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In The Winery
making their own wine to
serve with their critically-ac-
claimed food. The brothers
had their first harvest of
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in
1999, but before they could
bottle that wine, tragedy
struck: Victor died unexpect-
edly of a heart attack. To keep
his memory alive—and his
passion for wine—the family
decided to plant a vineyard
on their 12-acre property and
open a tasting room. Henry
created a label, VJB, named
for Victor Joseph Belmonte,
and the family began a new
journey in the Sonoma Valley.
The Belmonte’s sold
With stylish tables and chairs, guests can enjoy Caffe Portofino in 2002 and, in 2003, opened a
lunch with a bottle of wine in the outdoor open 900-square-foot tasting room with five wines
space or select from several tasting options led by and an espresso bar. The wines were Cabernet
the knowledgeable wine team. “It’s a lot of moving Sauvignon and Chardonnay because they were
parts,” McGorry said. “You feel like you’ve actually popular in California, and Italian varietals Barbera,
come to Italy. Sangiovese and their flagship wine, a Cabernet
Sauvignon-Sangiovese blend made in honor of
The history of this delightful gem can be traced Victor’s two favorite wines. They called the blend
back to Bonito, Italy, where Henry’s parents, Dante, a name Victor had chosen for his yet-to-be
Vittorio and Maria Belmonte, have their roots. first-born son. Today, nearly 20 years later, VJB
Vittorio first picked grapes from the family vineyard Cellars still produces Dante.
when he was eight years old. There he developed
an appreciation of the local wine varietals and their
characteristics. Maria Belmonte learned to cook
authentic southern Italian recipes from her mother
and grandmother as a young girl. When Vittorio
and Maria settled in Kenwood in 1976, they opened
a family restaurant that featured her native Italian
dishes. After receiving accolades from industry
critics and the local community, the family opened
a larger restaurant, Caffe Portofino, in downtown
Santa Rosa. There, Maria worked tirelessly as exec-
utive chef, and Vittorio—with their two sons, Henry
and Victor—ran the front of the house. Again, the
restaurant earned rave reviews.
Henry and Victor, who grew up in the restaurant What started in a tiny tasting room quickly
and continued to have a presence through high evolved into a dream for something more for
school and college, realized that they should be the Belmonte family. “Sonoma County is a food
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