Words by Johanna Harlow
In small-town San Carlos, tucked between auto repair shops, expect the unexpected. On Industrial Road, in a pair of converted warehouses, you’ll find Domenico Winery and Osteria, an Italian restaurant, winery and event venue rolled into one. “This was not the way it looks today,” chuckles owner Dominick Chirichillo, who runs the business alongside his wife Gloria. “It was just a big, yellow, ugly building.” But while others underestimated the property, Dominick saw a space large enough to stretch his imagination and realize his big dreams. Today, the store front beckons passersby with an inviting stonework façade and a sprawling patio where patrons sit and sip petite sirah.
“Let the grapes express themselves,” Dominick advises from the back room as he twists the spigot on a 3,400-gallon stainless steel tank, releasing a stream of beautiful burgundy. He has been around wine his entire life thanks to his beloved Nonno. His grandfather Domenico Giovinazzo used to make wine in the basement of his New York home back in the 1950s. Dominick fondly recalls squabbling with his cousins over who would help Nonno with the press. “Every Sunday, we would spend at my grandparents—all the cousins and uncles and aunts,” Dominick recalls, describing the big family dinners. “My grandfather would have his gallon of wine. He’d pour and the kids would have wine in their soda.”
Cover Photo and Above Photo Courtesy of: Johanna Harlow
As Dominick gives a tour, the restaurant, event venue and winemaking spaces feel like their own distinct worlds. The industrial-chic event venue is spruced up with funky light fixtures and lined with oak barrels stacked four high. The Osteria charms diners with hanging plants and lights, while a sculpture of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, watches over guests. Meanwhile, the winemaking warehouse in the back brims with gleaming industrial-grade equipment.
Dominick passes his great-nephew Max, busy crushing three Jacuzzi-sized tubs of grapes with a stainless-steel punch down. “He will be the fifth generation of winemakers in our family,” Dominick says, adding that his oldest son and wife Gloria run the catering side of the business, while his younger son is considering joining the financial side. Gloria has overseen everything from designing wine labels to accounting and interior design. “It can be challenging and rewarding,” says Dominick of working with family. “You run the emotional gamut… It’s no different than any other family.” Adding, “We love each other a lot, and I guess that’s the glue that keeps us going.”
Photo Courtesy of: Paulette Phlipot
It’s hard to imagine that such a massive operation started with just two barrels of wine back in the ‘80s. “I needed something to take the worry that I was going through in my business, set it aside and have some fun,” Dominick reflects, explaining that in his youth, he pursued a career in real estate. That first batch took him six hours to make by hand. “The wine came out well,” he smiles.
Two barrels became 20. Then 60. Soon, Dominick’s basement was practically buried with barrels and he could barely wedge himself between the rows. Ready to take things to the next level, Dominick and his wife Gloria progressed to a 3,000-square-foot space in New Jersey, which let them reach nearly 300 barrels. The couple also founded The Bacchus School of Wine, which they expanded to five locations across the state before they moved to the Bay Area. Dominick’s real estate background helped him hunt down their current warehouse as well as purchase land in Amador County for vineyards.
Photo Courtesy of: Paulette Phlipot
The land’s granite and limestone give the wine a minerality and vibrancy in flavor, Dominick explains. “Grapes and limestone is a real nice story.” After initially planting five acres of syrah and three of primitivo, Dominick continues to expand with other Cal-Italia varietals including aglianico, Montepulciano, nero d’Avola and cabernet sauvignon. “We’re planting 14 more acres of vineyards over the next three years,” he says, which will include sangiovese, nebbiolo, Fiano di Avellino, barbera and others. His favorite to drink? “I would say the wine in my glass!” Domenick jokes, before adding he’s partial to primitivo. It’s the Italian zinfandel, with a velvety bouquet of blackberry and plum and a subtle spiciness that hits at the back of the throat.
To sip and savor, pair food with wine over at the Osteria. This latest addition was designed by Gloria with Chef Gary DiDominick presiding over the kitchen. (“We didn’t hire him for his name,” Dominick laughs). With obvious care taken to acquire quality ingredients, expect excellence in everything from the focaccia studded with tangy tomatoes to the rigatoni with generous chunks of housemade fennel sausage cloaked in a creamy vodka sauce. The flickering flames of a stone hearth pizza oven promise great pies, from the Regina (topped with creamy dollops of burrata, big basil leaves and grape tomatoes) to Dom’s Godfather (calabrese salami and peppadew peppers drizzled in Calabrian chili oil and local honey). If you want a taste of Dominick’s childhood home in Jersey, go topsy-turvy with the Boardwalk Pizza that tucks the cheese beneath the sauce.
Photo Courtesy of: Johanna Harlow
There are more ways to experience Domenico. For team-building seminars, people are split into “winery” teams and everyone competes to design the best label, come up with a marketing plan for their fictitious business and blend wine from several varietals in beakers. “Then everybody goes home with a bottle, of course,” Dominick winks.
They also host Grapes and Giggles, a monthly comedy night, as well as private events—a recent one was his own son’s wedding. “We pretty much run the gamut,” Dominick says, adding that sometimes the festivities even include fire dancers and aerialists. What’s more, people who belong to the Bacchus Winemaking Club can learn the entire winemaking process with Dominick from de-stemming, crushing and pressing grapes to racking and bottling.
While it sounds like more than enough to keep him busy, Dominick is also opening a second tasting room/event venue in the Amador area. When commended for his chutzpah, Domenico’s owner quotes Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come!” Wine and big vision are two things Dominick will never have in short supply.