We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Riccardo Guerrieri a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Riccardo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I used to be a wine buyer and general manager for some years in a successfull wine bar and shop, located in a different part of Houston. I was doing everything from the creation of the wine list to the relationships with customers. At that moment i decided i couldn’t be forever the one man show for something it was not mine. So i created a business plan and I invested my own money and I started to pitch investors in order to create a team to build a new wine bar, shop and bistro. At the beginning i was scary and worried, for several months i poured money without receiving any type of salary but the excitement for something I was the creator was very high. From the moment the idea was born and during the development I spent a lot of time to transform any ideas in something concrete trying to avoid that any problems could create an obstacle to the final project. I’m convinced that offering a humble and low key explanation to customers regarding the world of wine is something that can attract a crowd eager to know different wine grapes and unknown wine regions.

Riccardo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

’My name is Riccardo Guerrieri and I’m an Italian guy truly passionate for wine and food. I moved to Houston ten years ago to follow my wife Lynn that I met in Italy. I started to be involved in the wine industry when I moved to Texas and I opened a wine import company. After few years I enjoyed a wine bar where after one year I became the GM and wine buyer. I’m a certified sommelier and in January 2023 I opened VinSanto, a wine bar, shop and bistro. I’m constantly looking for hidden wine gems around the world. I’m in the hospitality business so every day my goal is to make a pleasant experience for the people that are visiting VinSanto. I’m constantly looking for hidden wine gems around the world and when I can find the right wine my job is to pour it by the glass at the bar. I’m offering also food like pizza, European inspired-sandwiches and charcuterie boards that can match pretty well with the wines I have on the list. Since the place I’m running is pretty eclectic, I’m offering to customers also a big selection of wines through the retail section with a very competitive mark-up. The most exciting thing that I’m really proud is when clients after their experience at the bar are starting to ask me information about wines that are pretty obscure and difficult to find. When I can answer their questions, most of the time they’re ending up to buy some wines from the shelves or order a case (12 bottles) through a private order.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses

I haven’t ever bought a business before and VinSanto was my first attempt in the hospitality industry, Before VinSanto there was another wine bar with a different approach towards the clientele. My consultant showed me the place when it was shutdown and he let me know there were good possibilities to take over the place successfully. After that I found a business partner, Giorgio and after that we put together other investors to create the LLC that is running VinSanto. In few weeks we found a way to sign the lease with the Laldlord and after few months of cosmetic renovation we opened VinSanto.

Any advice for managing a team?

My best advise to manage a team is to be positive every day and do not hide anything that is not doing well, especially at the beginning of the project. My approach with my employees and business partners is based on honesty so I’ve never told them something unrealistic but always based on real facts. Maintaining high morale is challenging but sometimes a glass of wine from our favorite producer is a nice way to be happy with my colleagues.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vinsantowine.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinsantohtx/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vinsantohtx