Some of the best things in wine start with a wrong turn. A detour through an unfamiliar region. A recommendation from someone you just met at a tasting. Or, in the case of Gerry Matinez, a party he wasn’t technically invited to.
I sat down with Gerry — winemaker and co-founder of Vinos Unidos — at his tasting space in Napa, where he poured me eight wines and told me a story that reminded me why I fell in love with this industry in the first place. Not the scores. Not the prestige. The people.
A Party That Changed Everything
It was the early 1980s. Gerry was working at a restaurant near what is now Rutherford Hill Winery, still figuring out where his life was headed. One night after his shift, he and a coworker heard music drifting down from the hill above. They followed it.
Bill Jaeger — the man who owned that hillside — greeted them at the door. “Welcome, guys. Make yourselves at home. There’s food, there’s wine. Have whatever you want.” Gerry walked through the cellar, looked around, and thought: I want to work here.
A year later, he did. He spent the next 21 years at Rutherford Hill, then moved on to Artesa, where he fell in love with Pinot Noir and first encountered a variety that would become an obsession: Tempranillo.
Thirty-eight years into his career, he’s now making his own wines under the Vinos Unidos label — and they are, quietly, some of the most interesting bottles coming out of Napa right now.
What Vinos Unidos Actually Means
The name translates to “united wines,” and it’s more literal than it sounds. Vinos Unidos started as a project among five partners from five different countries — Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the US — who all shared a love of wine and a belief that the best things happen when people gather around a table.
The logo — two figures walking side by side, deep in conversation — is a photo of Bob and one of the original partners, George, taken during a moment when George had just been diagnosed with cancer. He eventually stepped away from the business, and later passed. The image stayed. There’s something quietly moving about a brand built on that kind of friendship.
Ten percent of every sale goes toward scholarships for students entering agriculture, winemaking, or culinary arts. That’s been true since day one, and Gerry doesn’t make a big deal of it. It’s just part of how the business was built.
The Wines
Each wine in the lineup is named in Spanish, chosen by the women in Gerry’s family. The names aren’t random — they describe something true about the wine or the intention behind it.
Amistad (Sauvignon Blanc) — “Friendship.” Sourced from a small backyard vineyard near Silverado Country Club that Gerry’s brother tends personally. Tropical, bright, and full of pineapple and guava with good acidity. It’s exactly the wine you open when the people you love show up.
Anhelo (Chardonnay) — “Longing.” Sourced from Artesa’s Carneros vineyard, which Gerry knows intimately from his years there. Made with whole-cluster pressing, native fermentation, and a partial barrel finish. It has lovely acidity, white flower aromatics, and a texture that makes you want to linger. One of my favorites of the lineup.
Cariño (Pinot Noir Rosé) — “Sweetheart.” Direct press, no skin contact, which gives it a pale coppery-pink color that’s unexpected and beautiful. Strawberry-forward with a slightly heavier mouthfeel than most rosés. I’d open this with a goat cheese salad or a lazy weekend lunch.
Ilusion (Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé) — Named for the surprise of it: who makes a rosé from Napa Cab? Gerry does, using a saignée method from Rutherford and mountain fruit. The result is deeper in color, richer in body, and genuinely distinctive. If you’ve only had Provençal-style rosé, this will reframe what the category can be.
Delicado (Pinot Noir) — “Delicate,” because Pinot Noir is a delicate wine to make. Sourced from Carneros, cold soaked for two days, native fermentation started and then finished with commercial yeast. Bright strawberry, white pepper, a hint of sage, and black cherry in the finish. I told Gerry I usually find Carneros Pinot over-extracted. This one is not. Fruit-forward but restrained.
Triunfo (Tempranillo) — “Triumph.” One of the only Napa Tempranillos in existence, sourced from Jack Barossa at Selena Winery in St. Helena. Gerry makes 75 cases. Seventy-five. The wine earned a 92 from competition judges and a double take from me when I tried it: silky tannins, plush fruit, hibiscus on the nose, and a finish that keeps going. Pair it with anything spiced — Mexican food, Indian food, a good carne asada. This is the one to know.
Pasión (Cabernet Sauvignon) — From Alexander Valley, sourced through a connection Gerry made during his Artesa years. Hibiscus again on the nose — Gerry says it’s an Alexander Valley thing — with cherry, a grounding herbaceousness, and soft, well-integrated tannins. Aged 24+ months in French oak, medium-plus toast. The finish is long and elegant. At $85, it’s a genuine value for what’s in the glass.
Harmony (Red Blend) — The flagship. A blend of Alicante Bouschet, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, and Merlot, sourced through Bob Biale from the Pagani family in Sonoma. Alicante is an enormous, deeply pigmented grape — bright red all the way through — and it gives this wine an inky color and a richness that earned it double gold on its first release. 75 cases made. $100.
The Tasting Experience
Vinos Unidos tastes out of a charming space inside the Old Napa Tannery — a shared tasting room that has nothing to do with a traditional winery visit and everything to do with what a good tasting should actually feel like. It’s intimate, unhurried, and full of personality.
You’re tasting with the person who made the wine. Jerry and his brother pour. There’s no front-of-house script, no upsell, no rush. If you’ve done enough Napa tastings where you feel like a transaction, this is the antidote.
Tastings run $45–$60 depending on the selection, with optional charcuterie boards. They can accommodate groups up to 16.
Through the end of May, 2026, they’re hosting free open houses every Saturday from 3–5pm — no reservation needed, just stop in and get acquainted.
Who This Is For
Vinos Unidos is for the wine lover who’s tired of tasting rooms that feel like retail experiences. It’s for the person who wants to understand what’s in their glass and hear it from the person who made it. It’s for the collector who wants to find something genuinely rare — 75 cases of Napa Tempranillo, anyone? — before everyone else does.
It’s also for anyone who believes, as I do, that the best bottles aren’t the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. They’re the ones made by someone who has been putting their soul into this for nearly four decades, who still gets excited describing the hibiscus notes in a Cab from Alexander Valley, and who learned everything he knows by crashing a party on a hill in Rutherford.
Paige’s Verdict
Vinos Unidos is the kind of discovery I live for. Small production, multicultural roots, wines priced honestly, and a winemaker who has more stories than I have room to tell. The Tempranillo and the Harmonia are the bottles to start with. The Chardonnay surprised me most. The Cab Rosé will convert anyone who thinks rosé has to be pale pink and Provençal.
Book a tasting. Go on a Saturday. Ask Gerry about Tempranillo. He’ll talk for a while. That’s the point.
Practical Information
Location:68 Coombs Street, Unit L5, Napa, CA
Tastings: $45–$75 depending on selection and add-ons. Reservations recommended.
Wine Club: Available. Members receive priority access to limited releases including Tempranillo and Harmonia.
Website: https://vinosunidos.com/
