By Virginie Boone

Last week, a grand ceremony took place honoring the first members of The Century Club, the Sonoma County Winegrowers’ recognition of local families who have been farming in Sonoma County for at least 100 years.

These farmers are the living embodiment of our region’s ethos and commitment to sustainability, surviving wars, pandemics, phylloxera, Prohibition, financial hardships, and so much more.

Over this last century and more, these 22 families have helped build Sonoma County’s wine grape industry into an economic powerhouse with few rivals, their grapes going into some of the finest wines in the world. Here’s who they are:

The Azevedo Family, Azevedo A-Bar Ranch: A Healdsburg property dating back to 1904 that has farmed timber to produce charcoal, raised beef and dairy cattle, and grown prunes and wine grapes, the fifth generation of Azevedos was born in 2023.

The Bacigalupi and Gaddini Family, Bacigalupi Vineyards: The Gaddinis’ original Healdsburg winery, vineyards and farm started in 1883; the Laurel Springs Winery built on the property dates back to 1909 and still stands. The Westside Road property was bought by Charles and Helen Bacigalupi in 1956 and has some of the first plantings of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, as was the source of many of the grapes that went into the winning Chardonnay of the 1976 Paris Tasting.

The Bastoni Family, Bastoni Vineyards: Dating back to 1905 with 160 acres of land in the Fountaingrove District, the Bastonis started with Zinfandel on St. George rootstock. Subsequent generations continue to farm Zinfandel and Alicante Bouschet, selling grapes from their 37 acres to local wineries.

The Bisordi Family, Bisordi Ranch & Vineyards: In Fulton since 1898, the Bisordis started with tomatoes, prunes, hops and wine grapes with the sixth generation continuing to farm 20 acres of Zinfandel, Chardonnay and other products like eggs, olives, walnuts and chestnuts.

The Bundschu Family, Bundschu Company: With the Bundschu family involved since 1868, Jim Bundschu helped resurrect the Gundlach Bundschu winery in 1973, with the sixth generation now running both the Gundlach Bundschu and Abbot’s Passage wineries in Sonoma Valley.

The Denner Family, Denner Ranches, Inc.: Founded in 1890 with wine grapes – and once raising horses for the United States Cavalry – the Denners currently manage 42 acres of Chardonnay grapes and are devoted to sustainable agriculture.

The Dutton Family, Dutton Ranch Corporation: Sonoma County farmers since the 1880s, Dutton Ranch was founded in 1964 by Gail and Warren Dutton in Graton, where they grew apples and wine grapes, passing that legacy down to the fifth-generation, Steve and Joe, who now farm 1,400 acres of sustainable wine grapes across Sonoma County with their own children.

The Giusti Family, Giusti Ranch & Vineyards: Founded in 1875 in Forestville, the family now farms 9 acres of Pinot Noir which go into bottlings from Kosta Browne and the family’s own label, Via Giusti Wines.

The Kunde Family, Wildwood Vineyards & Arthur Kunde & Sons, Inc.: German immigrants who settled in Sonoma Valley in 1904, the 650-acre Wildwood Ranch was first planted in 1879, with the ranch expanded in the 1960s and 1970s by Arthur “Big Boy” Kunde’s sons, who added the 1,200-acre Kinneybrook Ranch in 1977.

The Leras Family, Leras Family Vineyards: Dating back to 1918, the Leras farm on Woolsey Road in Santa Rosa is now in its third generation of grapegrowing, notably Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The Martinelli Family, Martinelli Winery & Vineyard: In Sonoma County since the 1880s, the Martinellis planted Zinfandel and Muscat Alexandria on a 60-degree slope in the Russian River Valley, known forever after as Jackass Hill. A family winery was started in the 1980s, with three generations working together as farmers and vintners across the region.

The Mauritson Family, Mauritson Farms: Grape farmers since 1868, with a 4,000-acre ranch in Rockpile that eventually became Lake Sonoma, the fifth and sixth generations continue to farm grapes and make wine under the Mauritson name.

The Munselle Family, Munselle Vineyards: Founded in Alexander Valley a century-and-a-half ago, the Munselle legacy includes the region’s first and second wineries, Lone Pine Cellars and Red Winery. They refocused their efforts on farming prunes, hops and dairy cattle until shifting back to wine grapes in 1972. The Munselle Vineyards wine label debuted in 2006.

The Puccioni Family, Puccioni Ranch & Vineyards: Dating to 1904, Puccioni Ranch used a mule to plow wine grapes until 1968. The fourth and fifth generation live on property today, tending to old-clone Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouschet, most of it head-trained.

The Rafanelli Family, Rafanelli Winery: Founded in the early 1900s, with its current-day winery moved to Dry Creek Valley in the early 1950s, the Rafanellis continue to farm wine grapes and make wine under the leadership of the second and third generations.

The Saini Family, Saini Farms, Inc.: Beginning in 1908 by an Italian immigrant who became a San Francisco garbage man, the Saini Ranch in Dry Creek Valley was purchased in 1917 to grow pears, apples, prunes and wine grapes. The fourth generation launched the wine brand Saini Vineyards in 2008, while a fifth generation continues the family legacy.

The Sanchietti Family, Sanchietti Ranch: Based in the Santa Rosa Plains since 1919, the Sanchiettis started with wine grapes, switched to prunes, walnuts and eggs during Prohibition, and helped establish the San Francisco Farmers’ Market during 1940s wartime. A custom farming business was started by the third generation, while Sanchietti Farming was started by the fourth generation in 2007 to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

The Schmidt Family, Tzabaco Rancho Vineyards: One of the longest-standing family farming legacies dating back to 1856, the historic rancho started in field crops, fruit trees and Zinfandel, acquiring more property in 1901. The sixth generation sustainably farms 70 acres of winegrapes today.

The Sebastiani Family, Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery: With a winery founded in 1904, and operated through Prohibition for sacramental wines, there are now multiple generations of Sebastianis involved in various wine, spirits and food ventures.

The Seghesio Family, Seghesio Family Vineyards: The Seghesios first came to Sonoma County in 1886, planting Zinfandel and Sangiovese, some of the oldest in North America. The family continues to farm 300 acres of sustainably farmed vineyards.

The Serres Family, Serres Ranch: In Northern California since 1872, the Serres family have owned and operated Serres Ranch in Sonoma Valley since 1924, as a dairy and row crop farm that transitioned into wine grapes in the 1980s. Three generations of Serres family members continue to live on and farm the 200-acre ranch.

The Young Family, Robert Young Estate Vineyards: Originally from Alsace-Lorraine, the Youngs settled in Alexander Valley in 1858, later planting the area’s first prunes. Wine grapes came in the 1960s; the Robert Young Clone 17 of Chardonnay is world renowned. The winery came about in 1997, run today by the fifth and sixth generations.