Racing Legend Danica Patrick Forges a New Path for Herself at Somnium
Slowing Down to Savor the Winding Road
Danica Patrick. For many, her name is synonymous with the Indianapolis 500, GoDaddy commercials and even the word “feisty.” She is the most successful woman driver in the history of American open-wheel car racing.
Where does a down-to-earth Midwesterner go after breaking the glass ceiling for women in racing, setting numerous records, starring in 14 Super Bowl commercials and being named one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People?” She becomes an author (Pretty Intense) and an inspirational speaker—and the sole owner of Somnium vineyard and winery in Napa Valley.
Somnium, meaning “dream” in Latin, started as just that. “It really truly did start as a dream of myself looking over a beautiful vineyard at 10am with a glass of wine in my hand,” Patrick recalls.
The years she spent racing in Europe gave her a profound love and appreciation for remarkable food and fine wines, so in 2009 Patrick enlisted famed winemaker Aaron Pott to help her acquire property in Napa Valley. The race car driver had three unwavering requirements: It had to be beautiful, have a breathtaking view and, most importantly, the soil had to be “A+ good.” Pott delivered when he found 24 acres on Howell Mountain, set 1,300 feet above sea level. Howell Mountain, known for its rocky soil and history of producing “big reds,” enabled Patrick to pick her favorite red, Cabernet Sauvignon, as the first varietal to be planted at the vineyard.
Somnium harvested its first grapes in 2014 and released its first estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon wine in 2017. Since that first vintage, Somnium has brought on French-born superstar winemaker Julien Fayard and introduced a Napa Valley rose and a Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyard also gained organic status in 2019.
Patrick was also instrumental in designing the logo and label for her brand. For her, the iridescent marking represents a whimsical, dreamlike state and the curvy lines are meant to parallel life’s winding road—as well as paying homage to the road leading up to the vineyard, The red dot above the i in Somnium (which Patrick calls the “you are here” dot) alludes to being present in every moment of your life.
Patrick says she hopes that her wines act as facilitators in creating connections between people, in her beloved adopted home in the Napa Valley and beyond. Just don’t drink them and then drive like you’re an Indy Car driver…
