58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {food coloring} words by JOHANNA HARLOW • photography by PAULETTE PHLIPOT WINE AND DINE crushing it In small-town San Carlos, tucked between auto repair shops, expect the unexpected. On Industrial Road, in a pair of converted warehouses, you’ll find Domenico Winery and Osteria, an Italian restaurant, winery and event venue rolled into one. “This was not the way it looks today,” chuckles owner Dominick Chirichillo, who runs the business alongside his wife Gloria. “It was and winemaking spaces feel like their own distinct worlds. The industrial-chic event venue is spruced up with funky light fixtures and lined with oak barrels stacked four high. The Osteria charms diners with hanging plants and lights, while a sculpture of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, watches over guests. Meanwhile, the winemaking warehouse in the back brims with gleaming industrial-grade equipment. Dominick passes his greatnephew Max, busy crushing three Jacuzzi-sized tubs of grapes with a stainless-steel punch down. “He will be the fifth generation of winemakers in our family,” Dominick says, adding that his oldest son and wife Gloria run the catering side of the business, while his younger son is considering joining the financial side. Gloria has overseen everything from designing wine labels to accounting and interior design. “It can be challenging and rewarding,” says Dominick of working with family. “You run the emotional gamut… It’s no different than any other just a big, yellow, ugly building.” But while others underestimated the property, Dominick saw a space large enough to stretch his imagination and realize his big dreams. Today, the store front beckons passersby with an inviting stonework façade and a sprawling patio where patrons sit and sip petite sirah. “Let the grapes express themselves,” Dominick advises from the back room as he twists the spigot on a 3,400-gallon stainless steel tank, releasing a stream of beautiful burgundy. He has been around wine his entire life thanks to his beloved Nonno. His grandfather Domenico Giovinazzo used to make wine in the basement of his New York home back in the 1950s. Dominick fondly recalls squabbling with his cousins over who would help Nonno with the press. “Every Sunday, we would spend at my grandparents—all the cousins and uncles and aunts,” Dominick recalls, describing the big family dinners. “My grandfather would have his gallon of wine. He’d pour and the kids would have wine in their soda.” As Dominick gives a tour, the restaurant, event venue
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