Russian River Brewing to be Honored as Outstanding Small Business

Russian River Brewing Company will be honored as the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce's Outstanding Small Business at next Tuesday's Small Business Week Breakfast with Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. The awards will be presented to eight Sonoma County businesses, nominated and selected by local Chambers throughout the county.

"We're very honored to be recognized in our community for working so hard," said Natalie Cilurzo, who co-owns Russian River Brewing Company with her husband, Vinnie. "Every day our customers come in and vote with their money, but to be recognized as an outstanding small business by the Chamber is really wonderful."

The brewery is best known for beers like their flagship Double IPA, Pliny the Elder, along with several "sour" beers aged in used wine barrels from local wineries. Last year the Sonoma County Economic Development Board conducted a study on their seasonal two week release of Pliny the Younger and determined it contributed almost $2.4 million to the local economy.

"Knowing people would travel from all over the world and stand in line for 12 hours to drink our beer, we were very excited to calculate the tangible results – to see how much we're adding to the vitality of our local economy," said Natalie. "And every year we try to improve on that success."

Vinnie Cilurzo began brewing professionally in 1994 when he opened Blind Pig Brewing Company in Temecula, California. After selling his shares of Blind Pig in 1997, he and Natalie moved to Sonoma County where he began brewing for Korbel Champagne Cellars new brewery, Russian River Brewing Company. Natalie finished her studies in Business at Sonoma State University and continued her career in the wine business.

In 2003, Korbel decided to get out of the beer business altogether and gave Vinnie and Natalie the brand in lieu of severance. After writing a business plan and finding investors, a good location, and the necessary equipment, they opened their brewpub in Downtown Santa Rosa on April 3, 2004, with 28 employees and not enough money to pay the rent! In 2008, Vinnie and Natalie were able to finance a new production brewery not far from the pub which allowed them to bottle and distribute more beer.

Ten years later and 75 employees strong, Russian River is brewing at 100% capacity with no plans to expand in the immediate future. "Watching the business organically grow," said Natalie, "we're totally grateful and satisfied with where we are and to both the visitors and locals who have contributed to our success."

Full list of Outstanding Small Businesses that will be honored at the Small Business Week Breakfast with Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, May 13.