VIP seated tasting for four guests 

The seeds of owning a winery were sown in the late 1990s when the Belmonte  family owned Caffe Portofino, a popular restaurant in downtown Santa Rosa. Patrons loved Maria Belmonte’s food and chatting with Vittorio and his sons Henry and Victor who ran the front of the house. As they watched diners enjoy wine with their meals they had an idea to start making their own wine to sell at the restaurant.

The brothers made their first harvest of Cabernet grapes in 1999, but before that wine was ever bottled, Victor passed away unexpectedly. From this, VJB Vineyards and Cellars—named for Victor Joseph Belmonte— was born.

In 2002, the Belmonte’s sold their restaurant and began renovating an old home and garden store on Highway 12 in Kenwood. They opened this tasting room on Memorial Day weekend in 2003. There were five wines on the wine list including their flagship wine, Dante, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Sangiovese blend which they still produce.

As the family and VJB Vineyards and Cellars reflects on their first decade in the winery business and time settling into their new home, it’s the combination of being firmly rooted in tradition coupled with an ability to dream beyond the present day that’s led them from running a popular restaurant to owning a small tasting room to their current property that blends the best of both worlds into a place where guests can enjoy wine, food and true Italian hospitality embraced in the company of family and friends.

 60 Shaw Ave
Kenwood, CA 95452

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