Founder’s grandson leads Cloverdale’s Pastori Wines into a new era

Frank Pastori was a fixture in the Alexander Valley grape-growing community, rooted on the land his immigrant Italian parents planted in 1914. With his wife “Edie” by his side, he replanted the family ranch north of Geyserville to 60 acres of Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignane — selling the fruit to local wineries and making some wines of his own.

A natural storyteller, Pastori set up a tasting room on the ranch in a converted prune dehydrator and charmed visitors for decades with tales of Alexander Valley’s colorful past. When he died in 2020 at the age of 100, it marked the end of an era for Pastori Wines. But not the end of the story.

Pastori’s 28-year-old grandson, Paolo Pastori-Ng, took over the family grape-growing operation in 2020 and he has since rev