Charlie Rosabianca Uncorks Rosabianca Vineyards
What started as a dream-and a tribute to his father-has become a reality for Charlie Rosabianca.
On Jan. 2, Charlie opened the doors to his Northford vineyard's small, quaint tasting room, and the public has been stopping by to enjoy ever since. Lovingly crafted with interior wood and timbers salvaged from the 1839 farmhouse Charlie restored on the property, the tasting room occupies the second floor of the winery barn where Charlie crafts the nine varieties (four white, one rose, two red, and one red blend) bearing the Rosabianca Vineyards label.
By following Rosabianca Vineyards on its Facebook page, guests know when it's best to stop by to enjoy a glass or bottle (or take some away) or experience a tasting featuring five wines, with Charlie as their guide. The room fits about 30 to 35 guests. The vineyard is also the only place currently selling the wines.
"I'm only distributing it from the property's farm winery, because I'm small production and there's three things I want to do. I want to grow grapes, I want to make wine, and I want to enjoy my wine with the people who come here," says Charlie. "It's a small, quaint place where people can try it at the source, with the winemaker."
Outside in the cold of winter, Charlie's first acre of vines sleeps on the vineyard's Route 17 hillside. The vines yield Cayuga grapes for a wine Charlie's dubbed Dolce Gocce ("sweet drops") in keeping with this vineyard's tribute to Italy. Dolce Gocce's golden liquid is a semi-sweet style white. Charlie brings in select Upper New York State grapes to make his other white wine varieties and California Saucon Valley grapes for his reds.
In May, Charlie will plant his second Northford acre with seyval blanc grapes to continue crafting Rosabianca Vineyard's medium-dry white, which he's named Chicco D'oro ("Golden Berries"). More acres of vines will follow over time.
It's all part of the "baby-steps" plan Charlie's taking as he continues on the path of a family dream that's been in his mind since boyhood and began bearing fruit about a dozen years ago. The boyhood dream was to bring his family the farm that his dad always wanted, but never had. The vineyard/winemaking dream is all Charlie's.
"We're from Amalfi," says Charlie of his family ties to Italy. "My dad was born and raised there. They were poor and it was a real difficult life. He always wanted to have a farm and couldn't do it because they didn't own anything."
Charlie's dad, Andrea (Andrew) trained as a furniture maker and, as a teen, fought for Italy during World War II. He was captured by the British and spent six years in the Sahara Desert as a prisoner of war. Even after Andrea finally arrived in the U.S. in 1949 to raise his family with his bride, Angelina, he never lost that dream of owning a farm, says Charlie.
"He always had a garden. He grew tomatoes, he had fruit trees...fig, citrus, pomegranate ...he grew prickly pear cactus," says Charlie. "So when I had the ability to retire and concentrate my efforts in this, I bought this piece of property and dedicated it to him-the winery and vineyard."
Sadly, Charlie's dad passed away some 17 years ago (although Angelina, at 96, is still a big part of the family and living with Charlie and his wife, Addie). A few years after losing his dad, Charlie began putting together his plans for what would become Rosabianca Vineyards.
"About 12 or 13 years ago, I decided when I grow up I want to have a winery," says Charlie. "So about six years ago, I retired and I figured I grew up."
Charlie has actually been making wine for 45 years, first for family and friends and, more recently, as a commercial winemaker. After completing a 30-year career with SNET-AT&T, Charlie began to study the commercial end of winemaking in earnest. He joined the Connecticut Vineyard Winery Association and got involved with UConn Agricultural Extension and met growers and vintners from the majority of the area's vineyards. Charlie also honed his grape growing skills at home.
"About eight years ago I put a little test vineyard in at my house in Hamden to try varieties, see which trellis system works best for me, how to prune the vines, take care of pest control-all of that. From that, I kept picking it up more and more," says Charlie. "I also took classes, went to seminars, and did a lot of reading."
By 2013, he was ready to find just the right property for Rosabianca Vineyards.
"So I started looking for a place where I could start, and I found this 2 ½ years ago," he says of the former farmland he purchased.
It was overgrown and about 20 years past its last farm use when he began clearing it.
Now, Charlie's turned the parcel into North Branford/Northford's only vineyard. And, while his dad may not be there to enjoy it, the Rosabianca "spirit of family" lives here. The Rosabianca's five daughters help with the wine business (Charlie's youngest, Lisa, lives in the restored farmhouse and runs the tasting room). The Rosabiancas' seven (soon to be eight) grandchildren are also enjoying the family farm and even like helping out.
"It's hard work, but it's nice, because the end of the day it's all mine and I feel as though there's sense of accomplishment," says Charlie. "I'm doing it for the family; I'm doing it for my kids, for my mom and my dad."
As for the future, Charlie envisions a Tuscan-style winery building rising on the grounds someday and that vision is already being shared on the Rosabianca Vineyard label. In addition to the winery building, the sepia-hued label has quite a story to tell. The deckled edge and coloring are a nod to Amalfi's world-famous hand-made cotton paper. The subtle scrollwork along the label's edge is actually a reproduction of the signature "AR" that Andrea carved on each piece of furniture he crafted in his lifetime. The back label features a wonderful portrait of Andrea, rendered from a photo taken by Charlie, as he watches the distant Mediterranean from a sunny Amalfi balcony.
Charlie and a writer friend sat down to talk about what the winery means to the Rosabianca family and, by extension, to anyone who visits. The result of that conversation appears on the back label, describing Rosabianca Vineyards as the "culmination of a dream and a strong family heritage brought over from Amalfi, Italy, to the shores of America over 60 years ago. In spite of his humble beginnings and hardships, Andrea Rosabianca and his family always extended their hospitality to family and to friends in (the) spirit of the family. In his honor, please enjoy our fine wines, which are the embodiment of that Rosabianca family tradition."
"He never got a chance to see it, but it really is talking about us, and what we're all about," says Charlie.
Rosabianca Vineyards is located at 1536 Middletown Avenue in Northford. For directions, hours of operation, tastings, and other information, visit the vineyard on Facebook or call 203-208-1211.