Made by Rienzi

In 1969 Mike Rienzi created a company of Italian food import to the States, Rienzi " Sons Inc. in Astoria, New York City. It served restaurants, pizzerias and supermarkets of the best goods from Southern Italy. By the 1990s it had become one of the main sources of quality Italian ingredients to the entire Northeast, from New York to Michigan and Ohio, from Maine to Virginia. Then Rienzi, true to their tradition of bringing valuable and precious imported products from the old world, decided to embark in a new venture: producing wines.

Joseph, son of Mike Rienzi, tells us the history of Rienzi wines. “We started by buying some land in Italy” he recalls “and we established good contact with local farmers and wine makers in Tuscany and the south regions of Basilicata, Puglia, Campania and Sicily”. On all the bottles the family symbol, a radiant sun on a blue, starry sky, is the modern version of the stemma from 1300.

In Tuscany, a region already famous for its tradition of red wines, Rienzi produce Chianti and Rosso Toscano; now the family is also introducing a Chianti Riserva, while the Rosso di Montalcino and the high-profile and rare 1998 Brunello di Montalcino are personally selected by Mike Rienzi and in fact carry his signature on the label. But what the Rienzi family is doing with Southern Italian wines, is truly commendable. Wines from South Italy are not as famous as the ones from Tuscany or Piedmont. It is only a matter of time because these wines can compete with the rest and deserve to be known. After all they come from rich and sunny lands between mountains and sea, lands that have been giving to the world the ingredients of the traditional Italian food and whose flavorful grapes have been producing wines full of character for three thousand years.

The Rienzis started by buying land around Mike’s native village of Montemilone, in the Basilicata region, from where come also the famous Rienzi canned tomatoes and canned beans, and started to produce wine. “We named our bottles to my three daughters and two nieces: Gabriella, Chiara, Giuliana, Alexa and Brianna” proudly says Joseph Rienzi “and we produce a fruity red Aglianico del Vultre in three varieties and the Basilicata Rosso and the white wines Basilicata Bianco and Basilicata Greco. We also offer the big size, a three-liter bottle, to honor the Southern Italian tradition of a big family gathering around the table for each meal. It is good price with high quality”. This is, in fact, what the Rienzi family strives for.

From the Campania region come two wines: the red and wine Lacryma Christi and the superb white Greco di Tufo and Falanghina; in Puglia, one of the areas of the peninsula where wine making is still a young tradition, Rienzi created a Pinot Grigio. “In Sicily we have my favorite, all using local grapes” adds Joseph “a red wine of old tradition Nero d’Avola and a Chardonnay, a white wine made of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Inzolia, an ancient indigenous grape of the island, one of the most prestigious grapes from Sicily”.

All these bottles offer the best of the regional wine varieties, perfect to be paired with the local regional food from Southern Italy.

Helped by the strong Italian tradition, Rienzi is spreading the true Italian quality in the States. But Rienzi is not only one of the leading importers of food and wine from Southern Italy, it is a family-ran business, and because of that, it has a heart.

“Three years ago we created the Rienzi Foundation.” Recalls Joseph Rienzi “It all started when my son was born deaf. When he was three years old he wore his first cochlear implant, a revolutionary new treatment option that can actually give back the gift of sound. Fortunately these implants help the nearly 35 million Americans who struggle with hearing impairment, but there is always room for improvement. What we wanted to do with our Foundation was to raise money toward research for new and more advanced technology to help deaf people leading a perfectly normal social life”.

Once a year the Rienzi Foundation meets for a fundraising gala at the Waldorf Astoria where the best representatives of the food and wine industry, politicians and benefactors are present, to donate money to this cause. Many important people are present and this is the second year that Former President Clinton and his wife Governor Hillary Clinton attended.

We wish success to the Rienzi Foundation and to all Rienzi’s endeavors. Salute!

By Marta Mondelli

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