Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Experience Winemaking

"We're not selling wine," Anthony Sannino said. "We're selling the experience."

The experience Sannino is referring to is the wine making experience, which is what he and his wife Lisa are now offering at their North Folk vineyard named Bella Vita Vineyard. With a membership style vineyard, the Sannino's offer to many the opportunity of a life time to be a part-time vintner and they become one of the first to do so on the east coast. The experience allows members to learn grape growing and winemaking from the ground up, and finish with a barrel of wine they can call their own.

From vine to wine, they guide you through the entire winemaking process.

Membership in Bella Vita costs $3,500 for a full barrel of wine - roughly 237 bottles which ends up being a very reasonable $12.72 per bottle cost. membership includes:

  • A custom barrel of premium wine of your choice
  • Filtering
  • Barrel storage
  • Bottles
  • Corks
  • Standard Labels
  • Annual Harvest Festival
  • Two educational viticultural sessions
  • One educational wine tasting session
Since Bella Vita currently grows Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc on their 5 acre vineyard, the possibilities are for your very own wine are only limited by your imagination and the two educational viticultural sessions would come in handy as you design your very own blend. Plus this is a great time to become a member for the 2008 harvest and adopt the row of grapes that would ultimately produce the grapes that would make your wine. You could take your row from winter pruning, bud break, shoot and cluster thinning ,leaf pulling, netting , and finally harvest. A membership with Bella Vita could make 08 a year to remember for years to come, or at least for about 240 bottles of wine to come.

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