About Us
About Us
We are Gerardo and Joanne, the co-founders of DiVino.
Our passion lies in enriching everyday experiences through the discovery and enjoyment of expectional wine.
But first, here's a little more about the wine guy - Gerardo Di Iorio...
Hi, this is Gerardo from DiVino.
I am not a sommelier, but I have studied wine in Italy and in France.
I am not a winemaker, but I have made wine in Italy and France.
My family has been making wine for over 100 years, but I only started drinking wine at the age of 20 when one day one of my university teachers in Montreaux offered me a glass of red Burgundy. That day was a revelation, it is what I call my “Ratatouille moment”.
Gerardo in the middle stomping grapes to make wine with his cousin Angela and sister Justine in a cave in Ischia, Italy. His Grandmother, Concetta, is on the left with Gerardo's aunty, Zia Maria. Gerardo's mum, Sandra, is on the right holding Justine next to Gerardo's cousin, Raffaele.
The instant I smelled that wine my memory went to a particular day. It was around the end of September in the late 80s, I must have been 8 or 9 years old. I was with my grandmother on Mt Vezzi on the south side of Ischia, and we were walking around our vineyard. It had rained the night before, which wasn’t good news, as we were about to harvest. It was early but the sun was already strong, and whilst walking through vines the smell of earth, mushrooms and wet leaves was so strong and beautiful, that it became imprinted in my memory forever. It is part of who I am and where I come from.
The instant I smelled that wine my memory went to a particular day. It was around the end of September in the late 80s, I must have been 8 or 9 years old. I was with my grandmother on Mt Vezzi on the south side of Ischia, and we were walking around our vineyard. It had rained the night before, which wasn’t good news, as we were about to harvest. It was early but the sun was already strong, and whilst walking through vines the smell of earth, mushrooms and wet leaves was so strong and beautiful, that it became imprinted in my memory forever. It is part of who I am and where I come from.
Gerardo playing with his siblings and cousins around the family orchard
I took a sip of that Burgundy and remembered how it slightly dried my mouth because of its soft tannins. I recalled that same feeling in my childhood from when my grandmother used to feed me grapes from the vines and I never used to like it because of that same dryness feeling. She used to say "the dryness comes from the small bones inside the grape, it means that it will make good wine!”
DiVino is the taste of Europe.
Gerardo and Joanne are the team behind DiVino. We are here to open your world to the French and Italian wine you had on your last Europe trip... because life is too short for anything less than "wow, this is delicious".
We can't wait for you to start your wine journey with us!