Vince DeDomenico, a legendary San Francisco and Napa businessman who launched the Napa Valley Wine Train, passed away of natural causes on Thursday, Oct. 18.

DeDomenico, 92, died at home with his wife Mildred by his side, according to Wine Train spokeswoman Erica Ercolano.

On Friday, Napans remembered DeDomenico as a tough businessman and generous gentleman who played an integral role in the growth of the Napa Valley as a wine-themed tourist destination.

“I respected Vince not only for what he did here in Napa, but also for his work in San Francisco,” said former Napa Mayor Ed Henderson. “I think he had great vision for the future, and we’re going to miss him.”

Carl Sciambra, founder of Sciambra Bakery and a longtime friend of DeDomenico, said he was “a good Napa boy, as we remember the old Napa. He was a very wonderful person, and a very wonderful friend.”

Rice-A-Roni to Wine Train

DeDomenico was born Sept. 29, 1915, and raised in San Francisco. His father was a businessman from Sicily who launched a pasta company called Gragnano Products. Vincent joined the family business in 1933, and a year later it was renamed the Golden Grain Macaroni Co.

The company’s signature product came into being in the late 1950s, after Vincent had been working with various mixtures of rices and spices. In 1958, Golden Grain began to market Rice-A-Roni.

The jingle identifying the product as “the San Francisco Treat,” along with images of San Francisco cable cars, made Rice-A-Roni commercials among the most memorable of their time. In 1964, DeDomenico acquired the Ghirardelli Chocolate Co. In 1986, he sold both Golden Grain and Ghirardelli for some $300 million.

Shortly afterward, he got involved with the then-nascent Napa Valley Wine Train. Rail travel had a history in Napa going back to 1864, when Samuel Brannan launched a line to get people to the spas of Calistoga. Southern Pacific Railroad bought the line in 1885 and ran it until 1987.

Two other early investors in the Wine Train, Jack Hussey and Dr. Lee Block, recalled on Friday how DeDomenico came into the project. Block said he and other investors had acquired from Southern Pacific the right-of-way for deteriorating tracks from Napa to Calistoga.

They were working on a plan to create a wine train, despite the fact that they had little or no experience with transportation in general or the complex railroad business in particular. All of us were very naive about this,” said Block.

He recalled one member of the group was tasked with finding other investors who could support the endeavor, trying to find “$100,000 here or there,” said Block. “Then along came Vince. Vincent wanted to buy the whole thing.’”

The Wine Train, with opulently restored dining cars, rolled for the first time on Sept. 16, 1989.

The launch of the train led to one of the lasting land use fights of the type that have come to define Napa Valley politics in recent decades. At first, according to associates of DeDomenico, he was encouraged to run a train through the vineyards, allowing passengers to disembark Upvalley and then fan out to visit wineries. Robert Mondavi was among those who backed DeDomenico.

But later, Mondavi and members of the Mondavi family joined other property owners and slow-growth advocates concerned about the train’s right-of-way and the impact it would have Upvalley.

Said Block: “Their attitude (Upvalley) was we just don’t want this touristy thing in our neighborhood — and they were used to having their way about those things.”

But, Block added, “Vince had a strong Italian type of masculine personality, you know, ‘Don’t you tell me what is going to happen; I’ll tell you what’s going to happen.’”

The battle hardened. In one famous moment, then-St. Helena Mayor Lowell Smith laid his body on the tracks in protest of DeDomenico’s plans.

On Friday, Smith said, “Probably more than anything else you have to admire the man’s persistence. He was able to accomplish a big part of his goal in establishing the Wine Train with a lot of determination. I admired that.”

But it was also the man’s persistence that rubbed people the wrong way in St. Helena, Smith said. “I could have seen a role for the Wine Train and the tourist element, but it would take lots of community input to make it something St. Helena could comfortably live with. We never got there, and that’s kind of sad.”

Politics and business

The Wine Train and the city of St. Helena have been involved in costly and lengthy litigation. While the legal positions have shifted over the years, the core of the dispute has remained the same: The Wine Train wants passengers to be able to disembark in St. Helena, and the city has argued against having a flood of tourists unload in town. The case has come before forums from the California Public Utility Commission to the United States Supreme Court.

