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1990 Distinguished Service Award: Louis P. Martini
Posted: October 12, 2007
Louis P. Martini - 1990
Louis P. Martini was one of the most forward-thinking men in Napa Valley wine history. Under Martini’s leadership, the family vineyard holdings there grew from 10 acres to more than 1,000 acres. Martini was also an innovator. He experimented with grape clone selection, controlled fermentation temperatures and used stainless steel long before many of his competitors. He also pioneered Pinot Noir in Carneros and varietally labeled Merlot in the late 1960s. He wasn’t a stranger to fair pricing, fervently believing that wine was meant to be consumed, not admired as a trophy. He died at age 79, in 1998. Photographed in 1990.
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