Stories about wine and the people who pour it.
I'm Patrick R. Dunn, a writer in Sparks, Nevada. I write about winemakers, tasting rooms, small hotels, and the places worth driving to, close to home and around the world, and I record the people who make the wine in their own words.
My writing has appeared in
Latest from Wine & Travel
The Bottle We Always Bring
A first Friendsgiving in a house full of near strangers, where the word came from, and the Dry Creek Valley sparkling wine that has been on the table every year since 2019.
More from Wine & TravelVianarra Wine & Travel
Every other Friday. Places close to home and around the world, a Meet the Winemakers interview, a quiz, a map and a bottle worth finding. Free.
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Every Wednesday, for people who run wineries, hotels and restaurants. Stories from the floor, a how-to your staff can use that week, and the industry news worth knowing. Free.
SubscribeMeet the Winemakers
An oral history of winemakers around the world, in their own words, from Amador County and Napa Valley to Croatia.
Read the interviewsBooks
Stop Leading on Empty
Archway/Simon & Schuster, 2026
My first book, drawn from thirty years leading crisis teams, on what it costs the people who hold everyone else together.
Find the bookThe Prodigal Grape
In progress
An oral history of Zinfandel told through the families who grow it, from Kaštela in Croatia to Puglia to California's old vines.
The Standard vs. The Welcome
In progress
A book for the hospitality trade about why the best tasting rooms and hotels feel like someone was expecting you.
On a story I wrote about Edgewood Tahoe
“What you captured so beautifully was something much larger: the care, intentionality, and genuine hospitality that our team strives to deliver every day.”
Michele Smith, Director of Marketing, Edgewood Tahoe Resort
About me
I learned to tell a story at the University of Maine, studying under Stephen King and the folklorist Sandy Ives, who taught me to record people in their own words and get out of the way. Then I spent thirty years leading global crisis management and operational resilience teams across four continents, through 9/11, Katrina, and Sandy, and didn't write much of anything.
I came back to it through wine. Most of what I write now starts at a tasting room counter, a front desk, or a kitchen table, with someone who has a better story than they know.
For wineries, hotels, and restaurants
Every place has a Vianarra. Not every place knows how to tell it. A few times a year I help one tell theirs.
Staff Workshops
A working session with the whole team, built around what I saw on a visit to your place.
How it worksInsights
Stories from tasting rooms, bars and front desks, and practical pieces your staff can use the same week.
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