About the Founder
Joseph Grella
My first exposure to wine was as a young Italian boy growing up in New York, where I assisted my father in making wine for our family.
As a consultant for restaurants in 1975, my interest in wine grew stronger. I believed at that time Americans would begin to consume wine in greater volumes, so I ventured to California to visit wineries, speak to winemakers, learn their process, taste their wines and share their vision. During that time, I visited wineries from Sacramento to Fresno back up to Monterey; culminating in the opportunity to represent Papagni and Montery Vineyards in California, as a way to complement my consultancy with my restaurant clients in New York.
I have had a very diversified career, starting in Accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co.; then heading up a national sales and marketing group with Boeing Computer Services Commercial, and then business development, as a director for Coopers & Lybrand management consulting services. Finally as an independent marketing consultant, I marketed new computer technologies to the financial services industry. During this time I continued to visit many wineries again in California, but expanded my interests to the Pacific Northwest and Oregon. My passion for wine was truly being nurtured. I began establishing a palate for elegant wines, of fine aromas, with deep body and a smooth elegant finish. Initially I concentrated on French and American, but also included Australian, Spanish, Chilean and German wines, but for some reason very little from Italy.
After having lived most of my life in New York, with timeout in Chicago, Mclean Va., Seattle, London and Africa, I decided to move to Italy, learn the language and begin exploring Italian wines.
Since 2005 I have had the pleasure of not only living in one of the most beautiful countries of the world, but also enjoying its great cuisine, seeking the finest wine makers, particularly those with a deep passion for their product, who attain extraordinary results.
Through these endeavors I learned that there are many obscure wines of extremely high quality that rarely if ever become known outside their region of origin. Most may never get rated, but their quality is undeniable, and those fortunate to have experienced them await their next releases.
While these experiences enhanced my own passion for wines, I felt to share these findings with others of similar passion. These are the reasons for starting Amanti del Vino. I hope you join me in sharing these excellent wines.