Big Dreamers: Nick & Cindy Palumbo, Palumbo Family Vineyard & Winery
Welcome to our new blog series: “Big Dreamers.”
Here you’ll read about the inspiring true stories of our Temecula Valley winemakers and winery owners. You’ll learn where they’ve come from before settling in Temecula, CA – and what keeps them passionate about the sometimes not-so-glamorous art (and science) of making good wine.
Nick & Cindy Palumbo have owned and operated Palumbo Family Vineyards & Winery since 1998.
1. What were you doing before owning and operating your winery?
NICK: I have done A LOT! I was an ocean lifeguard, a rock star in NYC, a chef and now – winemaker.
CINDY: I was an insurance agent for 15 years prior to the winery.
2. What inspired you to want to buy a winery and what were the circumstances around choosing Temecula Valley, CA?
NICK: I was just coming back to SoCal after time in NY and lucked into this emerging Valley. I saw potential for better wine and vineyard quality than what was here before, so I took charge.
CINDY: I was already living in Temecula Valley and met Nick after he purchased the vineyards. A few years later I encouraged him to turn the garage into a winery, to quit selling his fruit to other winemakers and to open up his own shop.
3. What were your expectations of the winemaker lifestyle at the beginning? Were they way off or right on?
NICK: I only expected to have to work really hard. I wanted to prove it could be done through hard work and sacrifice. I certainly didn’t expect to make any money at it. I was right! I knew what I wanted – and the rewards for making quality wine would come if I just kept my head down and proved it though doing it.
CINDY: I had zero expectations of the lifestyle – and that’s probably a good thing. It’s not nearly as glamorous as most people think – but I wouldn’t change it!
4. People might think winemaking is glamorous. Would you like to set them straight?
NICK: If you’re an authentic winemaker, the glamorous parts come when no one is looking. It’s a lifestyle that you can’t pretend to live. Working hard, raising children and farming for quality is the reward… not what people see in the magazines.
CINDY: There are definitely some glamorous sides to the wine industry. Nick is so down-to-earth and he takes winemaking so seriously that we don’t really experience that side of it in our lives. A true winemaker is focused on just that – making good wine.
5. What is your least favorite thing about running a winery? What is your most favorite – the reason you get up in the morning?
NICK: There really is no part of what I do that is worse or better. If you love what you do for a living, then it’s all good!
CINDY: Least favorite thing about owning a winery is probably the fact that we can never get away from it. We live there, we sleep there, we work there, we are raising our family there; it’s always our focus. Sometimes I think it would be nice to just be able to work 9 to 5 and leave the office at the office. My favorite part about it is the lifestyle. We live in the middle of a vineyard, we raise our own animals, our (four) kids get to grow up see what we make with our hands. Winemaking in Temecula is truly a labor of love that we are allowed to include our whole family in.
To learn more about California’s Big Dreamers, click here!
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