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Famed San Francisco Restaurateur Selling Italian-Inspired Villa in St. Helena

Famed San Francisco restaurant designer and owner Pat Kuleto has placed his personal masterpiece on the market. Villa Cucina in St. Helena, CA, is now for sale for $8.5 million.

Never before available, the home was built for his newborn son in 1995, notes listing agent Lisa Sheppard. The main 6,000-square-foot main house has five beds and 4.5 baths.

“Kuleto wanted his son to grow up in a rural area,” says Sheppard. Kuleto put restaurant design on the map with his creations that have become city institutions, including the iconic Fog City Diner, the Embarcadero landmark Boulevard, and the undersea fantasy Farallon.

Kuleto bought the land and then built his family compound from the ground up. The construction took over a year because everything from the paved driveways to the utilities had to be installed.

“The location inspired my design as the vista reminded me so much of Italy that I decided to bring the Italian style and design here,” Kuleto says.

While the main house was being built, a hunting cabin on the land was expanded into a two-bedroom guesthouse that Kuleto and his family lived in. They dubbed the cabin “Shangri-Lodge.”

“Every part of the house has a story,” the agent notes. The wine country estate was designed and custom-built by Kuleto, with help from Sausalito-based architect David Berman.

The Douglas fir beams throughout the home were a gift from Don Carano, owner of nearby Ferrari-Carano Winery. The beams, which were sourced from Carano’s property, were handmilled by Kuleto and then dried in his kiln. They were aged for a year before being installed.

The home’s travertine flooring comes from a single vein mined from Verano, Italy.  And lest your feet get cold, the flooring also includes radiant heating.

The dining room light fixture is an 18-foot-long white oak log found on the property and illuminated with candles—Kuleto calls it a “candle-log-ra.” The stones in the dining room fireplace are also sourced from the surrounding land. And the European-inspired fireplace in the living room is made of 160 million-year-old fossil stone. The massive master suite includes a sitting area and balcony as well as a 200-year-old fireplace imported from Russia.

The 30-foot-long line kitchen with restaurant-grade appliances has two pantries and a pizza oven. If you prefer your pizza made al fresco, there’s another pizza oven outside along with a barbecue. There are also two wine cellars and a custom bar. The open layout boasts 30-foot-high ceilings and glorious Napa Valley views.

Outside, you’ll find an infinity pool and pool house (which has been used to film commercials for Subaru, Jeep, and Eddie Bauer). The land also supports the farm-to-table concept, with fruit trees, olive trees, three stocked lakes, vineyards, and a garden.

According to Sheppard, Kuleto said his inspiration for the space was to “make people feel comfortable and welcome.”

The next owners will surely feel at home here. Kuleto and his son, now graduating from college, plan to start a new project … together.

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