Our Vision

To be the leading artisanal, family-owned and operated winery/winegrower in Russian River Valley, bolstering healthy relationships in our community, and producing the most sought-after wines and wine grapes for generations to come.

Our Mission

We strive to preserve our legacy and the nuances of each vintage and vineyard by growing grapes in an adaptable manner; fostering relationships that are honest, respectful, and collaborative; making rich, refined, and layered wines with minimal intervention; and by welcoming guests into our family with tranquil, unpretentious hospitality.

Helen & Charles Bacigalupi
Founders

photo courtesy of T Vine Winery

Charles and Helen moved to the small town of Healdsburg after graduating from school in San Francisco. Charles worked as the local dentist and Helen as a pharmacist. Always possessing a love of the land the couple decided to move onto Westside Rd in 1956, and purchased 121 acres in 1956. In a simple beginning, Charles began to care for the 16 acres of existing vineyards which included Zinfandel, Mission, Golden Chaslis and Muscat. Charles became friends with Paul Heck (of Korbel) through his dentist practice when Paul would bring the family in for regular check ups.

The two would occasionally chat about grapes and wine, sharing insight and advice. Envisioning the demand for premium wine grapes, Paul encouraged Charles to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. In 1964, Charles began his plantings with six acres of each varietal. Eventually he obtained Pinot Noir bud wood from Karl Wente, the first well documented plantings of Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. Charles remembers Wente telling him the stock had come from France via the family’s old vineyard in Livermore. Charles and his son, John worked alongside each other, perfecting their viticulture techniques and expanding the vineyards. The Bacigalupi’s gained recognition as growers during the 1976 Paris tasting when the 1973 Napa Valley Chardonnay from Château Montelena with Bacigalupi fruit triumphed over many acclaimed French wines to be declared the undisputed winner.

 John Bacigalupi
Owner and Vineyard Manager

John Bacigalupi was born with a love for the outdoors and the land.  Raised working side by side with his father, the late Charles Bacigalupi, he still tends the beloved vineyards his family has called home for more than 65 years.

The only child of founders Charles and Helen Bacigalupi, John would help his father in the vineyards during the long summers and school breaks. John did everything from tying vines to suckering, pruning, and fixing irrigation pipes.  He took classes in Chemistry and Biology at Santa Rose Junior College after graduating high school, but most of John’s knowledge of viticulture is self-taught, gleaned from his eagerness to read, trial and error, and persistence. He believes farming is less about bowing to nature and more about working with nature while reaping technology’s benefits.

 “As a farmer, I know that Mother Nature is unpredictable. For example, we can’t control the weather. We must be flexible. Sometimes it’s not always just about the numbers and readings. Farming requires adaptation to deal with the elements, and that can be tough.”

This pragmatic approach, as well as a lifetime spent developing an intimate knowledge of the micro-climates and soil structures on the Goddard, Bloom, and Frost Ranches, have allowed John to match the most appropriate varietals, clones, and rootstocks to each vineyard site.

An absolute perfectionist, John displays a strong desire to bring forth the highest quality fruit, and now the finest wines, that he possibly can.  To him, farming is not an occupation; it is a way of life.

Pam Bacigalupi
Owner

Born and raised in Santa Rosa, California Pam fondly remembers her childhood and growing up at Korbel.  At a young age Pam enjoyed spending time at the winery; whether it was wiping bottles and gluing cases at the bottling line or going with her father to check on the various vineyard activities. When she was old enough for a proper job she was employed on the automated champagne corking machine, checking that the corks were properly feed and occasionally working in the winery gift shop. Pam had a real interest in enology and thought of pursuing a career in winemaking, however during that time it was not popular for women to be involved in this type of career. Pam’s aptitude in science eventually led her into the field of nursing.

Pam would meet her future husband through her father: Paul Heck and his friendship with family dentist Charles Bacigalupi. Charles’s son John and Pam married and moved on to the ranch in Healdsburg in 1982. Today Pam assists with the managing of Bacigalupi Vineyards. She is the main contact for grape sales and even helps with the delivery of fruit during harvest.  Her additional job experience as an ER nurse for the past 32 years has proved to be very useful, especially in such an unpredictable field, like farming.

Katey Bacigalupi Row

Katey Bacigalupi Row is co-manager of Bacigalupi Vineyards, working alongside her parents and company owners John and Pamela Bacigalupi, and twin sister Nicole, in the daily operations of the family’s vineyard, wine brand, and retail tasting room.  Katey not only assists in the tasting room and with the wine club, but is often found managing finances assisting her mother, Pam.

Growing up to the hum of the tractor, Katey and her sister began working in the vineyards around age 12 doing quality control during harvest and driving the tractors hauling bins of freshly picked grapes to the trucks for loading. Katey remembers once dumping an entire half ton bin of grapes on the ground by accident.  Despite the mishap, she was destined to follow in her family’s farming footsteps.

A graduate of California Polytechnic State University with Bachelor of Arts in Agricultural Business, Katey began her wine career in 2006 working in events and hospitality at Seghesio Family Vineyards in Healdsburg.  In 2011, she felt the call of the vineyards once again, and quickly found herself on a plane to Margaret River, Australia.  Katey joined the team at McHenry-Honen Winery as a harvest intern and spent the vintage counting clusters, sugar sampling, managing fermentations and inoculations, and working in the lab.  Following harvest, she returned home to Bacigalupi Vineyards to join the family business.

Katey lives in Healdsburg, California, with her husband and two boys Aiden and Owen. She loves cooking and is a self-professed Pinot-file.  In her opinion, “Pinot Noir is the one wine I could not live without. To me, it is the perfect wine.  It’s light, fruity and literally pairs with almost any dish you can think of.  It just speaks to me.”

Nicole Bacigalupi Dericco

Nicole Bacigalupi Dericco is operations manager of Bacigalupi Vineyards, working alongside her parents and company owners John and Pamela Bacigalupi, and twin sister Katey, in the daily activites of the family’s vineyard, wine brand, and retail tasting room.  Growing up, Nicole was inspired by the hands-on efforts of her father and grandfather, the late Charles Bacigalupi, as they developed their Russian River Valley property from barren land with a few prune trees to the premium vineyard it is today.

A graduate of San Diego State University with a degree in business, Nicole also earned her Court of Master Sommelier certification in 2008.  She began her wine career at a small family winery in the Dry Creek Valley.  A year later she was offered a job at Silver Oak Cellars, working in tasting room sales, compliance, packaging, and shipping where she spent almost 4 years with the company.  In 2011, upon completion of the Bacigalupi Vineyards tasting room, Nicole joined the family business.  Today, she is a driving force behind the winery’s marketing efforts.

Nicole lives in Healdsburg, California, with her husband and two children Stella and Lucca. Keen on giving back to the wine community that has supported her family for four generations, Nicole also occasionally serves as a wine judge for several Sonoma County wine competitions.  She also served as a director on the board of Russian River Valley Winegrowers from 2011-2013. In her free time Nicole loves camping with her family, running and hiking and playing with her newly adopted puppies.

Nicole also start her own business organizing and hosts small group as well as corporate wine tastings  featuring Bacigalupi Vineyards wines. Send inquires via email about availability and pricing to nicole@bacigalupivineyards.com.