The president of the company wears ripped and stained blue jeans

Paul Foppiano is hardly the image of what one expects from a company president. There are no pinstriped Brooks Brothers suits, roomy desks, or assistants bustling with spreadsheets and strategic plans. You also won’t find him thinking about a merger behind a desk.

“My decision is made on the hood of a tractor or a truck. This is my office, ”he said in a recent telephone interview.

And that pinstripe suit?

“I’m wearing blue jeans with a hole in it and hydraulic stains all over it.”

This is how the cultivation of grapes and the making of wine has been done for generations at Foppiano vineyards. Paul is the fifth generation to run the business, one of the oldest continuously operating family wineries in Sonoma County. As families bicker acrimoniously and sell their fractured wineries to big Wall Street beverage companies, Foppiano remains a survivor. Its wines may not have the cachet or cult of prestigious Napa Valley labels, but instead the winery remains on the path to making reliable and affordable wines. This is particularly the case for its iconic petite sirah, a flagship wine introduced by its Italian ancestors.

Founded in 1896 by an immigrant from Genoa Giovanni Foppiano, the company survived Prohibition by selling home wine making kits. The operation was passed on to new generations, but Paul was only nine years old when his father died in 1984. He eventually went to work at Sausal vineyard with another immigrant from Genoa, then returned to Foppiano in 1999. He assumed the title of president when his grandfather retired about 10 years ago.

There are not many family cellars left intact today. Three conglomerates have swallowed up many of the deals that established the California wine industry. More recently Sebastiani was bought by Family wine estate Foley and its historic facility in Sonoma was closed.

Paul said the closure of an iconic building in the city had hit him hard. “I passed this the other day for the last time,” he said. He lamented the number of people who have lost their jobs.

He has struggled to find any perks in being a family business – “no one fights better than families,” he said – but he likes that decisions can be made quickly and that everyone in his area. small staff can perform all tasks.

“Everyone gets their hands on the Kool-aid in one way or another,” he said. “I wouldn’t ask any employee to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. We work as a team and this is not always seen in business.

Today the only Foppiano still involved in the winery, Paul is more than happy to run the business. But if it were up to him, he would spend all his time in the vineyards.

Knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation, but Paul admitted that times have changed since horses plowed his family’s vines. He cited irrigation and organic farming among the most significant advances. But the region’s lack of water is one of the most serious challenges. One of its wells has been ordered to close as part of a regional water conservation effort.

“We are probably in the worst drought ever,” he said. “The Russian river may dry out this year. Young vines cannot survive if you do not irrigate.

We shoot for wineries like Foppiano. It’s more than just preserving the tradition created by hard-working pioneers. These are wines that reflect personal dedication and not recipes based on formulas adopted by impersonal societies.

Here are some of the Foppiano wines to try:

Domaine Foppiano Zinfandel 2017 ($ 28). Classic aromas of raspberry and spice with flavors of plum and blueberry with easy tannins. It is a better table wine than most extracted zinfandels.

Domaine Foppiano Petite Sirah 2017 ($ 25). Crowning Foppiano year after year, this petite sirah has elegance and structure. The effusive aromas of cloves and pepper are followed by flavors of ripe strawberry and blueberry with a hint of chocolate.

Foppiano 1896 California Red Blend 2018 ($ 13). The beauty of this tasting wine lies in its simplicity. Red fruits and goes perfectly with grilled burgers.

Foppiano Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2019 ($ 25). Notes of pear and apple with a hint of spices give this Chardonnay a nice boost.

Selection of wines