I really love hard work and individual responsibility, and view these as core tenants. I’m also very drawn to the idea that patience, pleasure, and beauty are essential to a balanced life. And I’ve always felt a little off-balance growing up in American culture: so when I graduated college I went to work on a farm just outside of Siena to continue my Italian studies and compliment an Environmental Studies degree. The Italians I worked with there were extremely hard working, but knew when to stop and enjoy the remains of the day. The idea that great food, wine, and company were a huge part of life really resonated with me, and it’s something I wanted to bring back to the US, even in my small way.
ABOUT DI BRUNO & FRIENDS WINES + BEERS
Our ongoing Di Bruno & Friends project is our spin on “private label” wine and beer; instead of hiding the maker, we scream loudly from the rooftops about the wonderful producers that we are lucky to collaborate with.
Our Bottleshop team gets involved in the make process for each project directly with the makers. Every release is a bit different; our team may do any or all of picking grapes during harvest, blending the unique cuvée, collaborating on label art, and more.
Partners have included: La Clarine Farm, Wayvine, Maloof Wines, Galen Glen Winery, Pray Tell, Division Wine Co., Eden Ciders, Oxbow, Human Robot, Second District, Fossil & Fawn and Martha Stoumen Wines.
Currently Available

DB & Friends #11 - nero D'Avola
Our latest and 11th custom wine collab is a blend of both fresh + aged Nero D'Avola, blended by our wine team with the winery. This medium bodied-red has wild berry aromas with a subtle bay leaf note in the background. Vibrant and loaded with crushed dark raspberry aromas, this wine’s acidity lends it a springy vibe. A minerally finish leaves your mouth ready for more. It’s amazing with semi-firm cheeses.
(hint hint: we also have plenty of those).
Lots of people are into wine. You made it your calling. What drove you then and now to contribute to the industry?
You settled on California wines but traveled around learning everything you could before that. What was one other place you learned a lot from visiting? (and what was the takeaway?)
I was very influenced by my time spent working at a winery named COS in Sicily. They were simple but profound lessons: on my first day one of the owners, Giusto Occhipinti, asked me to go through the vineyard block by block and assess whether the grapes were ready to pick. I was astonished he would ask a harvest intern to do what was likely the most important task of the year (and in hindsight I’m sure he went out there himself as well), but he replied “you are human, you know what ripe fruit tastes like”. The succinct, almost too obvious lesson was to trust your own taste, and your own experiences. I wanted to bring a bit of that back home where we still have a young culture around wine and look for external, expert validation. To be clear, these experts are incredible guides, but again, this idea of balancing forces and getting back-to basics is appealing to me.
When you're at Di Bruno Bros. stores, what's one section you can't resist?
Oh gosh, I have to choose? Having a good source for prosciutto is a gift—Di Bruno has a selection of excellent options depending on your mood.

Di Bruno & Friends Wine #11 - Nero D'Avola “Pen Pal Cuvee” with Martha Stoumen
$29.99 – available in all Di Bruno Bottleshop locations
Our 11th still wine collaboration is a blend of both fresh + aged Nero D'Avola, a bold red grape descending from Southern Italy. This iteration comes from Northern California, and the specific blend was created by our wine team with Martha and her assistant winemaker Tim, a Philly ex-pat. “Pen Pal Cuvee” is a cheeky nickname – our team was unable to travel to the winery to assist, but they collaborated start to final wine with Martha & Tim via text, email, phone and carrier pigeon on a sometimes daily basis.
This medium-bodied red has wild berry aromas, notably cherry, and black raspberry, with a subtle bay leaf note in the background. Vibrant and loaded with crunchy pomegranate and herbaceous flavors, while vibrant acidity lends it a springy vibe to the velvety tannins. A minerally finish leaves your mouth ready for more. We love this wine with semi-firm cheeses, notably Pecorino at least 6+ months in age, and Petit Jesu salami. 96 cases produced.
Partners have included: La Clarine Farm, Wayvine, Maloof Wines, Galen Glen Winery, Pray Tell, Division Wine Co., Eden Ciders, Fossil & Fawn and Martha Stoumen Wines.