The Zio Tony Ranch is named after Lee Martinelli's Uncle Tony. “Zio” means uncle in Italian. Tony (Paolo Anthony Bondi) grew up in an apple orchard in the Sebastopol Hills at the southernmost tip of the Russian River Valley. His parents, Paolo and Gemma Bondi immigrated from Tuscany in the early 1900’s and began farming apples and potatoes. After his father passed away, Zio Tony  took over the farming responsibilities, while choosing to live at home with his widowed mother and support her.

 

Eventually Tony owned the largest apple orchard in Sonoma County. He served on the Board of Directors for the Sebastopol Coop Cannery where he and many other local farmers sold their apple crops. The late 1960’s brought changes in tourism and a population growth that would drastically affect the production of agricultural products in the region. When the price for apples plummeted to $30 per ton, his entrepreneurial spirit took charge. Tony began planting Pinot Noir. 

 

Soon after the rootstock was in the ground, Zio Tony died in a tractor accident. He was 55 years old and had no children as heirs. Tony had been very close with his nephew, Lee Martinelli Sr., he was the best man at Lee and Carolyn’s wedding.  Lee Sr., was a high school teacher at the time of his uncle’s death, made the decision to take over the farming of his uncle’s estate. With a strong objective to keep agriculture alive as the family business, Lee Sr. soon began converting the rows and rows of apple trees into rows and rows of grapevines. The first bottling from these vineyards that Lee Sr. planted was from Zio Tony Ranch. 

 

Zio Tony Bondi was well loved by the local farming community and his spirit is still legendary in the old Sebastopol Hills.