Shakers Winter 2017

Hang in there.

Palatella was going to take the place of an outgoing salesman for Ralph Montelli and Company in San Francisco when he decided to drive a Buick he just bought from his Pittsburgh home to California at the end of the offseason. In the dead of winter, somewhere between Indiana and Illinois, his snowed-up tires began to slide. He went sideways into a tree and woke up in the hospital.

He pulled it together and made his start date. Other destiny came in with his deployment to the Korean War. After training in ROTC, he was slated for a long tour. Only the war was ended and his service requirement fit nicely into the offseason window. Soon he was back on the field.

Never stop working.

Palatella’s work ethic helped make him one of the 49ers earliest offensive linemen, back when they practiced at the San Francisco Seals park and played at Kezar Stadium. He survived ruthless two-a-days back in an era when conventional wisdom held a rule—no water on the field—over the course of multiple two-hour practices. He suited up with legends like Bob St. Clair, the 6’9” hall of famer who became mayor of Daly City, and protected all-time greats like quarterback Y.A. Title. Today, when most successful 80-somethings would be chilling at the country club, he lives to elevate his family’s Campeon Tequila or Cowboy Whiskey operations, visiting accounts like he’s still a neophyte in his 20s. His passion: “To make nothing into something,” he says. With Campeón, he knew they had some special liquid. It was all about the packaging, including the bottle, which is, after a dramatic update, elegant and heavy. “We got the best liquid there is, period,” he says. “Let’s compare. It can be a blind tasting, I don’t care. The juice is there. We’re a boutique tequila, with 100,000 cases for world. It’s in the goddamn juice. My wife and I decided to get into it, made a lot of trips to Mexico, tasting, tasting, tasting. What I’m trying to say is the category of tequila has reached a point where it needs ultra premium, luxury, and there’s not many out there.”

When he left the 49ers for the South Bay territory that stretched from South San Francisco toward Monterey County, he was given 1,500 accounts. He visited every one. “So damn many miles,” he says, with a smile.

Know what you’re sipping.

“I drink bourbon and tequila on the rocks,” he says. “Period. Nothing else.

I love the flavor of bourbon. I love the flavor of tequila. You can taste the differences and nuances, because you’re not messing with mixers. You can taste what it is.” Then he hits on an understated selling point: “Let me give you something else few people talk about: Tequila is the lowest calorie spirit.” He claims 66 calories in an ounce, compared to 50 percent more in vodka. Then there’s this: “Tequila comes from a flower family, the [lily] family, actually, not from grain. Women love to hear that.”

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