While the Palmaz family is known today in California for its sustainable wine and food business, their story actually began in Argentina in the late 1970s. Patriarch Julio Palmaz started his career as an interventional radiologist who went on to make one remarkable invention: the first balloon-expandable stent.
In pursuit of the stent’s development, Palmaz decided to move his young family to the United States. After receiving excellent clinical results, the stent was licensed and sold to Johnson & Johnson. All the while, Julio and his wife, Amalia, were building a life for their family in California.
“My parents lived in Northern California when they first moved to the U.S. in 1978,” said Christian Palmaz, COO of Palmaz vineyards and a second-generation family member. “My father worked at the VA hospital and worked on his residency at UC Davis. Their weekends were spent in Napa Valley falling in love with its wines. The valley was a particularly charming place back then, mostly filled with family-owned small vineyards.”
The family’s love of the region and the wine began to grow, eventually leading them in 2003 to purchase the land that is now known as Palmaz Vineyards, incorporating the first- and second-generation family members into its new family business. The vineyard — comprising 640 acres and spanning three elevations and a multitude of soil types and microclimates — produces all five Bordeaux varietals (cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, merlot, malbec and cabernet franc), three whites (chardonnay, Riesling and muscat) and grenache for its rose.
For the family, innovation is at the forefront of the winemaking process. The winery is built into an 18-story cavern to allow for gravity-flow winemaking and natural temperature control. In addition, Palmaz, who is also the president of a material science company, created the first fully algorithmic fermentation management system leveraging artificial intelligence and also an advanced remote sensing application called VIGOR that has been recognized for its effect on water conservation.
Today, gen two is running the day-to-day operations at Palmaz. The family employs a unique structure that incorporates all members into the business. The siblings, along with their in-laws, take turns as CEO and president. Florencia Palmaz is the current CEO, Jessica Palmaz the chief marketing officer and Christian Palmaz the COO. Julio and Amalia Palmaz are still involved in every detail, Christian Palmaz said.
“Our roles are quite broad, but in general, Florencia leads the overall stylistic direction of the wines and company, working very closely with the winemaking team,” he said. “Jessica runs the customer experience and commercial operations, and I run operations of the farming and winery program.
“We all consider this a legacy business far beyond our own time and constantly look to the up-and-coming third generation.”
The family continues to grow and evolve in the sustainable-food industry, keeping the family’s ethos of entrepreneurship alive. The family’s latest venture, Genesee Valley Ranch, is a wagyu beef company based high in the California Sierras. The property they purchased includes expansive natural, uncultivated grasslands that produce purebred wagyu beef.
“Being a family from Argentina, beef is a big part of our culture and cuisine,” said Christian Palmaz. “Moving to the U.S., we were surprised by the lack of connection the consumer often had with the provenance of the beef products they buy, especially in the luxury sector. Beyond the butcher counter, the story of place, people or terroir was often completely lacking.”
And like many popular Napa Valley wineries, the family business has launched what they call the Brasas club, which offers both wine and ranch memberships providing members access to all wines before they're released and a comprehensive farm-to-fork subscription including its 100% grass-fed prime Wagyu.
The Palmaz family continues to evolve its business and is constantly looking to incorporate their Argentine heritage into everything they touch.
When asked about the future of the family business, Palmaz had this to say: “Family, sustainability and an unwavering commitment to quality define our future vision.”