New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Family vineyard offers wine, ‘tremendous beauty’
ORANGE — Alexa Landino Charles grew up in an Italian household where they made wine as part of family tradition, but she never imagined one day she’d be running a vineyard and wine business.
Yet, here she is — a business accounting degree from Quinnipiac University later — lovingly holding a bunch of white Traminette grapes: “They’re a pretty little girl. I love these grapes,” she said in an endearing tone.
Charles, along with her two sisters Rosamaria Ponte and Sara Mahon, own the Stappa Vineyard business — the first in town — while their parents, Pietro Landino and Antonietta Landino own the land. The Landinos, married 47 years, own the Cascade banquet business in Hamden, but also have huge emotional stake in the vineyard, as they plan to retire there.
The grapes on the property have been growing for eight years and the tasting room and wine business opened in July, requiring a special regulation created by the Town Plan and Zoning Commission.
Located at 403 Derby Ave., and tucked way back in a quiet and serene clearing that belies its street address, the vineyard has 5,000 vines, or eight acres of grapes. There are eight types of grapes and a newly built tasting and production room of 1,500 square feet. . The sprawling property purchased by the Landinos was once was the
U.S. headquarters for the Legionaries of Christ.
Charles and her sisters all pitch in to help in the business, but Charles is the full-time manager — the face of the business — and works long hours, picking grapes along with other family members, producing wine, running and marketing the new tasting room. She also designs labels for the wine bottles.
“The whole process is so relaxing, but it’s a lot of work,” Charles said. “I’ve always done this as tradition like canning tomatoes, but I never thought it was going to be a lifestyle and it has been. As we purchased the property and started doing it, I fell in love.”
Grapes are a lot of work — Stappa means “to work” — and need regular maintenance, she said. Every seven days the vines grow 3 feet at the top and require just the right amount of sun and moisture. Too much moisture trapped under leaves can create mold, so they have to stay cleared.
Some of the vines are located on a rocky hill and grapes like that, Charles said. Moisture and cold affect the taste of grapes, she said, noting, “Our chardonnay sold out this year, but it may (taste) different next year.”
At Stappa Vineyard they harvest the grapes and produce the wine on the property — crushing, pressing, fermenting them onsite.
Stappa Vineyard currently has four wines available — Reisling, rose, Marquette and Chambourcin, with two more coming out soon, including a high-end cabernet. A chardonnay and Cayuga white they had at opening sold out fast and will return. Charles loves experimenting with flavors and has an orange wine in the works.
“It’s the most gratifying thing when someone says its very good,” Charles said, referring to wine. “I love to see them laughing and enjoying themselves.”
Customers can bring their own food, from snacks to full meals and are raving about the ambiance and, of course, the wine.
“It’s a family owned and operated business and brings tremendous beauty to our town of Orange. The atmosphere is relaxed, classy, warm, beautiful, and inviting — both inside and outside,” Shannan Carlson said. “The wine variety and options are quite impressive since this is such a young, Connecticut vineyard.”
Michelle Hawes said she was excited a vineyard opened in Orange and Stappa has been welcoming to the community.
“The owners and staff go above and beyond to make sure everybody is having such a great time and are so accommodating,” Hawes said. “They have created a beautiful space with delicious wine. I really love going there to relax in the environment they have created.”
The immaculate and airy tasting and production room with big windows and full of is light stands where a house with 16 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms once was a dormitory for the Legionaries.
Among the table and couch seating areas for customers are shiny silver tanks and wooden barrels used to make the finished project, as they let people see the process.
“We kind of give a different atmosphere. You’re not really going to hear Frank Sinatra every day,” she said. “We mix it up.”
The motif is a combination of the sisters’ personal styles, which Charles said makes the space a little industrial, a little country — the elk horn chandelier — and a little fancy, such as ornate legs on simple wooden tables.
The vast outdoor space for wine-drinking and eating is dotted with tables and chairs, with spectacular views of the vines, fruit trees, an old barn displaying the American and Italian flags, and an authentic weather-worn windmill on the property.
“The outside is peaceful. Its so far back you can’t hear a thing even though Route 34 is right there,” Charles said. Some people bring a book, a picnic lunch and some even bring their laptops and work remotely.
Charles said the vineyard has become so crowded at times that they’ve had to turn people away.
“On Saturday and Sunday, as long as its perfect weather, we’re going to be busy,” Charles said. “Once you find a wine that you like, you always return to it. All vineyards are worth it. I’ve never tasted a horrible wine, but there are fantastic wines you always go back for.”
Working the vineyard and being there is a labor of love for Pietro and Antonietta Landino — they pick grapes and more.
There’s a clearing to build a house that overlooks the property and the Landinos hope to build there and retire.
In a memorable moment before the town’s planning commission, one of the many appearances they made while seeking approval, Pietro Landino told the members that they owned Cascade, had plenty of money and he just wanted to retire on the property, sip his coffee and look out over the vineyard as he did growing up in Italy.
Previous to owning Cascade, the Landinos owned Gioia Deli and Caserta Pizzeria, both in Hamden.
Charles said her parents, both currently visiting Italy, came to the United States from there in their midteens and met here at a dance in a banquet hall.
Both parents come from farming backgrounds.
Mom grew up in city, but her parents owned tobacco fields. Dad was from mountains where they grew vines and every fruit and vegetable imaginable, Charles said.
The Landinos weren’t looking for property, but bought it after Antonietta and one of her daughters spotted a for sale sign while driving.
Charles said that when she needs to, “I go deep in the field to clear my head.”
Wine prices vary from $8 to $10 for a glass, $12 for sparkling rose and $15 for a high-end Cabernet that will be out soon. Bottles of wine range from $28 to $50.
Stappa Vineyard is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.