About our Winemaker

Sal is very proud of his wines, over 30 varieties in all, ranging from fruit sweetened wines to his delicately crafted dry wines. You might be surprised to learn that Sal did not always aspire to be a winemaker. Instead, as a young adult, he pursued and obtained a degree at Johnson Technical School and became an electromechanical technician for WEA (now Cinram International) in Olyphant, PA. His curiosity of making wine was enticed when Sal and his father found an old wine press in the basement of his grandmother’s home. They learned that his great-grandfather made the press years ago, along with others that he made for the local home-winemakers in the neighborhood dating back to the early 1900’s, and so they decided to try it out. Soon after, one of Sal‘s hobbies and passion became making wine.

With the guidance of his father and the implementation of the skills he learned in his career at WEA, Sal had everything he needed to fuel his interest and desire to build his own wine making equipment and begin producing his own wine. His taste testers of the first of his blends were his family, friends, and co-workers. Soon enough, word spread about Sal’s skill in homemade wines, and he decided to turn his hobby and passion into his main occupation. In 1999, he opened his official winery and was one of the youngest sole proprietor winery owners in the state of Pennsylvania. By 2003, the business was growing and Sal decided to take a huge risk by leaving his full time job at WEA and focusing on the growth of his winery.

Sal’s first sweet wines were Mia Labruscana, Mia Rosé, and Mia Bianco all inspired by the birth of his first daughter, Mia. Sal also created a semi-sweet, blended style red wine he named Coal Miners Red. His first dry wines were Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon. A few years later, he began producing his first series of reserve wines, Giulia’s Reserve Merlot, Giulia’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and Giulia’s Reserve Chardonnay, all inspired by the arrival of his second daughter, Giulia.

Fast forward to September 2007, tragedy struck and a fire destroyed Sal’s winery in Child’s, PA. He suffered a total loss and a major setback. The fire was devastating, but almost immediately he began making plans for a successful comeback. Wine production never stopped during this time thankfully to his friends and colleagues in the PA wine industry that helped him with equipment and tank space….and so a little over a year later, in March 2009, Sal opened his brand new winemaking facility in Scott Township, PA.

In July of 2009 he hosted the official Grand Opening of his 10,000 square foot facility on 36 acres in Scott Township, PA. The new building also includes 2,000 square feet of retail space which displays some of his finest wines and gift items such as stemware, wine racks, cheese cutting boards, and gift baskets. In addition, there is a beautiful handmade, cherry-wood wine bar, handcrafted by Sal’s father, Sal Sr. This Tuscan themed tasting room is where you have the opportunity to taste for yourself, the many wines that Sal personally makes in the wine cellar.

 January of 2023, the original tasting room (from 2009) has now been renovated into a wedding venue The Ridge @ Maiolatesi, and a BRAND NEW tasting room has been built on the same property across the lot.

July 2023 – Our new Tasting Room and Deck are NOW OPEN for wine sales & wine flights.  We now have a kitchen on Thursday evenings from 4-8pm, Friday evenings from 4-8pm by reservations only,   and

Saturdays & Sundays serving shareable plates, including our Brick oven pizza.

August 2024–  Susquehanna Brewing Co. has opened a Taproom downstairs serving their beer on tap, beer flights, and the same shareable food menu that we serve. They also have outdoor patio seating on with the same beautiful views, & including Adirondack chairs in the adjacent lawn,  all to sit back, relax with a beverage.

**Friday evenings- Reservations are always required for any size table.

**Thursday, Saturday & Sunday reservations only required for groups of 8+ppl.

**Outside foods or alcoholic beverages cannot be brought onto our premises**