POINT LOMA – Vino lovers: If you haven’t visited urban winery Gianni Buonomo’s new digs in Midway, you owe it to yourself to do so.
The boutique winery, previously on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, has relocated to 3492 Pickett St. in a building offering 18 on-site parking spaces.
The name, buon uomo, means “good man” in Italian.
Gianni Buonomo founder and owner Keith Rolle noted he benefits from being near the Pechanga Arena, just a seven-minute walk away.
“We opened here officially in October of last year,” he said, noting he’s going to be expanding his outreach, working with area restaurants to convince them to allow their customers to bring in Gianni Buonomo wine.
Rolle said that becoming a vintner was not in his original game plan.
“I owned a Spanish-immersion school in Ensenada, Mexico,” he said. “But during the great recession of 2008, nobody wanted to go to Mexico then because of that and the narco violence.
“I moved to Washington state and enrolled as a full-time viticulture (grape growing) and enology (wine making) student.”
After returning to San Diego, Rolle spent a couple of years looking for just the right spot for a winery, which he found on Newport in OB, remaining there nine years until relocating to Midway.
Gianni Buonomo is offering clients something new — and more.
“People are used to drinking mid- to lower-range California wine,” Rolle said. “They’re tasting this (my) wine and saying, ‘I didn’t think wine could be this good.’ People recognized the difference between what they’d been drinking before.”
Rolle contrasted operating urban wineries in Ocean Beach versus Midway.
“What is better (here) is that people can come down from (wherever) and know they’re going to have a parking spot, and that it’s going to be well-lit, safe, and convenient,” he said.
Operating out of Midway is qualitatively different than in OB.
“The foot traffic is clearly not here,” Rolle said. “This is a destination place. But our model is not selling wine by the glass. Our model is to sell the wine club to you.”
Rolle explained the process of joining Gianni Buonomo’s Wine Club.
“You are guaranteeing you’re going to be taking a wine allocation three times a year in March, June, and October, and getting a 20% discount,” he said. “Private parties we have are for wine club people. They can park for free and go to the sports arena, and get a great discount on fabulous wine. That’s what the business model is… Take care of the wine club people — and they’ll take care of you.”
The legend of Gianni Buonomo
According to the vintner’s website, legend has it that Gianni Buonomo (Johnny Goodguy) hails from a small village in Italy and is an everyman who turned himself into a consummate gentleman, always carrying himself with an elegant flair and an Old-World style with a sense of sophistication and distinction.
“I was told everyone’s Italian father wanted their son to be like Gianni Buonomo,” said Rolle on the site. “With a little training, anyone can spot a Gianni Buonomo. With a little more effort, anyone can be a Gianni Buonomo. Gianni Buonomo wines are crafted to express the same elegance, distinction, and sophistication as the man himself.”
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