Sangiacomo Cultivates Grapes, Culture, Multi-Generational Families
If you love California wine, you’ve probably sipped more Sangiacomo Family Vineyards than you realize. Because in addition to producing their own line of award-winning wines, the family-owned and operated brand cultivates 1,600 acres of grapes for more than 80 brands, many of which are vineyard-designated.
The Sangiacomos love welcoming visitors to their Sonoma winery on land three generations of their family have farmed for nearly 100 years. The approach, whether you’re talking to a family member or one of their longtime hospitality pros, is highly personal.
They’ll taste you on their wines, explain how they’re cultivated from sustainably farmed vineyards in Carneros, along the Sonoma Coast, in the Petaluma Gap, and in the Napa Valley. They’ll tell you funny stories about their grandparents Maria and Vittorio, who lived close to each other in Italy, but didn’t meet until they both landed in San Francisco. They’ll tell you how and why they transitioned from growing pears to growing grapes.
They’ll geek out over rootstocks and clones, recommend food pairings for their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, and they’ll even tell you they’ve produced (for their own brand, launched in 2016, and their long-term partners) more than 200 90+ point wines since 1979.
The Wine Is Fine but the Culture Is Even Better
The Sangiacomos and their staff are justly proud of the legacy their hard work and focused farming have earned them and their partners. What they’re less likely to talk about is the impact they’ve had on their community. Perhaps it’s because, unlike the ceaseless effort and dedication that building a premium grape empire over three generations requires, this part doesn’t feel like work. Perhaps it’s because it would feel like bragging to point out the aspects of their business that, to them, are a natural extension of their values.
Don’t worry, we got their team to spill the beans.
Amid labor crunches, the increased mechanization of labor in vineyards and cellars, and relentless consolidation and cutbacks, values that center on community are increasingly hard to find in evidence. But these values are something that wine lovers like me—and I’m guessing, like you—are beginning to care about as much as the soil series that Cabernet Sauvignon is planted in.
While having large staffs of full-time vineyard workers may have been the norm a few generations ago, it is now rare to the point of unheard of to encounter an agricultural company that supports 120+ full-time employees, often over multiple generations.
“We look through the same family lens that has been passed down since our grandparents Vittoria and Maria created the business,” says third-generation partner Steve Sangiacomo. “Employees are our best strength, and by looking through the same family lens that has been passed down over generations, from being responsible farmers and active community members to taking care of our employees, we can adjust to new business dynamics.”
For many of their team members, that translates to decades spent working with the Sangiacomos—sometimes, all three generations. (According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure for an agricultural worker is 4.4 years).
“After working here for over 40 years, I can say that I have always enjoyed working with the three generations,” says Cipreano Alvarez, who has worked with the Sangiacomos for 43 years.
Part of the Sangiacomo’s strength as a business, and what must certainly be part of the loyalty they inspire in their team, is the demonstrable dedication they have to working with their hands.
“My brother, sister, and many of our employees have worked shoulder to shoulder with our father, uncles, aunt, and our grandparents,” Steve explains, adding that time spent with team members in the vineyard pays enormous dividends in the future, “creating loyalty to the land and brand.”
For Roberto Alvarez, the opportunity the family gave him 25 years ago changed the trajectory of his life.
“Their way of leading is based on respect, responsibility, fairness, and motivation,” Alvarez says. “They place trust in me. In the 25 years I’ve spent working with them I have come to realize that the Sangiacomo family leads with value and heart. They treat their employees with care, and make us feel like a family.”
Alvarez’s wife, son, and brothers also work for Sangiacomo.
Leonel Campos, who has spent the past 15 years working with the Sangiacomos, says he came here when he saw the mutual respect and motivation they shared with his father, Jaime Campos, who has worked there for more than 30 years.
“Sangiacomo is a place where they give you the opportunity to learn how to do everything and grow within the company,” Campos says. “I am fortunate to have been able to work side by side with my father as well.”
The stories of the Alvarez and Campos families aren’t anomalies – they’re the product of an intentional culture, one built over the same three generations that have shaped every vintage. And that culture, it turns out, ends up in the glass. We all want our wine to taste good. Sangiacomo’s own releases, and that of their longstanding partners (a few favorites include Frank Family Vineyards Sangiacomo Chardonnay and Saxon Brown Sangiacomo Roberts Road Vineyard Pinot Noir) tick that box.
But increasingly, more of us want our wine to be good.
The numbers speak for themselves: amid a surge in very public commitments to social justice, and then a backlash, many companies have become shyer about sharing how their personal values are woven into their brands. But a recent report shows that 64% of people are more likely to buy products made by companies that share similar values.
That’s particularly true for Gen Z buyers, who wield $140 billion in purchasing power and are especially willing to support – and pay more for – brands whose values align with their own. For wineries like Sangiacomo, that’s not a marketing strategy. It’s just how they’ve always operated.
Sangiacomo’s Family Team:
- 100+ full-time employees
- 20+ seasonal employees during harvest
- 13 employees with more than a decade with the family
- 16 employees with 15+ years with the family
- 13 employees with 30+ years with the family
- 33 years: longest tenure for administrative employee
- 50 years: longest tenure for vineyard employee
- 5 married couples employed full-time