Our Characters

Been wondering who the characters are in the Zin Avenger? (And characters they are!) They are an eclectic group that make wine country their home. Read their short biographies below. It may help you understand their strange behavior or at least understand their humor.

Joe Gambaro

Joe is the current owner of Gambaro Winery and Vineyards and a fifth generation winemaker and viticulturist. His family came to this country from Italy in the mid 1800s to seek their fortunes in the new world. Joe loves what he considers the art and science of modern winemaking. He loves nothing more than spending time with his dog Porto trimming vines on one of those beautiful sunny afternoons in late winter when there is just a little bite in the air. His true passion is the wonderfully versatile but horribly finicky Zinfandel grapes in the vineyard his great grandfather planted over a 120-years ago. The incredibly intense, complex flavors of the wines produced from this vineyard have been responsible for many gold and double gold medals won in the past ten years at the California State Fair Wine Competition. It was on a trip out to the vineyards to check on the latest harvest that Joe discovered his great-grandfather's private lab and his life was never the same! Join us as we discover what it was that grandfather was really up to in that lab. Read more of the Zin Avenger Story by clicking here: "Origins, a Prologue"

Elise Gambaro

The love of Joe's life, Elise is an energetic, vivacious woman. She loves to entertain and is the perfect business partner for Joe who tends to find social obligations a bit uncomfortable. She has no formal training but has a natural head for business and more than anyone else is responsible for keeping all of the customer-facing pieces of the winery ticking like clockwork. She has an eternally sunny outlook on life and is a true glass half full person. Like Joe, she is the descendant of Italian immigrants who puts family at the center of everything she does. Elise is committed to a rigorous exercise routine, which allows her to keep her figure and still cook like an Italian Chef. The food she prepares for parties is legendary and she is always in demand to help with events that benefit the community. In Joe's words, without his beautiful wife he would not be complete.

 

The Wine Witch

Born in 1968 in the Haight-Ashbury region of San Francisco, Simone (her real name) has never been able to throw off her child of the 60s persona. A love child of two true Hippies that were said to be friends of Jerry Garcia, she ran a head shop in Sausalito until the late 90s. When it became apparent to her that she needed a different product line, she decided the new in thing was going to be fine wines. She sold her shop, bought a new one in a re-emerging wine region and opened up for business. After almost 10 years she has become a permanent feature in wine country. She knows everyone and everything there is to know about what goes on behind the scenes. If you want the true scoop on who is mad at whom and who is planning what, you go to Simone. A true free spirit, her undeniable intelligence is disguised by her outdated flower child appearance. Simone never ceases to surprise those who get to know her with her knowledge of wine and everything that goes into it. Ever since her arrival, she and Joe have had a great working relationship and you could say have even become friends.

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