Petroni Vineyards

Petroni Vineyards' creator, Lorenzo Petroni, had managed to persuade the Italian Brunello Consorzio, a group dedicated to preserving the wine's geographical purity, to let him use the name on his Moon Mountain Sangiovese. That narrative, on the other hand, is best conveyed in person. Lorenzo's ambition was to create a California Sangiovese that could compete with the renowned and desired Brunello di Montalcino from Italy's Tuscan region. He left home at the age of 17 with only a handful of dollars in his pocket and a woman's pant suit from his mother, who explained that "after he found a job, he could hire a tailor and look the correct part." He worked hard and saved his money, eventually founding The North Beach Restaurant with a buddy, Bruno Orsi, who would be the restaurant's chef. Lorenzo, an incredibly charismatic and welcoming Italian, quickly earned the title "Mayor of North Beach" and is well known for hosting San Francisco's elite for lunch, heated political debates, and late-night Grappa tastings in the restaurant's basement, which also has the grandfathered-in ability to cure its own prosciutto. He was the first restaurant in the area to set up tables outside, much like he did in his native country.