Fine wine meets fine surroundings

Mark Humphrey

D’Argenzio’s Cabinets has occupied its space on Burbank Boulevard for

decades, aging like a fine wine as time passed and new generations

entered its doors.

Now, however, the D’Argenzio family’s past, present and future

have made this concept literal by converting D’Argenzio’s Cabinets’

old showroom into a Wine Tasting Enoteca.

“Everything you see here was made by our family,” said Alfonso

D’Argenzio, pointing to cabinets, chairs and painted walls, which are

ornate and impressive while still having a cozy feel.

Three generations were all involved in the creation of the new

Wine Tasting Enoteca -- Alfonso D’Argenzio, his twin sons, Raymond

and Richard D’Argenzio, and Richard’s son Nick D’Argenzio.

The Enoteca itself is actually the former showroom of the longtime

family cabinetry business.

All of the wine in the Enoteca, which is an Italian word for a

wine tasting room, is exclusively from the family’s winery in Santa

Rosa, which Raymond D’Argenzio started in 1997. After moving up north

to start his own cabinet business, Raymond D’Argenzio decided to give

wine-making a try while driving past vineyards with his son.

“If you live among flowers, eventually you’ll want to smell them,”

Alfonso D’Argenzio said.

The wine at the D’Argenzio Winery, which comes from the Russian

River and Dry Creek areas of Sonoma County, is fermented in French

oak barrels and usually aged for an average of 15 to 18 months. This

weekend, they will be bottling wine which began fermenting in 2003.

Once the winery began to find its footing after a slow first few

years, the family took a trip to Italy to visit family and see some

ancestral homes. Here, brothers Raymond and Richard D’Argenzio were

inspired by the Tuscan architecture.

“Wine is definitely something our family has been connected with,”

said Raymond D’Argenzio. “Our grandparents made wine, and when we

visited Italy and saw homes as old as 300 years, some still with

wine-making equipment, it intrigued us.”

While Raymond D’Argenzio lives up north and operates the winery,

the rest of the family, who are all Burbank natives or longtime

residents, decided to give the family’s wine a unique outlet.

All three generations were involved in converting the old showroom

into the Enoteca -- from woodwork to painting to Richard D’Argenzio’s

son Nick carving the door to the wine cellar.

The Enoteca is open to the public on weekend afternoons. Weekdays

are reserved for private gatherings and parties, which can be

reserved in advance.

The Winery and Enoteca have also helped out in the community,

recently bottling 50 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon and Russian River

Zinfandel for a fundraiser for Providence High School. The

D’Argenzio’s wine has additionally received numerous awards and

recognition at the Los Angeles County Fair and in places as diverse

as Texas and England.

“My wife, my son, my parents, everyone is involved,” said Richard

D’Argenzio. “It’s a really nice feel, I think people really like

coming in and seeing families doing things together like this.”