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| Skip Napa Valley, head over the hill By MATT KAPKO Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, August 4, 2004 9:36 AM PDT Half Moon Bay Review The Italian proverb: "One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints" has become a tradition and words to live by for Dominick Chirichillo. Chirichillo has opened a winemaking club over-the-hill in San Carlos. The art of winemaking dates back to at least 4000 B.C. in Mesopotamia (near present-day Iraq and Iran). In all those millennia the ingredients have been the same, and the methods for producing wine have only improved by way of modern machinery and convenience. The drink is still the focal point of many rituals and social gatherings. At times it appears to be the drink-of-choice for the elite, but through the years wine's appeal has found a niche in many social strata. Chirichillo hopes to continue those traditions and bring peoples' passion for winemaking to a more ripe fruition by opening Bacchus Winemaking Club in San Carlos. This unique business allows customers to create their own barrels of wine for bottling with custom labels and all the ingredients any wine connoisseur or novice would expect. Chirichillo has been making wine as long as he can remember. It all began in a Staten Island basement 6,000 to 8,000 years after someone figured out they could crush grapes, ferment the juice and create wine. Watching his Italian immigrant grandfather take passion in winemaking and helping create batch after batch, Chirichillo fell in love with the art of winemaking at an early age (maybe as young as 2-years-old, he said). For him it wasn't an immediate progression into a career, but after years in the real estate business, Chirichillo reclaimed his roots and made two barrels - after a long hiatus from winemaking - in 1987. From there it was a snowball effect. Chirichillo began sharing the wine with friends and invited them to help make more the following year. A decade passed and Chirichillo was licensed and expanding his winemaking venture in New Jersey. Before he even got his feet planted, the customers' needs became too much for Chirichillo to handle, so he began franchising in 1999. Chirichillo, his wife and two sons, moved to Half Moon Bay in 1997, the same year he got licensed. Up until now he's been commuting back and forth between here and New Jersey to keep things running smoothly and producing 1,500 barrels of wine a year at his five Bacchus School of Wine locations. He couldn't be happier about his future prospects and the ability to stay closer to home. "This is a very unique concept. It's new and exciting," he said. Compared to premium wines that would cost $30-to-$40 a bottle in stores, Bacchus Wine- making Club members can produce wine themselves for $12.50-to-$16 a bottle depending on what region he or she chooses grapes from. In this first year of business, Chirichillo is offering the first 50 founding members a special introductory fee of $200 for couples and individuals or $1,000 for corporations. The season for winemaking begins in late August and early September. Barrels can then be produced for $3,600 with grapes from Amador, Lodi or the Russian River Valley. If you prefer grapes from Napa Valley, the cost is $4,600 per barrel. A barrel of wine bottles down to 24 cases, but if customers prefer they can do smaller batches of 6, 8, 12, and 18 cases. It's a four-step process that takes 6-to-8 hours total, taking place over a six-month period. "It's one barrel at a time, so it's very unique that way," Chiri-chillo said. "It's a form of entertainment that lives on. It's like I keep my grandfather alive doing this." Bacchus Winemaking Club is holding an open house on August 18. The interior of the building has been renovated for the business and a major exterior revamp is expected sometime next year, pending the City of San Carlos' approval. Wine is available for tasting and purchase at the Bacchus Winemaking Club at 1697 Industrial Road in San Carlos. The company can be reached at 593-WINE or online at www. bacchuswinemakingclub.com. |