainage, biological activity — that influence living organisms, especially plants. In viticulture, edaphic effects are central to terroir: How the soil nurtures vine roots, retains or drains water, supplies minerals and interacts with the root microbiome will shape vine vigor, berry composition and ultimately wine character.
The word edaphic is rooted in the Greek edaphos, meaning “ground, soil.” Its first recorded use in English appears around 1900 in a botanical or ecological glossary. Its broader scientific context is tied to edaphology, the branch of soil science that studies how soils influence living organisms (in contrast with pedology, which emphasizes soil formation, classification and morphology). Scientists commonly contrast edaphic vs climatic influences when teasing apart what in a vineyard is driven by soil versus climate.
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