Christopher Silva, of St. Francis Winery, dies at 52

Chris Silva was a fifth-generation Sonoma County resident and father of two.|

Christopher Silva, the supercharged Petaluma-born wunderkind who left lawyering for the wine industry, then grew the reputation of Sonoma Valley’s St. Francis Winery & Vineyards as an epicurean destination, died June 20 at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. He was 52.

It was just in April that the fifth-generation Sonoma County resident and father of two announced on Facebook that he’d been diagnosed with brain cancer. He wrote in the posting that he noticed “I was slurring my speech, struggling to format syntax ...”

“Don’t cry for me - not just yet,” he wrote. “This has really been a wonderful life - so much richness and joy - everlasting joy - and I have not begun to fight.”

Chris Silva had come by a substantial knowledge of the wine business when, in 1998, Joe Martin invited him to work at St. Francis.

He was the winery’s chief operating officer at age 33, and was 38 when Martin promoted him to president and CEO in 2003.

“In a lot of ways, he was my best friend,” Silva said in a 2016 interview with The Press Democrat. Martin died in 2015 at the age of 80.

Personable, vigorous and charming, Silva honed St. Francis Winery & Vineyards into a model of sustainability and the pursuit of constant improvement. He encouraged employees to give back to their community, and he led by example.

He held leadership positions on the boards of Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and the Santa Rosa Junior College wine studies program.

“Chris was a real gift to everyone who knew him,” said Frank Chong, the school’s president.

In addition to many wine competition awards and tasting honors, Silva’s leadership helped to bring to the 200,000-case St. Francis Winery a variety of sustainability and green-practices awards.

Silva was proud to point out that the wine-and-food pairings by St. Francis executive chef Bryan Jones twice in recent years prompted OpenTable to name the winery the “No. 1 Restaurant in America,” even though there is no restaurant there.

In addition to his daughter in Santa Rosa, his brother in Sacramento and his father and stepmother in Sonoma, Silva is survived by his son, Joseph, of Santa Rosa.

Memorial donations are suggested to the new Christopher Silva Endowment, to benefit students at Santa Rosa Junior College. Gifts can be sent to the SRJC Foundation, 1501 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa 95401, or can be made online at santarosa.edu/foundation.

Chris Smith is at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.

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