A Buffalo Township winemaker is pouring her entrepreneurial energy into expanding the family winery.
Francesca Howden is the petite Italian force behind the 12-year success of La Vigneta Winery in Buffalo Township.
“My parents always made wine when I was growing up. Dad always made it in the basement,” Howden said. “I was 27, and I wanted my own business.”
She quit her corporate career at PPG Industries and never looked back, educating herself on all things wine.
“I listened to seminars from the University of California in my car on all the chemistry behind the wine, and I read a lot of books,” Howden said. “It is a science. A lot more than you think.”
“La Vigneta” means “the vineyard” in Italian.
Her parents, Maria and Chuck DiPiazza, also work for the family-run winery.
Howden’s father hails from the Palermo region of Italy and her mother from Northern Italy. The trio are working nonstop on the expansion.
The winery produces 25 wines, including reds and whites ranging in price from $15 to $24 per bottle.
The tasting room is located at 110 South Pike Road off Route 356 in Buffalo Township and will be converted into a gelato/ice cream shop after the completion of the new winery on the farm.
The Vermintino wine is exclusive to the tasting room. It’s an Italian white wine made with grapes grown on the Italian coast.
La Vigneta also uses grapes grown in Northeast Pennsylvania, Chile and Lodi, Calif.
Destination winery experience
Buffalo Township supervisors approved expansion plans May 8 to develop 1 acre of the Howden’s 16-acre former equestrian farm.
The new winery on the farm will offer a Tuscan-themed experience with views of the surrounding countryside.
Proposed expansion plans include the construction of a new, indoor/outdoor 6,000-square-foot building to house production, storage and a tasting room with a Mediterranean-themed food tasting experience.
The family visited Italy last summer and drew inspiration from the Tuscan countryside.
“This will be a legacy for my family,” Howden said.
Plans include planting Tuscan cypress trees on the grounds, a live-music area, a wedding tent/venue section and parking for more than 100.
Tasting experiences will include custom-blended olive oils, charcuterie, imported Italian chocolates, paninis and sandwiches, jams and jellies, wine and Italian desserts.
“I want people to try things, and I want everyone to enjoy the views,” said Howden, who resides on the farm with her husband, Bob, who is a co-owner, and their two children.
When completed, the winery expects to hire more than 20 additional employees.
“We’ll use a total of 5 acres, but we will only disturb 1 acre,” Howden said. “We want it to be a destination in a country setting. It’s relaxing here in Sarver.”
The property is zoned agricultural, and Howden has planted grapes, fruit trees and more.
“It looks rough right now, but it’s going to be really beautiful,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Construction is expected to take 12 to 18 months.
“It’s a big, big task that most people wouldn’t even dream about taking. We’re just excited about all of it. We’re dreamers and we’re risk-takers,” Chuck DiPiazza said.
Winery business grows slowly
The business started in 2011 in the basement of Howden’s home in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood.
“She called me up one day and Francesca suggested we start a winery. She’s very good at marketing, and it tremendously helps with the business,” DiPiazza said.
He serves as the face of the business but said it’s a complete family affair.
“We made the wine, we did it all,” he said of Francesca’s dedication to getting the business up and running.
La Vigneta debuted at the Mt. Lebanon Farmers Market in 2011 and sold wine at about 10 festivals that year.
Now, its wines are sold online and at the tasting room in Buffalo Township, 24 area Giant Eagle locations, several Shop ’n Save grocery stores and 100 various off-site annual festivals throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Last year, the winery produced 40,000 bottles, and Howden said the business has outgrown its current tasting room.
“I’m happy about that, but I want to do more. This is the dream. The building. We want the destination, the whole winery experience,” she said.
Howden graduated with a marketing and international business degree from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
DiPiazza said his daughter is the family cheerleader.
“With a theme of ‘Everything Italian,’ she’s always been a go-getter. She reminds me a lot of my wife, Maria, because my wife started her former Maria’s Catering and Restaurant business from the basement.”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com