United States · California

Paul Lato

Paul Lato Wines is a Santa Barbara County-focused negociant operation founded by Canadian-born sommelier Paul Lato, who relocated to California and built relationships with top Santa Barbara vineyard managers before establishing his label. The winery produces single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Syrah from the Santa Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley, and Sta. Rita Hills AVAs, with individual vineyard bottlings named with literary and racing references that have become collector touchstones. Key wines include Seabiscuit from Zotovich Vineyard (Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir), Il Padrino from Bien Nacido Vineyard (Syrah), Cinematique from Larner Vineyard (Syrah), and multiple Solomon Hills and Sierra Madre Pinot Noir bottlings. Lato's winemaking draws on his Burgundy education — whole-cluster fermentation, minimal intervention — producing wines that have attracted comparisons to Hirsch and Littorai. Across 240 lots averaging $76 per bottle, with a ceiling of $738, Paul Lato sits in the quality mid-tier of California single-vineyard Pinot Noir and Syrah. The $738 ceiling likely reflects a magnum of Seabiscuit or Il Padrino from a top vintage. The diversity of vineyard sources — Zotovich, Bien Nacido, Larner, Solomon Hills, Sierra Madre, Lancelot — provides collectors multiple entry points across price and style. The breadth of Lato's portfolio — spanning multiple Santa Barbara AVAs and two key varietals — reflects a deliberate strategy to document the terroir diversity of Santa Barbara County through single-vineyard wines, making Paul Lato Wines as much a viticultural map as a brand.