Piacere Di Conoscerti
In 1984, the winemaker, Steve began making homemade wine as a hobby. He was use to drinking the homemade wines that his grandmother and father-in-law produced. The first wine he made was an
old-world Italian blend consisting of Muscat and Alicante grapes. Having learned most of his initial techniques from his father-in-law, Joe Ferranti, Steve used an old crusher to grind the grapes and then fermented the must in old oak barrels. Eventually the producers started shipping juice in addition to grapes from California. The juice was easier to work with and less expensive than the grapes. After two oak barrels of wine went bad in the same year, the winemaker switched to stainless steel vats for a more sanitary and controllable fermenting and aging process.
After many years of making wine as a hobby, Steve decided to pursue his passion further in hopes of a potential retirement dream of having a winery. In March of 2000 he purchased a few acres of
land adjacent to his home and began preparation for a small vineyard. In 2003 Steve formed MonValley Vineyards, LLC. Initially he tried planting vinifera vines such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, however, the climate in central West Virginia was just too cold for those varieties. Steve soon realized the American varieties such as Niagara and Catawba were the best fit for the region where he lived. In the fall of 2015 Steve broke ground and started building a barn to house a small farm winery. Upon completion in the early spring of 2017 at the age of 60 the winemaker’s dream finally became a reality.
He decided to approach his daughter, Roberta, about opening a retail location to sell his wines. With a degree in Business Management, Roberta had always dreamed of going into business for herself. She achieved her dream in July of 2018 when she formed MonValley
