As proprietors and partners of Calistoga’s VAULT, one of Napa Valley’s most unique wine-tasting venues, Trevor Mallett and Mario Sculatti feature wines from five of their best vintner friends in addition to their own brands within their Vault Portfolio, an innovative collection of wines made with grapes from the finest local vineyards. A combination of three labels, the Vault Portfolio includes Kanamota, Fowl Play, and Mallett, each showcasing Napa’s varied and unique terroir and nuances.
Each label is available to taste and purchase at VAULT, an innovative wine collective and antique gallery featuring leather Chesterfield sofas, club chairs, exotic carpets, captivating hand-blown glass lighting fixtures, and a solid copper bar. The space is filled with significant winemaking antiques, such as a 12-foot-tall Roman press, vintage corkscrews, and a historic riddling rack table. Its large modern garage-style doors open to a 1200 sq. foot patio framed by maple trees.
With a Sonoma State MBA, Trevor runs the business while Mario makes the wines. A fourth-generation Napan and winemaker, Mario follows in his family’s storied footsteps. His winemaking journey began as a child in his family’s old St. Helena vineyard, where cellar stories were shared around the dinner table. In the early 1930s, his great-grandfather Frank was a dedicated vineyardist of what is now Bill Harlan’s Napa Valley Reserve vineyard. His grandfather Gaetano served as ranch manager for Beringer Vineyards, planting vines within 750 virgin acres from Knights Valley to Yountville, and his father Ron joined Chateau Montelena as cellar assistant, where he played an integral role in helping to craft the legendary Judgment of Paris-winning 1973 Montelena Chardonnay. Ron also worked in the cellars of Charles Krug Winery and later Robert Mondavi Winery before Mario’s birth.
Having grown up witnessing, participating in, and appreciating his family’s rich winemaking heritage, Mario knew that his future was also in winemaking. To learn as much as possible, he sought out mentors and was most influenced by Denis Malbec, originally the cellar master of Chateau Latour. So great was Malbec’s guidance that to this day, Mario employs Chateau Latour winemaking protocols in his creations, and when confronted with a conundrum, he asks himself, “What would Denis do?”
With the invaluable lessons passed down by his family and mentors, Mario shares in his Sculatti family winemaking heritage by crafting exceptional wines that embody the essence of Napa. With every bottle produced within The Vault Portfolio, Mario pays homage to the generations of Sculattis before him, those whose dedication to the Napa Valley helped to make the revered wine region what it is today.
Vintners currently at Sculatti and Mallett’s VAULT:
- Kanamota
- Fowl Play
- Mallett Vineyards
- Hindsight Vineyards
- Bluford Wines Paraday Family
- Sarah Francis Wines
- Petrified Forest Vineyards
- Stringer Cellars
