| 1855 | Giovanni Foppiano arrives in New York from Genoa, Italy and travels to California by way of Panama looking for gold. |
| 1864 | Giovanni settles in Healdsburg, California, the heart of Sonoma County wine country. |
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| 1877 | Louis A. Foppiano born in Healdsburg to Giovanni and wife, Rosa. He is the first of ten children born to Giovanni and Rosa. |
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| 1896 | Giovanni purchases a working winery known as "Riverside Farm" in Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. The Foppiano Wine Company is founded. The Foppiano Wine Company becomes an important supplier of bulk wine to Northern California customers.
Louis A. joins the new family business - Winemaking.
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| 1900 | Louis A. becomes responsible for delivering wine to "accounts" in San Francisco's Italian North Beach neighborhood. |
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| 1906 | Louis A. marries Mathilda, the sister of one of his North Beach customers after three "arranged" dates. |
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| 1910 | Disagreement arises between Giovanni and his son over the family business, leading the father to threaten to sell the winery. Louis A secretly gets loan from his wife's family and buys the winery. Louis A takes over control of the winery and is estranged from his father until just before Giovanni's death. Louis J. is born to Louis A. and Mathilda Louis A. and Mathilda grow the winery, making the Foppiano name among the most prominent in Healdsburg |
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| 1919 | Prohibition takes effect. Louis A. turns to farming grapes which are shipped to home winemakers in the eastern United States Some recall that Louis A. may have continued to make and sell wine from the back door of the winery. Louis J. also turns to farming prunes, apples and pears all planted among the vines on the family ranch. |
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| 1925 | Louis A. dies. |
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| 1927 | Federal Treasury agents raid Foppiano Vineyards, forcing 100,000 gallons of wine to be dumped in a nearby creek, making the spot the most popular in town as the creek ran red with wine. |
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| 1932 | Seeing
evidence that Prohibition will be ended, Louis J.
proposes to restart the winery. |
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| 1933 | Prohibition
is repealed. Eighty-three thousand gallons of wine
are produced by the Foppiano Wine Company. |
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| 1937 | Louis J. rebuilds the winery from the ground up. Foppiano Wine Company becomes one of the first Sonoma County wineries to bottle wine under its own winery label. |
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| 1939 | Wine imports from Europe are cut off due to World War II, creating a boom for California wine sales. |
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| 1941 | Louis J. joins in the founding of the Wine Institute of California. He will serve as one of its directors for forty-five years. |
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| 1940-1945 | Foppiano
sends east five to six rail tank cars per week
of bulk wine, with annual production of 700,000
to 800,000 gallons.
Foppiano Wine Company becomes the second largest bottler of wine in Sonoma County. Louis J. purchases the Sotoyome Vineyard which adjoined the Foppiano property, doubling the size of the estate to 200 acres. Louis J founds the Sonoma County Wine Growers Association with 14 other wineries as a vehicle to resolve problems stemming from the strict laws associated with Repeal. |
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| 1946 | Louis J. marries Della Bastoni. |
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| 1947 | Louis M. is born to Louis J. and Della. |
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| 1949 | Rod
is born to Louis J. and Della. |
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| 1950 | Sotoyome Winery closed down with tanks and equipment moved to the expanded Foppiano estate. |
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| 1953 | Susan
is born to Louis J. and Della. |
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| 1966 | Louis
J. begins removing the prune and apple trees
on the property, replacing them with Cabernet
Sauvignon and other varieties in anticipation
of switching the winery's focus from "jug" wines
to the increasingly popular cork finished varieties.
Investment begins in oak barrels and tanks, stainless steel tanks, and other new equipment for the winery. |
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| 1969 | First vintage-dated bottling of Foppiano Vineyards varietal wines |
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| 1970 | Louis M. Foppiano joins family winery full time. |
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| 1972 | Rod Foppiano named winemaker and Louis M Foppiano named director of sales and marketing. |
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| 1973 | Winery
specializes in red varieties and blends with red
wine amounting to 97% of total production. |
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| 1975 | Production and sales switch to 70% white wines to meet growing consumer demand as California's wine boom begins anew. |
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| 1980 | Bill Regan hired as Assistant Winemaker. First use of Merlot in Foppiano Vineyard's Cabernet Sauvignon blend |
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| 1981 | The "Riverside
Farm" label (now Riverside Vineyards) is introduced
to market with "fighting varieties," while
premium varieties are now marketed under the Foppiano Vineyards label. |
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| 1983 | First use of malolactic fermentation in the Foppiano Vineyards Chardonnay |
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| 1984 | After a long fight, Rod succumbs to leukemia. Bill Regan promoted to Winemaker. |
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| 1985 | Louis
M. begins to take over most of the day to day management
of the winery, along with exports and sales and marketing. |
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| 1986 | New "Reserve" Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are marketed under the "Fox Mountain" label. |
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| 1987 | Foppiano Vineyards' Petite Sirah flourishes in the market, gaining critical praise from the wine press and consumers for its high quality. Susan Foppiano, daughter of Louis J., takes over as Director of Hospitality |
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| 1988 | Sales
of the Foppiano Vineyards, Riverside Vineyards,
and Fox Mountain wines grow substantially in
European and Asian export markets. Exports eventually
grow to over 15% of winery's sales.
"Foppiano Vineyards" label redesigned and reintroduced
as it appears today.
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| 1994 | Fifth
generation Foppianos, Paul Foppiano (Rod's son),
James and Joseph Valera (Susan Foppiano-Valera's
sons) begin working in the Foppiano estate vineyards
and in the winery.
New Petite Sirah vineyard planted on the Foppiano estate
to accommodate the demand for it.
Research led By Dr. Carole Meredith of U.C. Davis begins on
the true identification of Petite Sirah; the Foppiano vineyard
is included in the evaluation process.
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| 1995 | Twenty year vertical tasting of Foppiano Petite Sirah conducted in London, England to wide acclaim. Foppiano Vineyard brand begins its transformation into a 100% red wine brand. Future plans to place all super premium white wines produced by the Foppiano family under the Fox Mountain label take shape |
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| 1996 | Foppiano
Vineyards celebrates its centennial.
Foppiano Vineyards brand completes its transition to all red
wines.
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