Q&A: Meet the Gamba family, which crafted a special Oklahoma State wine available only during November Distinguished Chef Series

Q&A: Meet the Gamba family, which crafted a special Oklahoma State wine available only during November Distinguished Chef Series

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Media Contact: Stephen Howard | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405.744.4363 | [email protected]

A 125-year-old family-owned vineyard in Sonoma County, California, might not sound like a natural fit with Oklahoma State University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. But, for the Gamba family, whose seven generations have built their lives and legacy around wine, the two pair like their signature zinfandel and an Oklahoma sunset.

Gamba Vineyards and Winery served as Honorary Vintners at the 2025 Wine Forum of Oklahoma in April, an experience that cemented the California winemakers' connection to OSU and its HTM program. The relationship has grown from friendship into partnership, built on investing in future generations.

Agostino "Gus" Gamba represents the sixth generation of his family to work in wine. When he and his wife, Paulette, launched their own label in 2000, they earned worldwide acclaim, including praise from Wine Advocate's Robert Parker, who declared that "Gamba's name is going to have to be included with the stars of Sonoma."

Using that same commitment to excellence, the Gambas generously crafted 400 bottles of wine exclusively for the Cowboy family. On Nov. 13, during the Distinguished Chef Series event, donors can secure two bottles with a $1,000 contribution to the Wine Forum Endowment Fund, which supports student scholarships. This wine cannot be purchased anywhere else and is a custom Cowboy blend selected from the estate's premier barrels and packaged specifically for the OSU family.

The Spears School of Business caught up with Gus and Paulette ahead of the return trip to Stillwater in November to learn more about their unlikely connection to OSU and what makes their family-owned vineyard so special.

Spears: How did a California winery end up so connected to Oklahoma State?

Gus:Our relationship developed over the years through OSU alum Bryan Close. Bryan discovered our wines and came out to visit us. We would go out to lunch, and we really got to know Bryan, and our friendship grew.

Paulette:Bryan feels like family. And so, when he was passionate about this cause and about OSU and the Hospitality and Tourism Management program - say no more, we were all in. All we needed to do was experience the Wine Forum of Oklahoma to see what an incredible event it is.

Gus:We were so impressed with the OSU family and the Wine Forum. We were just left with this amazing impression from the event, the students put it all together and all the folks that we met there.

Paulette:The passion for the school is unparalleled amongst the students and alumni. It's unlike anything we've ever seen.

Gus:We really feel a family connection with OSU, so it's just become something that is very important to us now. Giving back to the community and having seen the HTM students that are a part of the program - they're the future and we want to support them. We can't think of a better cause to be a part of.

Spears: Your family has been in winemaking for seven generations. Can you walk us through that legacy?

Gus:My family, on my father's side, comes from northern Italy, and my mother is from Sicily. I'm the first generation of my family born here in this country. Going back in Italy, on my father's side, they've been growing wine grapes for generations. My father was a fifth-generation grower there, just outside of Barolo and Barbaresco.

When he came to the United States, he met a gentleman here who had planted what would become known as our Estate Vineyard in 1900. He was retiring and looking for somebody to take over. My dad just happened to meet this gentleman, and they got along and acquired the property through a handshake. It was really a passion project for my father because he was very ambitious. He came here to the United States without any money in his pockets, but he knew there was opportunity here. He worked very hard, opened a couple of businesses, learned the language very quickly. The vineyard was really just something he enjoyed working in on his time off, on the weekends mostly. But it took on a new life with him at the helm.

Later on, I came along with two of my sisters, and we grew up around it. My interest in it just grew and grew since I was a little boy. My father taught me quite a bit about the business. My first memories are visiting wineries - Charles Krug and Mondavi and places like that over in Napa Valley. My dad would entertain his sisters and my uncles and aunts. We'd have picnics. So, I grew up being among vineyards and wineries.

When I met Paulette, we decided that we were going to take the vineyard to the next level. Instead of just growing the wine grapes, we were going to start producing under our own brand. For the last 25 years, that's what we've been doing. We're a small family winery. We like to get to know everybody that handles our wine. The end consumer is very important to us, and for them to get to know our story is very important to us too.

Paulette:As Gus mentioned, our Estate Vineyard was planted in 1900. Back then, everything was sustainably farmed. There were no herbicides or pesticides, and that's how we farm today. It's how this vineyard has been farmed for the last 125 years - completely organically, rainwater only, which is extremely rare. The tap roots of this vineyard go down 25 feet so they can find that water if they need it. It's really something that's unique, and we're extremely honored to be working with this historic vineyard.

Spears: Tell us about the wine you've created specifically for OSU. What makes it unique?

Paulette:This was a fun project for us that started with some OSU alums who are our good friends; Bryan Close and Janet McGee and John and Karen Power. They came out to the vineyard and we tasted through some barrels, and they helped us select this specific one. From there, we had the idea to put it in some custom packaging for OSU.

Gus:The packaging was a lot of fun to put together. It was truly a whole family effort because our youngest daughter does the digital production and design for the labels, and our oldest daughter and our son joined in on the winemaking part of it. Not only was it a family project, but then our whole family got to come out to OSU and experience the wine forum together, which was a ball.

This one-of-a-kind wine is a unique proprietary blend of primarily Old Vine Zinfandel from our historic vineyard. We grow Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Carignane as well. That gives us the ability to create something very special, and that's what I really enjoyed doing here. The barrel aging is 18 months on French and American oak cooperage. We wanted to make something very special for OSU alumni to enjoy.