In the early 1900's, Italian immigrant John Ciarcia opened his popular neighborhood barber shop in the cellar underneath the family groceria on Mulberry Street. It was here, in this Little Italy cellar, that the senior Ciarcia used his own recipe to make wine for his family & friends in the neighborhood, who he would invite in, cut their hair, pour glasses of wine and play guitar, while his son played the violin. A photo of Grandpa Ciarcia on the steps to the barber shop, in front of the groceria, even graces the label of the new wine, Grandpa Cha Cha's Home Style Wine.

Grandson John 'Cha Cha' Ciarcia has been on Mulberry Street in New York's Little Italy his entire life and has held the title "The Unofficial Mayor of Little Italy" for over 30 years now. At various times over the years, he has let only family and some close friends sample the wine, closely guarding the family recipe, until now. Ciarcia is now sharing his family wine for everyone to enjoy, which boasts a 14% alcohol content, is being bottled in Italy.

Grandpa Cha Cha's Home Style Wine is soft to the palate and enjoys an elegant balance of the softness of a red Zinfandel, blended with the fruitiness and tannins of a full-bodied Merlot. The wine is made with a combination of Primitivo grapes and Negromaro grapes, both from the Puglia region of Southern Italy. The Primitivo grape, from Italy, is the sister grape to the California red zinfandel. The combined taste of these grapes is the closest thing to the "old country" Elegante grapes, which are extremely hard to find these days and were used when Grandpa Ciarcia first started making his homemade wine.