Bob Binder & Walter Jost

Proprietors

Bob and Walter founded Silver Trident because they wanted to make extraordinary wines—wines that would be at home everywhere from a festive dinner table at home to the world of luxury hospitality where they’ve made their careers.

Bob dove into the restaurant business at age 12 and he’s still swimming. As cofounder of Oceania Cruises, he helped make this luxury line’s food widely regarded as the finest at sea, collaborating along the way with such food luminaries as Jacques Pépin, as well as Bon Appétit and Wine Spectator. A serial globetrotter, he likes to take the path less traveled (even though he’s had a few minor crashes along the way). “If you do the same things, the same way everyone else does,” he says, “you’ll end up being average. And average is synonymous with boring.”

Walter is past president of one of the world’s most prestigious travel companies. Although he left his native Switzerland at an early age, he’s proud of his heritage—and insists that the Swiss produce world-class wines, which they simply chose to drink themselves and not export. Walter walks each row of the estate vineyard, inspecting the vines every day while enjoying his morning coffee. Some call his meticulous attention to detail extreme. He simply calls it Swiss.