In 1928, Matteo and Carolina Carozzo, immigrant workers in gun powder factory, used their life-savings
to purchase an abandoned field near the town of Avondale. The tiny field occupies a knoll between a
concrete factory and two manure composting plants. The soil is peppered with horseshoes, old medicine
bottles, and a stubborn vein of quartz. The first twelve varieties of the Home Vineyard were planted here in 1999.

The initial planting of vines coincided with the longest drought in state history, and ended with a record
10 inches of rain in one evening. The next spring, a sink hole opened up. At the bottom of the hole, a large,
old crucifix was discovered. The crucifix was hung on a fence post overlooking the vineyard, and became
known as “Vineyard Jesus”. Pop Pop Jim ran over 100 miles of wire to erect a trellis for the vines. A small
winery was built into the hill; the concrete floors were poured on the morning of September 11, 2001.

The vineyard has been visited by hurricanes and hail, disease and cold snaps, deer, insects, and legions
of birds. New members of our family have been born, and others have left us. Great Grandmother Anna is
in her mid 90’s; she admonishes us to bottle on the new moon. Our daughter is now the fifth generation
of Matteo and Carolina to live and work here. It is a place pregnant with memories, and full of ghosts.




Va La Wines






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Va La Family Farmed Wines  |  8820 Gap Newport Pike (Rt. 41)  |  Avondale, PA  |  19311  |  610-268-2702