Acquaviva Winery

In the late 19th century, Vito Brandonisio?s grandfather started a small vineyard in Acquaviva delle Fonti, Bari, Italy. As a child, Vito visited the vineyard frequently and remembers fondly the time he spent there. When Vito moved to the US, he continued the family?s winemaking tradition. He and his brothers, and eventually his sons and nephews, made wine every September and enjoyed it together at family gatherings.

Years ago, Vito Brandonisio took his first steps toward accomplishing his dream of living on his own vineyard estate: he purchased 40 acres of gently rolling terrain in Maple Park, IL. On this property he built his home and planted his vineyard, naming it Acquaviva Estate, to homage to his home country of Bari, Italy.

Acquaviva?s 40-acre vineyard estate produces many grape varietals all perfectly suited to sustain and thrive through the turbulent Midwest seasons. These grapes include Prairie Star, Brianna, Chardonel, Marechal Fosh, and Frontenac, among other Illinois favorites. Over the past ten years, Vito has selected and hand planted vines and allowed them time to mature and flourish while he moved forward with step two of his dream: to open his own winery on the property.