As one of the founding members of the Russian River Valley AVA and Sonoma County’s oldest continually operated family-owned winery, Foppiano knows what it takes to make good wine. Acumen and intuition have guided this winery to good decision making since its founding in 1896 by Giovanni Foppiano. The winery survived the turbulent Prohibition era by selling home winemaking kits in the 1920s, and today, the fifth generation Foppiano, Paul, is President and Vineyard Manager.
The wine, of course, like its operating heritage, has consistently been held in high regard. Some of them have won gold medals, like their Estate Pinot Noir, while other varieties, like Petite Sirah, have legions of fans. In fact, Foppiano won the coveted Civart Award at Vinexpo Bordeaux in 1999 for its ’96 Petite Sirah, and the First Petite Sirah symposium was held at the winery in 2002 by the group P.S. I Love You. Louis M., fourth generation of Foppiano, was the group’s first charter member and has championed and elevated the reputation of Petite Sirah in the region.
