John W Winkelhaus

John didn’t start out in wine. After graduating from University of Michigan, he worked as an executive all over the world, most notably as President and CEO of Ingram Micro Europe, which he built into a multinational European company from a single business.

Over the years his appreciation for wine grew, and in 1998 it led him to purchase a Napa vineyard, which he named “Second Chance.” He immediately began practicing organic farming and earned 92 points in Wine Spectator for his first bottling of Cabernet Sauvignon.

In 2009, Tom Davies convinced him to join V. Sattui as Vice President and General Manager, where he was drawn to the “Warm, welcoming, casual environment with serious wines and seriously friendly staff.” In the years since, he’s helped improve the dynamics of the guest experience, evolved the growth into ecommerce, managed the ever-growing team, spearheaded the pandemic response, and more.

He loves spending time with his family, including daughter Gretchen, sons Derek and Jay, granddaughters Maddie and Emma, stepson Ryan, stepdaughter Amber, and last but not least, his wife Diane, an executive with a Fortune 40 company.