The Restaurant
Sugo Trattoria is a casual Italian restaurant that marries the traditions of the old world with Wine Country culture. Taking inspiration from the artfully hand crafted pastas, sauces and cured meats of Italy and integrating these recipes with local ingredients and California sensibility. The restaurant aims to showcase a selection of house-made offerings with local wines, as well as wines of various regions of Italy.
The Owners/Chefs
Sugo is Peter & Annette White’s third successful food endeavor. The first being the legendary New York Subs on Petaluma Boulevard, followed by Twisted Vine in Scottsdale, Arizona, which was named one of the 15 Best New Restaurants by Phoenix Magazine. In 2007 they happily settled back into Petaluma as the owners and chefs of their current Italian restaurant, Sugo Trattoria.
Peter White
owner / chef
Peter’s restaurant background comes from many years in the industry, including several of them as a general manager for the PF Changs and Paradise restaurant groups in Arizona.
He is most passionate about handcrafting his own products; from an assortment of handmade cheeses to grain mustards and specialty salumi. He has a commitment to taking traditional dishes and revamping them, putting on a modern twist using quality products and techniques.
Annette White
owner / chef
Annette descended from Italian immigrants and is committed to upholding Italian culture here in America. Being the first generation Italian-American, the art of making various pastas has been passed down from her nona, Anita Pizzuti, her grandfather, who was the cheese maker for Sorrento Cheese Company after migrating to the U.S. and her uncle who cured his own meats and made wine in his basement.
Her mother was responsible for passing down dishes without a single written recipe because ingredients would change by the season or by what was available in the moment. Annette would ask ” how much?” and her mother would reply, “until it taste rights.” She would say, “when is it ready?” and her mother would say, “when it feels right.” She learned many of these skills starting at a very young age in the many kitchens of her family’s restaurants and preparing food for the traditional, afternoon Sunday family gatherings.
Annette also followed her other passion for checking the world off her bucket list one adventure at a time and now has created a second career as a traveler. She is the author of the book Bucket List Adventures and creator of the award winning travel blog, Bucket List Journey.
While Peter and Annette's backgrounds differ, their food philosophy is the same, believing in upholding old world traditions while capturing the essence of wine country culture.