At the D’Argenzio Wine Tasting Room in Burbank, an old framed faded photo of six year-old twins dressed in matching overalls, each holding a bottle of wine, seems to speak about what fate had in mind for the brothers long before they knew it. Raymond and Richard D’Argenzio, co-owners of D’Argenzio Winery, now 56 years old, both agree that their incursion into wine making was a slow but natural progression. “It started out as a hobby,” Raymond said. For years the brothers had helped their father build a successful cabinetry business in Burbank. Then, when Raymond moved to Sonoma County the family began making wine during weekend family get-togethers, and “just for fun.” “Things slowly progressed and we got better and better, and in the mid 90’s we decided that since the wine was turning out so nice and everyone was enjoying it so much, we would become a commercially bonded winery.” What began modestly, with 100 cases of Zinfandel in 1994, has evolved into a larger, albeit boutique, wine enterprise that will sell about 3,000 cases of wine this year, primarily made with grapes from Dry Creek Valley and Russian River Valley appellations in Sonoma County. D’Argenzio wines run between $20 and $50 a bottle and are distributed and sold at restaurants on the East Coast, and sold directly at the winery in Santa Rosa, in Sonoma County and at the tasting room in Burbank. Their business has seen steady growth, even during the economic downturn. “We’re seeing between 15-20 percent revenue increases every year,” Raymond said. Richard and his wife Kathy primarily run the wine tasting room in Burbank, providing a growing number of local D’Argenzio wine lovers with the 15 varietals of wine that Raymond produces in Santa Rosa including three different Pino Noirs, four Zinfandels, and even an Ameroni, whose recipe calls for dehydrated grapes. “We’ve found a really nice niche here, and we’ve got a pretty good following,” said Richard. “There are a lot of wine bars around, but there is no other tasting room in the Los Angeles area that I know of, that is an exclusive tasting room from a winery in Sonoma or Napa,” said Raymond. Decorated in traditional Italian country style, the tasting room was built three years ago at the front of the family’s woodworking shop. Their father, Alfonzo D’Argenzio, moved from Pennsylvania and started the cabinetry shop in the 1940’s, working out of the chicken coops in the back of their house on Burbank Boulevard. The house was located where the shop and wine tasting room are today. “The children and grandchildren of people that we’ve done woodworking for are now buying wines,” said Alfonzo, his work clothes covered in sawdust. A framed 1948 news story about the family cabinetry business, published in The Valley Flair, hangs on the wall of the shop. “This is how I looked when I started,” he said pointing to the picture of a fit thin man in his 20’s, which ran along with the story. A framed letter signed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and dated August 29, 2006 also hangs on a wall behind the bar of their wine tasting room. “Who would have known that you’re a world-class cabinetmaker and a winemaker? If the wine is even half as good as the woodworking projects you’ve done for us, I’m in for a treat,” the letter reads. About three months ago, the family expanded the wine tasting facilities to include another room adjacent to the woodworking shop, in order to accommodate larger parties. The room is also decorated to create the feeling that “one is stepping into an Italian country village,” Richard said. Recently the community organization, Leadership Burbank held its fundraiser, ‘A night in Tuscany at D’Argenzio’s, with over 150 people at that location. “They’re great cabinet makers and great wine makers,” said Victor Georgino, Board Member of Leadership Burbank and owner of Georgino Development. Georgino has known the D’Argenzios for years, as the family has created custom woodworking for his home in Burbank. He is also a big fan of their Cabernet wines. A true family business Although Richard and Raymond officially own the winery, “it’s really a family team effort,” Richard said. “We do 99 percent of all the work ourselves, within the family,” said Raymond adding that three generations of D’Argenzios help out with the production of the wine as well as with special events held throughout the year. His daughter Briana, who held job internships at wineries in Italy, and recently passed the course to become a wine Sommelier, is also working for the company. Their father, their children and other family members actively help out during harvest season when the grapes have to be pressed and crushed, then aged in French Oak barrels for a period of 12-22 months, and finally bottled. All D’Argenzio wines are entirely hand crafted and produced with methods very similar to those used in Italy long ago. Their winery uses a hand operated 100 year-old press, Raymond said. “There’s a lot of passion that’s put into wine, a lot of hard work. The process of making wine, from seeing a grape on the vine, to being able to drink it afterwards when it turns into wine, is kind of remarkable.” The D’Argenzio name reverberates with an Italian lilt perfect for a boutique wine label, they said, and the label itself pays tribute to that heritage. The family traces their roots to St. Angelo Cancelli, a mountain town outside of Napoli, where family legend has it that their ancestors were honored silversmiths. “D’Argenzio means people of silver. Our ancestors created ornate works of silver goblets, dishes and spoons for noble families in the Campania region,” said Raymond. “The silver in our wine label pays tribute to this heritage.”
