Like most wineries during the COVID shut down, Dakota Shy, located at the base of Pritchard Hill, pivoted. But their pivot entailed more than Zoom calls with wine club members. Instead, founder Todd Newman and winemaker Tom Garrett took to the open road, traversing 15,000 cross-country miles in a branded mobile home, visiting loyal clients and friends who welcomed the duo into their homes for wine-tasting meet and greets. Dubbed the ‘Shyway Tour,’ the excursion kept Newman and Garrett connected to fans during a trying time in the wine industry. “That pivot opened up such meaningful ways for us to engage with those who love our wines,” said the North Dakota-born and raised Newman, who plans to continue the in-home tastings though the winery tasting room is back to pre-Covid form.
That personal, hands-on approach is part of the Dakota Shy appeal, and when paired with the elegance of the wines (the flagship Napa Valley Cabernet is a two-time Wine Spectator Top 100 designee), the combo is compelling. The name is a sly harbinger of the brand’s core values: Dakota is Newman’s longtime, folksy nickname and an evocation of his midwestern work ethic; the ‘shy’ label, satirically pinned on Newman in college, denotes a humble nature. “To know Todd, you know he’s anything but shy,” said Austin Johnson, the winery’s national sales and events director. “He’s purposeful and encourages humility.”
Newman first became interested in wine while working in restaurants during college. After college, he journeyed to Napa and landed a job at St. Helena’s Martini House, where he met, befriended, and regularly quizzed winemakers and local growers who frequented the popular spot. “I remember one night, waiting on a grower and a winemaker who were talking vineyards while drinking a super-star bottle of wine, and I realized that is what I wanted to do,” said Newman. He started working with Garrett in 2005 at Revana Family Vineyards, where Garrett served as assistant winemaker to Heidi Barrett. “That experience gave us the foundation to start a winery,” said Newman. “I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I knew I had the work ethic to make it happen, but I didn’t know if I belonged here or if this was a place for me. Small town kid in the epicenter of one of the world’s greatest wine-making regions was a big bite to chew through.”
Years later, he and Garrett launched Dakota Shy, capitalizing on the relationships he’d built over time at Martini House. These days, Dakota Shy can be found on the wine lists at lauded restaurants such as The French Laundry, Post Ranch Inn, and PRESS, among others. And though the Shyway Tour years were memorable, Newman is grateful to welcome fans back to the winery for by-appointment tastings of his award-winning Bordeaux varietals.
Said Newman, “Dakota Shy is a platform, an incubator of sorts, where people who are hungry in life, who want to chase after a dream, can come and be inspired to set the course of their own American Dream.”
For more information dakotashywine.com
