Pete founded Silverado Farming Company in 2001 after spending 15 years working as a vineyard manager in the Central Coast and Napa Valley. After receiving his degree in agriculture business from Fresno State University in 1987, Pete was hired by the Miller family, owners of Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria, where he became vineyard manager.
In 1991, wanting to be closer to family, Pete and his wife moved to Napa. During his early years in Napa, he worked for a number of wineries, eventually managing the Napa and Lake County Vineyards for Kendall Jackson. This is where Pete had his first exposure to growing high-end wines for both the Lokoya and Cardinale brands.
He founded SFC with the goal of working with small estate wineries where the focus was on wine quality and not the short-term bottom line. In 2006 Pete and his two partners founded the SFC One Percent for the Community Fund. Each year Silverado Farming pledges one percent of gross revenue to at-risk children and farm worker related issues in Napa County. To date the date the fund has distributed $160,000.
An active member of several organizations, Pete believes it is important to be involved in both professional groups and charitable groups. He is currently vice president of Napa Valley Community housing, finance chair of the First Presbyterian Church of Napa, board member of the Napa Valley Grape Growers, and board member of the Napa County Housing Commission.