OUR HISTORY

Company History

Dalla Terra was founded in 1990 by Brian Larky, who had developed a deep interest in wine more than a decade earlier and chose to pursue a degree in fermentation science at the University of California, Davis. He initially pursued a winemaking path, working in production at Napa Valley wineries such as Far Niente and Domaine Chandon. Broadening his horizons, in 1985, Brian took a harvest job in Italy that stretched into five years working as a winemaker for the sparkling wine producer Ca’ del Bosco in Lombardy’s Franciacorta region. At that point, his focus shifted from winemaking to importing Italian wines.

Brian developed an innovative approach with his Winery Direct model, aiming to minimize the importer's footprint. The new company, Dalla Terra Winery Direct, was designed from the start to serve primarily as a facilitator, moving wines straight from Italian wineries to U.S. distributors rather than as a separate tier of its own. To make this idea work, Brian and his fledgling company needed two things: a cadre of excellent Italian wineries that shared his vision for direct importation, and a sales team in the U.S. as devoted to Italian wine and the direct import concept as he was. If successful, this model would ultimately remove the import bottleneck and lower wine prices for consumers.  

Fast forward to 2020, Dalla Terra added Italian spirits to its portfolio of Italian-exclusive offerings, focusing on partnering with authentic, craft distillers making quintessentially Italian spirits. Today, in 2026, we are rebranding to better reflect our full portfolio, to DALLA TERRA ITALIAN WINES & SPIRITS. We are still using the "winery direct" model for both wines and spirits, and continuing to bring value products to the US Market. DRINK ITALIAN!