Louis Tonella
Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS member, conducted Louis Tonella's interview on May 9th, 2001. The excerpts below cover the period from 1918 to the present day.
Joseph Ponti, Louis' uncle and a notable Napa Valley figure in his own right, welcomed young Louis and his mother into his home following the death of his father in the 1918 flu epidemic, when he was just six years old. Louis grew up in the Napa Valley and came by his extensive wine industry knowledge and experience honestly, first by following in his uncle's footsteps and working for Beaulieu Vineyard, and later by making a name for himself as a hardworking and enterprising grapegrower. In between these two vocations, he owned and ran a General Goods store in Rutherford for many years and served as Rutherford's volunteer fire chief for a decade.
Louis farmed his own land and managed vineyards for others, most recently for his son Ray, for whom he worked as foreman until he retired at the ripe age of 85. Today, Louis and his wife Eda live on Niebaum Lane in Rutherford, on the same road where he first found a home with his uncle in 1918.
Moving in with Uncle Joseph Ponti