Like Father, Like Son | A Father’s Day Story

“I like to describe my Dad as the biggest juvenile delinquent I know,” says Lorenzo, smiling with a boyish grin. From very early on, Lorenzo recalls how John was a man of many hobbies. While he turned wine into his profession, he was also a fully-fledged adrenaline junkie with a penchant for fast machines like cars and motorcycles. According to Lorenzo, his Dad has achieved what many of us aspire to–a successful work-life balance.

“Ever since I can remember, Dad always made time to have fun, and I admire that,” Lorenzo affirms. This is most likely because John is one of the most curious people he knows, always interested in the world around him and never afraid to try something new. “I treasure the relationship with my Dad. He’s more than a friend, and he’s more than a father. I go to him for advice –especially if I’m in trouble!” Lorenzo laughs.

For many of us, as we grow up, our dad is the coolest person in the world. For Lorenzo, this turned out to be pretty accurate! At the young age of 16, John Trefethen got his pilot’s license for a single-engine aircraft. While in college, he started racing cars, including one memorable race at Daytona Beach. But, according to Lorenzo, things were a bit different back then:

“When Dad started racing, there were no roll cages or safety equipment. It was just you and the car driving on the course for 24 hours! It was so accessible – you could enter a car right off the street that didn’t require any track modifications. Safety wasn’t really something people were thinking about yet.”

It didn’t take long for Lorenzo to get his driver’s license, and that’s when the real fun began. On weekends, they would head out to the track and drive together–the ultimate father-son activity.

“We quickly learned why you do not track a street car. They break easily, and then you have to ride with the tow truck driver back home!” explains Lorenzo. By then, John was more passionate than ever about racing. He won the Driver’s Cup–an all amateur race performed at a very high level and presented by Porsche. The Trefethen family even headed to Stuttgart, Germany, so that John could receive his reward in person at Porsche’s headquarters.

When Lorenzo finished college, he finally had time to take racing more seriously. He says: “By that point, Dad and I started to have our own cars and were running in the same race group. I also started to beat him!” After that, Lorenzo leveled up– and impressively so. In 2015, he received an offer to drive for ANSA Motorsports, a professional racing team in the Pirelli World Challenge. It was a partially subsidized ride, meaning Lorenzo needed sponsorship. The opportunity came on the heels of the 2014 Napa earthquake, which had seriously damaged the Trefethen tasting room. And surprisingly, Trefethen decided to sponsor Lorenzo.

“My Dad’s rationale was that in place of a tasting room (which was being rebuilt), we would bring our tasting room around the country and advertise on my car,” smiles Lorenzo. “I got a few other sponsors, but the winery was the main one, and we had the prettiest car in the paddock. It was an art car with a bottle of wine splashing off it,” he says. The father and son collaboration paid off: Lorenzo won his first race at Mosport in Canada and finished 3rd in the championship. He was also awarded “Rookie of the Year” for his achievements.