Gino Di Santo

September 1997

Gino di Santo does not look like a troublemaker. He speaks quietly and seems the very embodiment of the fine food and wine which he imports from Italy for Enoteca Sileno in North Carlton.

But when he arrived in Melbourne in 1952 he and a group of fellow emigrants, were seen as trouble makers and "invited" to go to Tasmania. At the time he didn't even know where Tasmania was and thought that it was only for prisoners.

Gino explained how, during the 52 day sea voyage from Brindisi on Italy's Adriatic Coast to Perth, they learnt about Bonegilla and about the horrendous conditions there. They had heard stories of people remaining for months and months and of suicides. So when he arrived in Melbourne, he refused to disembark and insisted on seeing the Italian Consul first. "They threatened to send the ship back." So Gino and his friends went to work in Tasmania for a "cooling off period."

After two months they came back to Melbourne and had their first meal here at Mario's (my grandparents restaurant) in Exhibition St. "We were starving and Mario's was supposed to be the best Italian restaurant. We had grown beards in Tasmania and the doorman wouldn't let us in at first."

Mario's was diagonally opposite Cafe Lexington where the first Cimballi coffee machine was installed, imported by Gino after being in Australia just over a year

Gino has always loved food and wine, his mother and grandmother had been great cooks. He had been trained in his family business of electronics and had a degree in commercial organisation (marketing) from Milan. His grandfather had an electrical plant that supplied electricity to 19 towns in Molese, Abruzzo.

So in Melbourne he started bringing in coffee machines, sewing machines and then ravioli and ice-cream makers. He even brought in the first mobile soccer game to the Europa Bar before the end of the 1950's. The police wanted to seize it believing that the players were gambling illegally.

Later on wine and food products were to become the mainstays of the business. Gino explains how in the late 70's the Italians were starting to re-produce the fine products which had disappeared during the wars, the big estates had been taken over and the production and quality of the grain, grapes and olives had reduced. "But the new generation which took over, with a new pride and passion for quality started to re-produce oil, wine and many other products. At the same time, here in Australia, the people were more interested in food and wine. I was watching, noticing all this." And so, after extensive research and travelling through Italy to find the products, Gino opened Enoteca Sileno in 1982 on June 30 with a wholesale license for wine. From a few wines the choice grew to 400 varieties and now nearly 500 different food products. "People told me that I was crazy to be bringing in the quality of wines and it took a long time to persuade the public to buy them." Enoteca held tastings constantly and Gino remembers sending all his new wines to James Halliday to try, "He didn't believe in Italian wines and then one week he came to Melbourne to select wines for David Jones, he tasted 130 wines in 5-6 days. Then after a month the first order arrived. It was for 1750 cartons, nearly 2 containers. That was for me the start. I think I created the market for Italian wines here."

Then there were the olive oils which came from Tuscany. For Gino, there's always a good marketing reason, "at the time 75% of the Australians going to Italy visited Firenze, (Florence is in the region of Tuscany). After the oil, the sun-dried tomatoes, the pate of olives, and all the other products, gradually. Day by day, step by step. I was looking for the best. Going to visit all these places. It was dreadfully difficult, there were no roads sometime, just dirt country tracks. "

Gino still goes back to Italy, even now, twice a year. Enoteca Sileno is run by his son in law John Portelli and his daughter Rosemary. John "was a great expert in cheese before (at Lygon Food Store) and (now) is a great expert in wine, oils and all the other products," Gino says proudly. John like Gino is passionate about food. The family at Enoteca take great trouble in the selection of the finest products from Italy. And, they continue to give trouble to suppliers who don't deliver the promised goods.

The days of Gino di Santo's "troublemaking" when he first came to Australia will be recalled at Bonegilla'97, the 50th Anniversary Reunion Festival at the end of the month. From September 26 - October 5 the ethnic communities who called Bonegilla home from 1947-1971 are holding exhibitions, plays, music and a whole series of wine and food related events in the Albury Wodonga area culminating in the Albury Wodonga Wine and Food Festival, October 4,5. For information call Tourism Albury Wodonga 03602318173.

Enoteca Sileno is at 21 Amess Street, North Carlton. Phone 9347 5044