Today, the Wine Train makes only a few limited stops Upvalley, and passengers do not step onto the street in St. Helena.

The Wine Train and the Napa River Flood Control Project also have been at odds over the years over who should pay for improvements in the areas where Wine Train property intersects with the flood project.

Today, the train carries more than 100,000 passengers a year who enjoy fine dining and Napa Valley wines as travelers take in vineyard views from well-appointed dining cars.

One stop is at Grgich Hills Cellars south of St. Helena. On Friday Violet Grgich, vice president of the winery, said DeDomenico was “a great man, very intelligent and a smart businessperson. He did a very positive thing for the community of Napa and for the (fame of) Napa Valley throughout the world. I certainly hope the train will continue full force because we made a great many friends that way.”

Joe Peatman, a former Napa County supervisor and attorney who now heads the Gasser Foundation, had dealings with DeDomenico for years. Among them were their shared support for the Napa Valley Symphony’s riverfront concerts, and recent business dealings regarding Wine Train right-of-way as it goes through Gasser property in South Napa.

Peatman said DeDomenico was “an absolutely fascinating man. He was every inch a gentleman. He was a tough businessman, a good friend and someone very concerned about the welfare of Napa.”

Those who worked with DeDomenico credit him for making a far-reaching decision of placing the Wine Train station downtown, years before the flood project served as an opening for downtown investment and invigoration.

According to original Wine Train investor and DeDomenico friend Jack Hussey, then-Napa Mayor Ed Solomon was among those who helped persuade DeDomenico not to place the station near the Marriott Hotel in north Napa. “Now,” said Hussey, “that (turns out to have been) the right decision, with the river project and everything else.”

Hussey acknowledged that DeDomenico was a tough negotiator who had his critics, but said “he doesn’t get credit” for the good work he did, from helping raise money for the Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Boys & Girls clubs, Hands Across the Valley, the symphony, the Wolfe Center and 4-H programs.

And of course, said Hussey, “Without Vince, you would not have a Wine Train. He had the ability, and he wanted to do it.”

Napa developer George Altamura credits DeDomenico for his approach to the Wine Train. “He did it first class,” said Altamura. “He made that into something that very few investors ever would have done.”

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said “From the day he came to the valley, Vince worked tirelessly to improve our community. ... He was a generous supporter of the things that truly matter to the residents of Napa County.”

Family man

Peatman and others noted that DeDomenico and his wife, Mildred, were seen at restaurants around town consistently, including the last few weeks. Friends reported seeing Vince DeDomenico at Angèle, Bistro Don Giovanni, at public meetings about the Napa Pipe project and elsewhere.

Napa County Supervisor Bill Dodd recalls seeing DeDomenico at work on a Sunday as recently as last year, surveying — with a clipboard, pad and pencil in hand — the area where the train tracks cross Soscol Avenue. Dodd asked him what he was doing, and DeDomenico said, “We got a problem here with this track. I’m out here to take a look.”

Winery owner Daryl Sattui recalled DeDomenico as “remarkably humble. He accomplished so much in business, but he was a salt-of-the-earth guy. I always felt just honored to be in his presence.”

Many of DeDomenico’s associates also noted his close relationship with Mildred.

Said Dorothy Lind Salmon, who worked with DeDomenico on the Napa Valley Economic Development Corp., “When I think of Vince, I think of Vince and Mildred and one of the world’s great love stories. He was an amazing family man, dedicated to his family and really dedicated to his wife.”

Said Supervisor Bill Dodd: “If there was ever a misunderstood man in this community, it was Vince. He was an incredibly tough businessman ... and that doesn’t always jibe with dealing with government. But there was never a finer gentleman.”

Wine Train spokeswoman Ercolano said memorial services are planned for next week, and that the family is hoping to announce a specific date and location for the services in the coming days. The family asks that gifts in lieu of flowers be sent to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Napa Valley, Queen of the Valley Medical Center and the Napa Valley Symphony.

DeDomenico leaves behind his wife, Mildred; sons Vincent DeDomenico Jr., who is vice-president of the Wine Train, and Michael DeDomenico; daughters Marla Bleecher and Vicki McManus; and seven grandchildren.

(St. Helena Star Editor Doug Ernst contributed to this story.)