Lindenhurst Italian wine importer expands

It may be little wonder that Dennis Pinto and Lindsay Piazza went into the wine business in 1996. Each had a grandfather who made wine in his basement decades ago.

Those grandfathers would probably be surprised at how big a business La Vendemmia Wine Imports has become: big enough to expand from 4,000 square feet in Lindenhurst to a 6,000-square-foot facility, the company reports.

"We couldn't fit everything into the [old] building we had," Pinto said.

La Vendemmia (vendemmia is the fall grape harvest) imports and distributes 25 Italian wines that it wholesales to metropolitan area stores and restaurants.

Pinto said the company's wines, ranging from $8 to $15 a bottle, are attractive to price-conscious consumers in the weak economy.

They sold about 150,000 cases of wine last year.