It’s been a dream of Michael Bevacqua, co-owner of A Tasting Room with Anthony Palermo, to create his own wine label. And now it’s finally come to fruition.
 
His label, Vino Corsario (Italian for wine pirate), comes from Bevacqua’s unconventional and maybe even wild former lifestyle of living on the islands and indulging over zealously on good wine – a reputation Bevacqua owns entirely.
 
“I use to live on Captiva Island, Florida, and I often drank three-liter bottles of champagne on the beach. I earned a reputation,” he recalled. “And, yes, it has always appealed to me as well. As I was learning about wine and its history, the more that the idea of making wine appealed to me, I wanted to create my own statement and share what I love about wine.”
 
The process to develop Vino Corsario was, according to Bevacqua, fairly simple and easy. It involved working with friends he has known for years in the wine business and visiting the vineyards he respected and viewed upon as his home away from home.
 
Vitners Choice of St. Helena, California, cellared and bottled it exclusively for A Tasting Room.
 
A red blend from California, Vina Corsario possesses flavors of black cherry and plums that interlace with a little white pepper and a hint of tobacco. It has a long finish, which makes it an excellent wine to pair with all types of food. Bevacqua said his label, “is a great quaffable wine to be shared with friends,” because it will be available at affordable prices – a primary mission for nearly all the wines consumers can find at A Tasting Room, 19 S. Second St.
 
“Trying to find great wines at affordable prices has always been important for me. When I studies wines and vineyards, I would pay attention to the wines made in the same areas as the very expensive wines. So buying wines I could afford from the same areas as the expensive blends helped me learn what to expect from grapes,” Bevacqua said.
 
The first run of Vino Corsario will be a small production of about 106 cases and can be expected at A Tasting Room by the end of August. A launch party is in the works to mark the occasion.