General Manager and Winemaker

Luca is a third generation winemaker from Piedmont, Italy who studied enology at Istituto Umberto Primo in Alba. Asked by Gianni Zonin to study his winery operations in a year’s consultancy at Barboursville in 1990, he returned to Zonin’s headquarters north of Venice with an irresistibly audacious suggestion — if you will systematically re-invest in ideal trellising systems and techniques for this terroir, you will have the finest wines that can be grown on the East Coast. When he arrived at Barboursville in 1990, the winery had 38 acres under vine. Since that time, it has expanded to over 180 planted acres under vines as well as an inn and five star restaurant on the property. Luca is a former member of the governor-appointed Virginia Wine Board (appointed by 4 different governors). His wines have won accolades in competitions in San Francisco, New York, Dallas, London and more. Luca enjoys cooking, hiking, fishing, and raising his three children with his wife at home in Orange, Virginia.