Mario Andretti is the only person who to have won all the major Grand Prix car races: Formula One, Indianapolis and Daytona. After winning 111 competition over 5 decades, he retired in 1994 and started making wine in Napa Valley.
In the video chat below, he talks about his two passions, and how he puts the pedal to the metal in the wine world.
Was wine a big part of your family’s meals when you were growing up in Tuscany, Italy?
Did your fascination with racing cars start as a boy?
What was the trigger that made you decide you wanted to make wine?
Why did you decide to make wine in California, not Italy?
What satisfaction do you get from making wine that you didn’t racing?
How are winemaking and racing competitively similar? Different?
What’s surprised you most about making wine?
You were the first driver to break the 200 mile-per-hour barrier at Indianapolis (250 miles on the straight ways): is there anything equivalent to that when it comes to wine?
You can watch part two of our Andretti Wines conversation and find out why Mario would like to share a glass of wine with the new Pope Francis.
You can also watch more celebrity wine video interviews.
Andretti Winery
Excellent story. I was at his winery a few years ago and had a few samples. Wish LCBO would sell more of his product. He certainly put the same level of effort into his wine making as he did in racing – which was to be a winner!
Me too, hopefully they’ll get back through a Vintages Release.
Dear Natalie
I loved the interview with Andretti. Tks a lot!
Glad you liked it Durval!