Sattui Returns Stimulus Money

Or the headline could read, "Dario Sattui Does the Right Thing!" That would be funny to anyone that knows about him.

Sattui at his Napa Valley castle

Sattui, the owner of V. Sattui Winery and "the castle" (Castello di Amorosa) in Napa Valley, might be called a hard-nosed businessman, a tough guy to work with, or something worse. He has a local reputation of doing and saying things that haven't always pleased everyone. He is, however, very successful at what he does (though he's mostly retired now).

The winery had gotten at $1.2m loan under the federal emergency Paycheck Protection Program. Some other companies, like Ruth's Chris Steak House got ripped for taking the money. Sattui's wineries are not publicly owned, have well over 100 full and part-time employees, and, most importantly, almost all of their sales are to customers at the wineries rather than in stores and restaurants. This means their sales have taken a huge hit.

Sattui says his wineries are okay, however, meaning they have the cash. Sattui also said he knows of many other smaller wineries that are in a dire need and didn't feel right taking the money so it has been returned.