The year-old business threw open its dining room doors in November. Food is served on weekends only from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the dining room receives its official grand-opening in the spring.

Owners Mauro and Anna Scarsellone, a brother and sister team, bring their cultural heritage to the Vineland winery. The dining room features gnocchi, fettuccini and linguini in tomato and cream-based sauces, frittatas, foccacia sandwiches and more.

Executive Chef Joanne Kool-Schutten says she likes to keep the menu varied to keep regular customers coming back for more. Scarsellone says the wine-pairings are essential to the experience.

"In our culture, wine is considered a food, not a beverage," he says.

An important part of his job is to share his knowledge of wine and wine and food pairings with the customer.

Customers will feel right at home as soon as they walk through the door, says Scarsellone. As a family business, he, his sister and the rest of the family "have their hand in all aspects of the business.

"We're hoping people see and join in our passion," he says.

Although, their parents owned a vineyard and olive grove in Italy, they were adamant that the Scarsellone siblings would not be farmers. They realized their livelihood was always subject to weather conditions and other elements beyond their control. They made sure Anna and Mauro attended university so they could pursue careers outside the farm in Canada.

However, after working as an accountant in Toronto for 15 years, Mauro had an opportunity to travel through the area on business.

"It just awakened something in my genes," he said. "I fell in love with the place."

Scarsellone said the area has also been welcoming. He says he doesn't consider his Lincoln neighbours as competitors - he had no reservations about starting a business in the Lincoln area, an area that already has about 50 wineries.

"Australia and Chile are our competitors, not Jordan, Beamsville and Vineland," he said. "The more wineries we have here, the more people will want to visit the area."

However, he feels his Italian heritage helps set his winery apart. His is the only winery to offer Nebbiolo, an Italian variety of wine from the Piedmont region (due to overseas import restrictions, the vines actually come from California).

"I may be biased, but I happen to believe that it's the greatest red wine in the world," he said.

Kool-Schutten said visitors will also find a casual, relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices.

"I don't believe in pretension in food," she says. "Food and wine should be enjoyed."

Kool-Schutten focuses on organic, fresh ingredients. However, if it can't be found in Niagara, it comes from Italy.

Kool-Schutten also produces jellies and other food products which are available at the winery.

Scarsellone's sister, Anna, helps to oversee the kitchen.

The winemaker is Arthur Harder of Beamsville, who studied and trained in Germany.

"We hope everyone takes the time to come and experience our service," said Scarsellone.

Upcoming events include a special Italian-themed Valentine's Day brunch.

Visit www.ridgepointwines.com or call (905) 562-8853 for more information.