The Sanchietti Family

The Sanchiettis have been part of the Sonoma County agricultural legacy since 1919 when Luigi and Filomina Sanchietti immigrated from Italy and settled on a property in the Santa Rosa Plains. The land was planted to vineyards when the couple purchased it, but Prohibition collapsed the market for wine grapes, so they planted prunes and walnuts and raised poultry for the egg market. In 1943, when wartime abundance left their son Gus with an excess of fruit on the property, he and other Sonoma County farmers stopped at a vacant lot on Market Street and Duboc Avenue in San Francisco and began selling their pears and apples. They returned to the same spot week after week, establishing what would eventually become the San Francisco Farmers’ Market. His son Mel Sanchietti continued to farm the family property and also started a custom farming business. In addition, he had a 35-year career with Korbel Winery as vice president of vineyard operations. Mel’s daughters, Lori and Angie, work outside of the family business, while his son Mark attended Cal Poly where he studied agriculture business, wine and viticulture. Mark and his wife, Jenny, founded Sanchietti Farming in 2007, growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes in western Sonoma County, continuing the family’s farming legacy.