He’s a well-known real estate broker, but Charles Adonizio III is also a gifted winemaker.
The owner of Atlas Realty, Inc. in Pittston has been making wine for over 20 years, and he is taking his expertise to the Back Mountain Memorial Library for a special presentation on Thursday, April 21.
Adonizio has given presentations before on wine making, but this will be his first time visiting the library.
“My friend Bart Slocum who helps me make wine was a former board member of the Back Mountain Memorial Library and he asked me to be a presenter there,” Adonizio said. “We’ll talk about the local history of homemade winemaking and how the Italian families from 100 years ago brought over the knowledge of making wine at home, and then through local people who have carried on that tradition.”
Adonizio also said there will be wine sampling and a discussion about how he makes his own wine.
His process includes importing grapes from California once a year in September, and sometimes from Chile in May, and letting them sit overnight after delivery.
“(California has) the best grapes because California has the sunshine,” Adonizio said. “The grapes grow bigger, stronger and sweeter and they get more sugar concentration because the sun ripens them to the point where they get sugar built up, and sugar converts into alcohol.”
The next day the grapes are crushed and are fermented for seven to 10 days.
Juice is then pressed out of the grapes and stored for about 30 days, Adonizio said, and then fermented a second time.
The wine is stored, racked a few times and then put into long-term storage for several months.
Adonizio’s wine has earned him over 30 awards, several of which came in the annual Corrado’s Amateur Winemaking Competition, which features vintners from the United States, Canada, and European countries including Italy.
Adonizio said he keeps it simple when making his wine.
“We do nothing special to it, and that’s what’s special about it,” he said. “We use only grapes and don’t add sugar. We don’t add chemicals other than the yeast and bacteria from secondary fermentation. It’s pure, real wine fermented grapes. Real wine is always different depending on the climate the grapes grew in that year.”
While he has been an avid vintner and wine enthusiast for past two decades, Adonizio is still learning about different ways of making wine.
He said he always makes is a mission to visit a winery whenever he travels to different states and countries, and he looks forward to sharing his experiences with those in attendance at the Back Mountain Memorial Library.
“Winemaking is a unique hobby that nobody will know everything about,” Adonizio said. “It’s challenging and you never get bored, at least I haven’t after 20 years. I’m looking forward to sharing light conversation with the folks and giving them the benefit of what I’ve learned. Like I said, I don’t know everything, but I know a considerable amount.”
