Paul Lato’s story is as exceptional as his wines. Born in Poland, Lato was a successful sommelier in Toronto, but harbored a dream of becoming a winemaker. After short stints working for Jim Clendenen (proprietor of famed California Pinot pioneer Au Bon Climat) and as a cellar-rat at Bien Nacido, Lato began making his own wines in 2002 with a scant 500 cases of Pinot Noir and Syrah (two notoriously difficult grapes to work with). Fast forward two decades, including a chance meeting with Robert Parker, some fortuitously-timed help from Thomas Keller and Paul Lato Winery is now widely considered one of California’s top producers of Burgundian and Rhone varietals. Producing from a number of superb vineyard sites across California’s Central Coast, Lato’s wines routinely garner mid- to high-90s scores from many of the wine world’s most revered critics (including Jeb Dunnuck and Antonio Galloni).