Meet Our Winemaker

Robert Mullaney

As the grandson of a Sicilian winemaker himself, winemaking is in Robert Mullaney’s DNA. While his grandfather passed before he could be trained by him directly, Robert grew up surrounded by uncles who were carrying on the family tradition, from whom he learned a great deal. Robert began making wine on his own while in his early twenties. It became a lifelong obsession.

His first winery was a modest one, occupying a section of the basement of his home. But just like his passion for the craft, the winery grew quickly and soon encompassed the entire basement plus a 3 car garage. His only assistants in those days were his four young children, especially 4 year old Kelly who loved to be by her dad’s side when it came time to bottle.

Years later, after he and wife Raquel sold their successful home health business, Robert saw an opportunity he could not resist when both a small winery on Plymouth’s waterfront and a larger mill building in Cordage Park both became available. The couple leased the buildings with a vision to turn the smaller space into a cozy wine bar and the bigger building into a large scale winery and event venue.

Today, the 1620 Winery and Wine Bar stand as the fulfillment of that dream. With nearly 30 different vintages under the 1620 label, Robert’s distinctive wines have medaled Gold, Silver and Bronze in competition. The winery and the wine bar now have a staff of 8 including Robert’s assistant winemaker, Donny. Robert’s adult children, Ashley, Meaghan, Deven and Kelly still help out at the Winery as well.