D. MARC CAPOBIANCO

Sostevinobile founder D. Marc Capobianco is a four decade veteran of the California wine industry, having cut his teeth in the 1980s as a Mergers & Acquisitions consultant for a number of major spirits brands looking to expand into the wine sector. After shutting down his practice, he embarked on an ill-fated effort to launch a pair of novelty labels, Château Lompoc (the wine served behind the finest bars in America) and Thousand Points of Light Wines, the producer of George Herbert Walker Blush—A Kinder, Gentler Wine.

Armed with a pair of degrees in Creative Writing, he switched gears to become a playwright and commercial copywriter, handling Bartles & Jaymes and more than a dozen craft brewers as lead copywriter for RealBeer.com. Toiling for Madison Avenue, however, could not quell his passion for the œnological realm, so he devoted much of his spare time to traveling the state visiting wineries, touring custom crush operations, and attending major trade shows, nominally in pursuit of launching his own boutique label.

Through these explorations and research, Marc gradually came to understand that there was a distinct lack of appreciation for the bounty and diversity of wines produced on the West Coast. Moreover, he was struck by the incongruity of locavore (or farm-to-table) principles not being extended to the viticultural realm. And thus was born his concept to create a discrete chain of wine bars devoted exclusively to the wines produced here.

Creating Sostevinobile has taken nearly a dozen years of exhaustive research, during which time Marc has vetted more than 5,200 West Coast wine operations and over 225 distinct varietals grown here. He has served as a judge for prestigious wine competitions, produced major wine tastings, developed wine lists, sourced and brokered grape purchases, and informally advised numerous wine associations, including Family Winemakers, T.A.P.A.S., Wines of the Sierra Foothills, P.S. I Love You, Nebbiolo Enthusiasts & Believers, the Seven% Solution, and the Garagiste Festivals, while cofounding Risorgimento, a trade group for the 850+ producers of Italian varietal wines from California, Washington, and Oregon.