A family’s love of wine

Photo by matt nagle

A FAMILY AFFAIR. At Vino Aquino, it’s all about family, as the business is owned and operated by about 20 cousins and other family members. Pictured here are the “faces” of the winery, General Manager Richard Aquino and cousin Dana Messina-Galagan, who mind the shop daily.

After eight years in its original location at 2607 6th Ave., Vino Aquino winery moved from its longtime home this past summer to a new place of business at 4417 6th Ave. Neatly tucked inside a street-level storefront along a mostly-residential section of 6th Avenue, Vino Aquino’s look may have changed but the family owned and operated business’s attention to making and selling great wines continues without a hitch.

Leaving the busy 6th Avenue Business District core was bittersweet for General Manager Richard Aquino. “The parking situation wasn’t very good and rents in the area were going up pretty high,” he said, so new digs were sought. Different zoning laws at the new location meant Aquino had to purchase a conditional use permit from the city in order to serve wine. The cost of the permit, and the four to six-week waiting period for processing, threw a slight snag into the move but the doors officially opened to the new Vino Aquino on Sept. 24.

Now – with its ample parking and nice fit into the rather peaceful aesthetic of its new locale – Vino Aquino looks like it is going to be in the neighborhood for quite some time to come. “This is a much better location for what we do,” according to Aquino. With close to 20 cousins and other family members involved in Vino Aquino, Richard Aquino enjoys being the “face” of the business with his cousin Dana Messina-Galagan, who customers will also see behind the counter. From the sign overlooking the entryway, and here and there throughout the winery, Vino Aquino’s “logo” image of Richard Aquino’s grandfather’s kindly face seems to oversee everything and bring good luck. An Italian immigrant to Washington who raised his family in Tacoma, Grandfather Aquino made wine in an oak barrel and it was a family event when the wine was ready to drink. Two generations later, Richard Aquino and family carry forth Grandfather’s legacy but on a much larger scale.

Everyone from wine aficionados to occasional vino drinkers can find everything they are looking for at the family-owned and operated Vino Aquino. For the home wine maker, and those who want to get into the art, Vino Aquino offers everything needed in Brew King Wine Kits, a product of Canada. “In Canada, making your own wine is more popular than it is here so it’s been perfected up there, so to speak,” Aquino explained. “It just takes four to six weeks to make a batch of wine. It’s just juice concentrates – you add water, ferment it and bottle it. It turns out very well. It has kept us in business for eight years so it’s a good product and very easy to do at home.” Brew King offers a comprehensive line of premium winemaking products, each with its own distinct qualities for the home wine maker. Kits yield 23 liters of wine and contain all the ingredients to make the final product, or approximately 30 750-milliliter bottles.

Vino Aquino uses Brew King products to produce wines on site. “We try to make around 20 different kinds of wine for people to sample,” Aquino said, using grapes purchased from Eastern Washington and other juice concentrates. Vino Aquino also purchases wines from Eastern Washington and bottles it at Vino Aquino. The Vino Aquino racks are stocked full with dessert wines, ports, fruity wines – in short, a big variety, from the light and sweet to the hardy, bold reds. Prices are comparable to grocery store wines but Vino Aquino offers much more.

Customers can sample wines before buying, and Aquino and Messina-Galagan, who staff the shop daily, are always glad to make suggestions to help customers choose the right wine for the occasion. They will even make personalized wine bottle labels. Just bring in your favorite photo or your company’s logo and that bottle of wine instantly becomes a truly one of a kind gift or keepsake. “I think this is our best one ever,” Aquino said as he showed a bottle of red wine bearing a label made from an ultrasound image of an expectant mother’s womb with the caption, “See you soon.”  

Vino Aquino hosts private wine tasting parties for up to 25 people, and offers a novel – and effective – program for non-profits looking to raise money. Guests bring the food, and Vino Aquino supplies the wine and bartender. Visit http://www.vinoaquino.com or call (253) 272-5511 for more information.

Vino Aquino is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed on Sundays. 

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