What’s in Store: Boncora Biscotti

Bakers at Boncora Biscotti in Kenwood continue to make light, crunchy Italian biscotti by hand, just as Bonnie Tempesta directed when she founded the company in 2012.

Tempesta, once called the “Queen of Biscotti” and credited with introducing biscotti to the U.S. market, died in September at age 61 after a brief battle with cancer.

Her only child, San Francisco psychotherapist Daniela Tempesta, wasn’t certain she could manage her career plus her mother’s business, but after spending time at Boncora Biscotti and weighing her options, she decided to continue her mother’s business and her charitable donations to Pets Lifeline, Sonoma Valley’s no-kill animal shelter.

“It was an emotional endeavor but a meaningful one,” she said.

Bonnie Tempesta moved to Sonoma Valley in 2001 after running La Tempesta Bakery Confections, Inc., the international biscotti business she founded in 1983 with her own mother, Aurora.

She was an animal lover who had several pets, coming out of retirement to establish Boncora Biscotti as a way to continue baking on a much smaller scale while also raising money for Pets Lifeline. The company’s product line now includes classic almond, chocolate dipped and triple chocolate biscotti, priced at $13.50-$15.50 for a tube of 15-18.

Nancy King, executive director of Pets Lifeline and a friend and neighbor of the late Tempesta, said donations from Boncora Biscotti have exceeded $5,000 since 2012.

Daniela Tempesta is honoring her mother’s legacy by expanding the company’s charitable efforts.

In addition to donating a percentage of all sales, Boncora Biscotti is donating $1 from every membership in its new biscotti club, Innamorati (“lovers” in Italian).

As a third-generation biscotti maker, empesta is committed to the legacy that began with a biscotti di Prato family recipe from her Italian homeland.

“There is no greater honor than carrying on my mother’s legacy,” she said. “Dedicating myself to Boncora provides a special way for me to forever hold her in my heart.”

Boncora Biscotti is located at 8910 Highway 12, Suite B11, in the Kenwood Shopping Center. For locations carrying Boncora Biscotti in Sonoma and Napa counties, or for more information, visit boncorabiscotti.com.