Foppiano Vineyards - Russian River Valley

Few wineries in America can offer the historical perspective of Foppiano Vineyards

For over one hundred years, the Foppianos have been involved in the American wine industry from their home ranch in Sonoma County's Russian River Valley. The story of Foppiano Vineyards is a family epic and full of industry history. It is a tale which confirms the value of perseverance and commitment.

Pictured right: Mathilda Foppiano (2nd from left) and Lou Foppiano (far right) in front of the winery, circa 1940.

Foppiano Vineyards was founded in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano, a native of Genoa, Italy. Giovanni emigrated from Italy to San Francisco in 1864, walking across the isthmus of Panama en route. He hoped to find his riches in the gold fields of California. It was Giovanni who founded Foppiano Vineyards after moving to Healdsburg, California when his search for gold proved to be unrewarding. He purchased a working winery called "Riverside Farm" on the same land where today's Foppiano Vineyards still stands and operates.

Giovanni was joined in his winemaking pursuits by his son, Louis A. Foppiano. Together they worked the vineyards and developed a market for their wines among the local Italian families and in San Francisco's Italian North Beach District. Over the years, the founding Foppiano and his son began to deviate from their common vision on how the winery should be managed. In 1910, Louis A. purchased the family winery from his father. The father and son did not speak to each other again until just before the founder's death.

Pictured right: The Foppiano Family in the vineyards, circa 1930

For the next eight years, Louis A., along with his wife Mathilda, built Foppiano Vineyards into one of the area's most prosperous wineries, and the Foppiano name became among the most prominent in Healdsburg. Among the varieties planted on the estate was Petite Sirah, a grape which produced hearty, rich, deep reds; the kind of wine Foppiano Vineyards’ customers demanded. Other varieties were planted, but at the time the wines were not identified by the variety in the bottle. It was simply Foppiano's renowned wines which customers desired.

The demand for wine dried up in 1919, when the Volstead Act and Prohibition went into effect. Louis A. kept the family business going by farming prunes, apples, and pears for the local market. Louis A. continued to grow wine grapes and took part in the wine grape boom. The Volstead Act allowed individuals to make 200 gallons of their own homemade wine. The result was tremendous numbers of refrigerated rail cars heading east loaded with grapes. The price of grapes increased, which helped to keep Foppiano Vineyards in business.

The Creek in front of the Foppiano Estate ran red in 1926 when federal Agents forced thousands of gallons to be dumped.

Pictured right: Federal Agent (standing), Lou Foppiano (sitting in foreground)

Louis. A. died in 1924, leaving his winery and vineyards to his first son, Louis J., who was born in 1910. It was Louis J. who saw the effects of Prohibition up close when, in 1926, federal agents "raided" the Foppiano Estate. Agents forced the family to open the tank valves, and watched as over 100,000 gallons of the 1918 vintage flowed down the creek in front of the winery. The result was a run on the winery. People came from miles around with cups, mugs, and jars and drank from the creek running red with wine.

With the end of Prohibition in 1933, Louis J. proposed to start up winery operations immediately. He was lucky that he still had a working winery; many others who had been making wine prior to Prohibition lost everything. What Foppiano Vineyards did not have were distribution and marketing networks. So at the young age of 23, Louis J. found himself making trips to New York to sell his wine and find marketing agents.

Pictured right: Loading the flatbed for deliveries at the Foppiano Estate, circa 1930s

In 1937, a new winery was built on the site of the old winery. With the new facility, Foppiano Vineyards became one of the first Sonoma County wineries to bottle its own wines. When World War II cut off the import of wine supplies from France, Louis J. found himself in a boom market for California wines. By 1941, Foppiano Vineyards was sending six rail cars a week to the east coast filled with wine, and increased its production to over 800,000 gallons of wine annually.

The early 1940s were important years for both the Foppiano family and the wine industry. The regulation of the industry which came with Repeal led California wineries to create The Wine Institute, a trade organization established to deal with industry and political matters. Louis. J joined the Institute in its second year, serving as a Director for 45 years. Inspired by the Wine Institute, Louis J. went on to help found the Sonoma County Wine Growers Association in 1946, along with 14 other wineries.

Foppiano Vineyards expanded in 1945 when Louis J. purchased the Sotoyome Vineyard, which adjoined the Foppiano Estate. The family was further expanded the next year when Louis J. married. Louis J. and Della Foppiano celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1996.

The 1940s and 1950s were a profitable era for Foppiano Vineyards. Their jug wines were well known throughout California and in many states across the nation. As the industry began to undergo a change in the 1960s, Louis J. embraced the change.

By the mid 1960s, jug wines became very competitively priced, making it difficult for the lower yielding coastal vineyards such as Foppiano to compete with the central California valley vineyards. In the Central Valley, more tons of grapes per acre could be produced. This situation led Louis J. to remove the remaining fruit trees on his estate, along with some vines. He planted varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and others. Only the old Petite Sirah, Louis J.'s favorite, stayed in the ground during the replanting. Stainless steel tanks, oak barrels and tanks and new equipment were purchased in order to move into the "premium" wine business.

Pictured right: A case stack of Foppiano wines in the 1950s

After the winery transformation, the fourth generation of Foppiano's began to work in the family business. Louis J.'s sons, Louis M. and Rod, began to take over winemaking and marketing responsibilities. Later, Louis J.'s daughter, Susan, would take over the growing hospitality side of the business. When Rod Foppiano died in 1984, Louis M. took over all day-to-day operations of the winery, although this father continued to arrive at the winery every morning. Bill Regan, Rod's assistant, was offered the position of Winemaker in 1985.

Picture: from left to right: Lou Foppiano Sr., Rod Foppiano, Louis Foppiano, circa mid-1970s.

The 1970s through the 2000s has been a period of growth for Foppiano Vineyards on a number of fronts. Two brands were added: Riverside Vineyards, for the production of North Coast "fighting varietals," and Fox Mountain, for the production of super premium white wines. Of the three, the Foppiano Vineyards brand remains the best known and most admired by the industry and consumers. Petite Sirah, the family's favorite wine, has become the winery's signature wine, and is known nationwide as one of the country's top Petites year-in and year-out. Export sales have grown significantly in this era with 15% of all wines now produced sold overseas and in Canada. Finally, the coincidence is not lost on anybody that in 1996, on the 100th anniversary of the estate's founding, the family decided to produce only red wines under the Foppiano Vineyards label – the same circumstance that existed in 1896.

The 100-year history of Foppiano Vineyards confirms that through the strength of the family and a commitment to quality, tradition can be maintained and can thrive.

History