Last year my husband and I visited Italy (post coming soon!) for our honeymoon and had such an amazing time! The wineries, the bistros and the ease of customer service really resonated with me. Covid-19 has knocked a Giant pause in all my wanderlust and with many international destinations being temporarily closed until we can get this epidemic under control, I have been looking around for something local that can provide me with that same Italian bistro feel and excellence in service. Luckily living in California finding a substitute is not far away!

So he and I decided to go to San Antonio Winery located in downtown Los Angles, California! It was like having a little piece of Italy here at home. We had lunch at Maddalena Restaurant which I found the food to be not only reasonably priced but also delicious and the portion sizes for the entrees were great! Rest assured that every precaution for social distancing and cleanliness was taken by the staff! Currently with the tasting room closed we were able to create our own wine tasting experience by buying the cold bottles of wine from the winery’s refrigerator; we found that they had a great selection but there were some flavors that were not chilled but the staff offered to chill the bottles while we enjoyed a different bottle in the winery’s outdoor bistro area. The attention to detail that the staff took and the respect (which if I am being honest sometimes while dinning as a black woman isn’t given) was top notch.

Santo Riboli the president of San Antonio can be seen organizing the store, mingling with the customers and diners and assisting guest out to their cars with their wine orders. I found my interaction with Santo to be genuine, he was able to recommend a few new flavors that I have not yet tried (Orange Moscato!).   

Antipasto w/glass of Black Lux       

                                      House Salad w/ glass of Black Lux

Lobster Ravioli

How many of you have had Stella Rosa wines recently? Do you have a favorite flavor?

I know my favorites change every time they come out with new flavors but the standouts for me right now are the Stella Pineapple and Stella Black. The Pineapple is crisp and refreshing with great pineapple notes, while the Stella Black has a deeper richer full body taste notes of blackberry, blueberry and raspberry with a hint of sweetness both wines perfect for the summertime!

I hope you enjoyed your cup of T! Follow me on Instagram @Enjoy_a_cup_of_t for more pictures from my trips and reviews.