About Little Lion Wine Company //

Little Lion Wine Company was created and founded by Tony Leonardini in 2005.  The name Little Lion comes from his last name, Leonardini, which means “little lion” when translated from Italian. One of the symbols on the Genoa crest where the Leonardini family came from is also a lion.  The goal of Little Lion Wine Company has been to allow people to enjoy wine that over delivers for its price. By keeping LLWC lean and mean, staying in touch with old friends in the business, and always looking out for a good deal Tony is able to achieve this. 

About Tony Leonardini //

Everyone in the wine business has their defining moment that prompted them to get involved with wine. Mine was the blind tastings on the Ping Pong table back when I was just a kid.  Back then I wasn’t allowed to taste, only smell. I would smell through the wines once and then do it again minutes later. But wait, the wines smelled different. Did I miss something? They were completely different the second time around.  This is where it all began. 

In 1985 my father started a wine shop in San Francisco. One of my first jobs was to break-down boxes at the wine shop for a nickel a piece. In 1993 my father decided to take his wine fascination to the next level and purchased a vineyard and winery in the Napa Valley. I began my wine making career early on helping in all aspects of wine production from crush, cleaning and sulphuring barrels, to the monotonous days of working on a bottling line.

In 2000 I made my first wine from a small vineyard in Calistoga. It was a field blend of Rhone Varietals.  After bottling the wine in 2001 I was hooked on making wine and the business around it. I learned a lot working in my family’s winery and especially from some great friends in the business. Practical experience and the school of “hard knocks” has been the best classroom.  In 2005 I made my first commercial wine, one barrel of Cabernet with grapes sourced from my backyard. In 2006 I made my first large production debut, with the Volunteer Cabernet. It wasn’t difficult coming up with the name Volunteer since I have been a Volunteer fire fighter in St. Helena since 2003. Volunteer represents the best of my secret Cabernet sources in the Napa Valley.

I have always been interested in making wines with grapes from the Monterey area. In 2009 this came to fruition after discovering vineyards that he believed would represent a good combination of the region and his winemaking style. The Bandwagon wines are made with simplicity in hopes of retaining the natural characters of the grape and the area. The wine is made in Monterey, near the vineyard source, to ensure the wine is handled minimally.

Rule wines are a chance for me to do what I like best, breaking the rules. I go for whatever it takes to get the best wine in the bottle I can and still offer them at great prices. Rule exists because of the help from some of my best friends in the wine business. I owe a lot to their support and their timely tip offs.

Coming up with wine names and label designs has also been a lot of fun for me. I really enjoy brainstorming ideas and concepts with my friends and family. Luckily I have some great graphic artist friends who can help me bring my ideas to realization.

Making and selling wine allows me to do what I love, where I love. Finding a new vineyard, creating a new blend, and then taking it to meet new people has been something I just can’t get enough of…

A little bit ago I met with my friend John Hooper, former owner of Tennessee Wine and Spirits in Nashville, to discuss the future of Little Lion Wine Company. We decided to join forces and combine expertise to create a new company, called BNA Wine Group. I will still be making the wine and sourcing the fruit but with John’s help, we can have better resources, exposure and focus. Additionally, we are joined by Gary Carr, former Vice President for Tennessee Wine and Spirits, who has taken over national sales.