As any of the dogs on Black Dog Ranch would tell you, much of the taste of the wine begins with the “nose” or scents that the wine emanates, and who has a better sense of smell than our faithful companions? And as Corley would tell you “The Nose Knows™.”​

Chester was truly a wine dog and accompanied Steve all over the vineyard and the winery. Chester was the first of the Black Labs from Black Dog Ranch.  Chester was so well-known in Napa that a photo of Chester and Steve is in James Conaway’s book “Napa.” There are many stories about Chester and his time at Niebaum Copploa.  When you are at the tasting, you will hear all about the Chester stories.

In the 1980’s and early 1990’s, Steve Beresini was the winemaker at Niebaum Coppola. It was fitting that he then began naming our Black Labs after characters in the Godfather movies.

Luca Brasi was the first Black Lab named after a character in the movie. In the Godfather, Luca Brasi was Vito Corleone’s personal guardian. Our Luca was the guardian of the neighborhood, our vineyard and much loved by all.

Vito was the next Black Lab and much like his character in the movie, Vito Corleone did not like many people. However, Vito Beresini did love his family and his grapes, and he protected his grapes from ground squirrels and birds.

Our next Black lab was a female. When we were looking for a name for her, we watched all three Godfather movies, but the women’s names did not seem to fit – the names Connie, Kay, or Apollonia were not quite right. After a suggestion from a neighbor, we finally decided to call her Corleone – Corley for short. Corley and her pup, Molly, are now the guardians of Beresini Vineyards.