Joe Cannistraci

If ever there were an individual to capture the essence of the East Coast Italian, as well as introduce individuals to the La Dolce Vita ways of food and wine, it would be Joe Cannistraci.

 

Joe (or Joey C) is co-owner and architect behind Enoteca La Storia's success as an authentic Italian eatery and global wine merchant. Born in New York and raised in Northern New Jersey, Joe hails from an extensive, 100% Sicilian family whose roots took hold in the U.S. shortly after World War I. Joe's paternal grandfather, Lorenzo Cannistraci, along with his great grandfather Andrea and great uncle Carmelo, ran a successful Italian-American Grocery store on East 14th Street in the lower East Side of New York City. Both of his grandmothers, Giussepina Cipriano Bellina and Carmela Altamore Cannistraci, were local seamstresses.

 

Growing up in the same home with his maternal grandfather, Calogero Bellina, Joe was taught the strongest and most enduring southern Italian sensibilities. Each year he travels back to the family hometown in Sicily where his cousins, the descendants of Calogero's sister, Elvira, still live. Each day Joe draws on his heritage to provide guests an authentic experience at Enoteca La Storia.

 

Originally a construction worker by trade, Joe's career in wine and food didn't materialize until he moved to California. As many from the NY tri-state area will sympathize, the challenging East Coast winters ultimately drove Joe to pack up and pursue a warmer life in the Bay Area where he (initially) landed in Aptos and found himself able to simultaneously pursue two passions: surfing and wine. In 2000, shortly after his relocation, a childhood friend, accomplished chef and consultant with the Blue Ribbon Restaurant Group, Sefton Stallard, visited Joe in California. During this visit, Sefton and Sean Saint'Amor, the wine and service director for the Blue Ribbon Group, provided Joe a brief immersion into the world of fine global wines.

 

Joe was so taken with the experience that he took a part-time job at The Wine Club Santa Clara – at the time the premiere wine shop in the Santa Clara Valley. Demonstrating a natural ability and passion, it took only 18 months for Joe to be promoted to full-time Italian wine buyer and assistant manager. Joe eventually left The Wine Club to become a founding manager of Vintage Wine Merchants in Santana Row.

 

Through his outgoing personality and enthusiastic dedication to removing the mystery from Italian wines, Joe quickly developed a devoted following of customers that came to trust his knowledge and recommendations. Ever the entrepreneur, Joe partnered with friend and colleague Mike Guerra to found Enoteca La Storia in Los Gatos, California, which opened in April 2010. Today, Enoteca La Storia is known as the Best Wine Bar in Silicon Valley 2011 (San Jose Mercury News).

 

Joe resides in Los Gatos with his family. He can be found most days at Enoteca La Storia running the show, forming rich, close relationships with artisanal wine-makers and sharing his knowledge about Italian – as well as international and West Coast – wines, food and culture with guests, friends and famiglia.