Say Hello to Hello Wines

By Mary Swift-Swan

The newest winery in Alameda, located near the estuary shore leading to San Francisco Bay, is Hello Wines. The new winery has a perfect location for day tripping and home-bound ferry travelers. The Alameda ferry dock is their next door neighbor. John Caracciolo is the owner of Hello Wines. At 36, John has spent most of his life around food and wine.

John developed his philosophy as a winemaker based on family values and observation. Part of John’s family was involved in a number of restaurants in New York City. As a kid, he worked in the restaurants. “I very quickly understood that in a place like New York, you can get anything at any given moment. If you don’t offer the best product at the best price to your customers, your competitor down the street will. Wine is not a hundred dollar trophy. Those wines are on menus, but go to restaurants and watch what people order and drink. I particularly noticed those who came back to our restaurants. They want good service and a good value. Making wine is the same.”

As a youth, John spent summers with another part of his family in the wine country near the border of France and Germany. The Strasbourg area has borders that move every hundred and fifty years, so the cultures are intermingled. The area has dairy farms but is dominated by vineyards. He became very interested in the business of winemaking, even as a youth. “When I first came here, I didn’t tell people I grew up in a family of chefs and winemakers. They would tell me to go back to New York. Instead, I got jobs sweeping floors and hauling stuff in my truck. I found job opportunities beginning with part time, then full time, leading to becoming a director of a winery.” Learning from what worked and what didn’t among those operations John decided to go it alone, opening Hello Wines in Alameda. Hello Wines offers an affordable selection of wine ($10-$15 a bottle), blended to enjoy while decompressing with food and friends. Hello Wines purchases grapes from small growers from several of California’s wine growing regions, including Lodi and the Sierra Foothills, among others.

John talked about why he is here. He believes the future of American wine, excluding Napa and St. Helena wine, is in its value. “There are so many growing regions in California. There are more sunlight hours there than any other wine growing region in the world. There is available land with water. Many regions are cultivated by multigenerations of winemakers in California. Every year, people come from all over the world to go to school at Davis or Fresno. They come to learn and work in the business or buy a business. In Europe, there isn’t any more land and very few jobs. In other places, the resources are not there or it is unstable politically. Here, we have generational knowledge and a motivated multinational workforce. Wine is one area Americans can have a positive impact on the world. I’m here because I’m an American, and I think a lot of good things will happen here in our lifetime. We (winemakers) are adding to what has been done over the last hundred years. American wine is in its adolescence in a good way. There is a lot more to be done. Ultimately, it is the customers who come in to say hello at the big blue warehouse near the water’s edge. It is they who will let me know what they like of the small batches I’m initially making. If they do not buy it, I have to drink it at home and there is only so much wine I can drink. It is they who decide if I survive here. I listen to my customers.”

Why Alameda? “Alameda is a great place to have a winery. Kent Rosenbloom first proved it can work to place a winery near the customers, in Alameda. I hope as the W estside of Alameda continues its redevelopment, more wineries will move here. It is affordable, easy for customers to get to, and all the transportation hubs to receive grapes and ship wine are here. Breweries would be a welcome addition, too. The Westside of Alameda is headed toward becoming a destination. Hello Wines participates in First Friday Open Arts. Initially, I stayed open to offer wine tasting, then hosted the overflow of art from Nan Grey’s gallery across the way. It was a success, drawing a good crowd of people and was most enjoyable. Now Hello Wines is hosting juried art shows, their receptions on First Fridays, and then displaying art for sale through the month.”

In closing, John said, “Only open for a short time, the overall reception so far has been great. People choose to come here over going to 7-11, Longs, or Safeway. In this area, one can’t drive 5 miles without having many opportunities to purchase wine. The fact that they drive to Hello Wines for a bottle of wine, the least I can do is offer free wine tasting.”