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Wine has been part of our family for as long as I can remember. My parents, Enzo and Assunta Casanova immigrated to San Francisco in 1948 from the small town of Lucca in the heart of Tuscany. Like many Italians from rural farming communities, my father was a home winemaker. I remember that myWine has been part of our family for as long as I can remember. My parents, Enzo and Assunta Casanova immigrated to San Francisco in 1948 from the parents – who were decidedly not city people – took every opportunity to “escape” with me for picnics in the wine country. The rolling vineyards and small family owned wineries reminded them of home, and gave me the first real taste of what their life in Tuscany must have been like. A visit to Lucca when I was 13 opened my eyes to the sun-drenched vistas, generous people and fabulous wines of my parents' homeland. Memories, that would stay with me the rest of my life. I had connected with my roots in a way that was profound and lasting.

Like many second generation immigrants, I was encouraged by my parents to make the most of what America had to offer. I attended college at UCSF, pursuing a degree in dentistry and specialty training at Boston University. In 1975 I opened my own endodontic practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Just as I had growing up, I continued to spend every free weekend in the wine country; enthusiastically learning all I could about wine while searching for the perfect spot to build my own little piece of Tuscany.