A new 'destination' for wine lovers

MAPLE PARK – Vito Brandonisio always dreamed he would one day enter the winemaking business.
He just never suspected that dream would come to fruition in western Kane County.

In the six months that Brandonisio and his sons, Joe and Vinnie, have operated the family’s latest business venture, the Acquaviva Winery at the corner of Meredith Road and Route 38 near Maple Park, they have drawn a large and growing family of local fans happy that this is the place it did come true.

For decades, the Brandonisio family has built a network of businesses in Kane County and the Chicago area.

Leaving behind the vineyards and warm climate of Bari, Italy, the family eventually settled in the Chicago area, migrating westward from the city to Kane County.

In the years since, the family pursued a number of business interests, running construction companies and operating Ashland Flooring. But through it all, the Brandonisio family maintained its passion for making wine.

“Every fall, the family would get together and we’d make wine,” said Joe Brandonisio. “For me, it was always just the traditional thing to do.

“And my dad and uncle would always tell everyone how their wine was the best.”

About a decade ago, Vito Brandonisio bought land at Meredith and Route 38. As they considered what to do with the land, their investigation into the soil turned up something interesting:

The land could be used for growing grapes.

“It had a lot – and I mean, a lot – of sandy stones,” Joe said.

Soon, the Brandonisios began growing grapes on the land, and through the years, the number of vines planted has also grown, as 19 acres are now in active grape production.

Recognizing their success at cultivating a vineyard, the family began laying plans for a winery. And in the last three years, the vision slowly took shape, as the Acquaviva Winery began to rise across the highway from the vineyard.

Through the years of construction, the vision took form. The Brandonisios brought in Andre Zabela, an artist from Italy to hand paint the frescoe in the winery’s entryway and other artwork in the building.

The winery now also features a deli and market that sells a variety of Italian meats, cheeses and other food items.

“Our goal is to offer different things, things that may be difficult to find locally,” Joe said.

The winery also features a bistro restaurant, offering fine dining, Italian-style tapas dishes and pizzas from the wood-fired pizza oven.

Acquaviva also offers opportunities for small to mid-sized banquets in its reservable party space and, for more intimate gatherings, in its downstairs cocktail lounge.

And Acquaviva offers visitors an opportunity to dine and drink their selections of custom vintages in a setting reminiscent of Italy, said Joe.

“We want to make our guests feel like they are not in Maple Park, Illinois, but that they’re somewhere else, like Italy or Napa,” he said.

The heart of the winery, however, remains the wine itself.

The main level of the winery offers a wine-tasting bar.

In the lower levels of the winery, Chilean winemaker Sergio Benavides oversees the creation of Acquaviva’s varieties of wine created with grapes grown locally. The wines age in wooden barrels stacked in a climate-controlled room behind a heavy door in the cellar.

Joe said Acquaviva’s wines have become a hit with patrons, as the winery has sold out of its 2007 vintages and is seeing heavy demand for its 2008 vintage, as well.

And business has become so brisk that the winery must offer valet parking to find room for all of the people stopping by on weekends.

“Of course, we’re just getting started here,” said Joe. “We still have a lot of ideas, things that we can do.

“But even without that, people are buying in. We have truly become a destination.”