Gregory Scott Walter

GREGORY SCOTT WALTER

March 14, 1958 – September 1, 2016

Gregory Walter passed peacefully into God’s arms on September 1, 2016 at his home in Yountville, California,at the age of 58, following a courageous battle with colon cancer. Greg was supported throughout his illness by his faith, as well as intense love and the outpouring of kindness from his community of family, friends and the wine industry.

Greg was born on March 14, 1958 to Daniel and Arloa Walter in Redwood City, California. He then grew up on the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula in San Mateo, graduating in 1976 from Aragon High School. He went on to San Diego State University, as that was as far as he could get from home, yet still remain within the California State University system.

His journalism career began in the late 1970s while in college in San Diego, studying for the journalism degree he later earned. He had been working a part-time job as an assistant manager at Crest Liquor, a store that just happened to have a great wine selection. The store manager encouraged him in 1980 to apply for a job as an editorial assistant at the then-small San Diego-based wine newspaper called The Wine Spectator. He took that job, beginning a 14-year career with Wine Spectator magazine, rising to senior editor, ultimately serving for seven years as president. Greg moved back to the Bay Area when Wine Spectator relocated offices to San Francisco, living first in Pacifica and then in San Francisco. In 1990 he moved to the Town of Sonoma, the island he never wanted to leave. His illness necessitated a move to the Napa Valley, in 2015, but Greg’s heart was always in Sonoma County.

After leaving Wine Spectator in 1994, Gregcontinued to work as a journalist and writer on wine and food, as well as a publishing and content consultant through his consulting firm, The Carneros Group. Greg had an impact on wine country and lifestyle publishing through media outlets including SmartWine Magazine (a division of Wine Business Monthly and Wine Business Communications), Appellation Magazine, Wine Country Living Magazine and the Sonoma Valley Sun. Greg was involved in the publication of several books by Wine Spectator Press:“California’s Great Cabernets,”“California’s Great Chardonnays” and two editions of Wine Spectator’s “California Wine.”He also co-authored, edited and published his own book, which outlined the history of the Chalone Vineyard and the Chalone Wine Group, “Chalone: A Journey On The Wine Frontier,” and published several other books under his Carneros Group imprint, Carneros Press.

All along Greg continued to study wine, tasting and learning,ultimately focusing upon the varietal that he truly loved: Pinot Noir. For the past 15 years he published PinotReport, which for him was the natural next step in his 35-year personal and professional journey in wine and food. Soon after launching that publication, PinotReport won the James Beard Award for Newsletter Writing on Food, Beverage, Restaurants and Nutrition in 2005. He traveled and tasted throughout the major Western Pinot Noir regions with a passion to learn, and then share his experiences with his loyal readers, making close friends in the industry all along the way. Greg also co-founded and produced the annual “Pinot on the River” event in Healdsburg, California.

Greg was one of the kindest, most loyal and gentle people on the planet. Private, humble and proud, he was a gentleman, and an extremely loving friend, son, brother, uncle, husband and father. Known to his young daughter Grace as “Daddy” he was a deeply-involved parent, in part because he worked from home when she was young. Yet once she was in school he always attended and supported her school, performance and sporting events, and even coached her soccer team for three consecutive seasons. Nothing brought more joy and happiness to Greg, than his daughter Gracie.

With a wry sense of humor, Greg was so much fun. He spent a lot of time at the table, with friends he valued, as he had an exceptional palate and absolutely adored fine food and wine. Greg was an accomplished home chef and a master at the grill. An avid fan of the San Francisco Giants, a dream came true for Greg earlier this year when he “covered” a baseball game from the press box at a home game. He was an excellent editor, and completed crossword puzzles every day. He loved bright colors, a wide array of music ranging from Classical Guitar to Michael McDonald to the Dixie Chicks, and his favorite places to be, other than at home with his family, were over at the coast, in Truckee, California or at Della Santina’s Restaurant and the Enoteca Wine Bar in Sonoma.

Greg is survived by his daughter Grace Walter and her mother and his best friend Lisa Adams Walter;his mother Arloa Walter (preceded in death by his father Daniel Walter);brother and sister-in-law Jay and Connie Walter (Courtney, Colton, Caitlin) andbrother and sister-in-law Gary and Natalie Walter (Nolan, Nick, Gabrielle). He is also survived by his former in-laws Jay and Elaine Adams, and sister- and brother-in-law Laura and John Kostelac.

The family is grateful for the incredible medical care of the Kaiser San Rafael Oncology Center, the hospice care of Kaiser Vallejo Hospice and the spiritual care of Pastor Mark Heine of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Napa.

Friends are invited and encouraged to attend a Memorial Service for Gregory Walter which is set for 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 28 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 3521 Linda Vista Avenue, in Napa, California and a Celebration of Life, that will reflect the Greg Walter we were all privileged to know, spend time with and love, which will be held nearby, immediately following the service.Internment at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa will be private. Memorial donations may be made to the St. John’s Lutheran School Scholarships for Church Members Fund or to the Greg Walter Family Fund at YouCaring.com. Words of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.TulocayCemetery.org.

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