Lena and Mario Lanza

Mario Lanza and Lena Carlevaro Lanza met in Oakland, California in 1934, and married in 1937. Their families both came from the small town Silvano Di Orba, in northern Italy. Mario worked as a partner in the Oakland Scavenger Company. In 1944, he was badly injured in a workplace accident. In order to heal properly, Mario's doctor recommended that he move from the Bay Area to a warmer climate.

Mario decided to visit his friend, Salvador Brea. In 1933, Salvador founded a small winery in Suisun Valley named Wooden Valley Winery, because he could see the end of Prohibition nearing, and wanted to be part of the new wave of California vintners. Mario was pleased with what he saw there, and in 1945 decided to move north to Suisun Valley. He made the move with Lena and their two children, Richard and Marlene. Mario worked full time with Salvador at Wooden Valley. By 1946, Salvador offered Mario a partnership in the business. That continued for nearly ten years. In 1955, Salvador married and decided it was time for his wife and him to return to Italy. Salvador sold his interest in the business to Mario, with the understanding that Mario would keep the name of the winery the same. On a handshake, Mario agreed to continue the business as Wooden Valley Winery.

This decision has left an important historical fingerprint; at the time of its naming, Salvador named the winery after the road it was on, the Wooden Valley Road. Today, this road has now become Suisun Valley Road. Salvador's forethought allows for the name "Wooden Valley" to continue in Suisun.

During his stewardship, Mario loved owning this property. He purchased the original eleven acres by obtaining the ranch next door; which at the time was planted with fig and pear trees. Because they didn't have enough of their own grapes to meet demands for wine, Mario began working with August Sebastiani. He purchased bulk wine from him, which was packaged in barrels and gallon jugs. At the time, the wine was all sold through direct channels, which were the tasting room and wine delivery.

In the 1970s, those fruit trees were removed in order to make way for vineyards. The vineyards grew to 350 acres. Then in 1982, the Lanza family planted a big crop, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot. Eventually, Wooden Valley Winery was growing enough estate grapes that they no longer needed to purchase bulk wine. In fact, turn-about-fair-play being what it is, they began to sell grapes to Sebastiani, and to others. During this time, Lena worked in the tasting room every day, insisting that the tasting room be closed one day a week so that she could go to town and buy the things that she needed in order to maintain the household.

Richard "Chick" Lanza
standing by old wine press

By this time, Mario and Lena's son Richard "Chick" was working with them. When he married Adrienne in 1961, she took over the responsibility of bookkeeping, previously handled by Lena. Adrienne subsequently gave birth to four sons; as they grew up on the land, they learned to drive tractors and eventually each found his own place in the family business.

Mario passed away in 1984 and his oldest grandson, Rick, is now Wooden Valley's winemaker. Ron runs the tasting room, is in charge of sales, marketing, and public relations, and works very closely with Ron in the cellar. Larry and Ken manage the vineyards together, growing the grapes that their brother makes into wine.

This new generation of Lanzas had a vision for the future of Wooden Valley Winery. In the mid-1980, Ron championed the idea for them to grow even more grapes, and to move away from jugs towards premium wine in 750ml and liter bottles. In the year 2000, they decided to bottle in only 750ml bottles, and to offer even higher quality wine. They're now growing varieties with which many others in Suisun Valley and neighboring appellations are not working: Primitivo, Valdiguie, and White Gamay.

Wooden Valley Winery has a history steeped in the old-world values of hard work and integrity. These qualities have certainly led to the success that they've experienced in the past, and will help them to continue to grow as much as they desire to. They've achieved their success through only direct sales. As the fourth generation of Lanzas mature into adulthood, the future for Wooden Valley Winery certainly looks bright and expansive for Chick and Adrienne's grandchildren.