Bellissimos Put Stamp on Sicilian Tradition

Lucy Ricardo has nothing on Emilio Bellissimo.

The owner, chef and impresario of Cafe Bellissimo staged a grape stomping event Sunday evening that rivaled the zany redhead’s antics in the classic “I Love Lucy” episode.

Bellissimo donned a floppy chef’s hat, washed his feet with rubbing alcohol and water and jumped into a kiddie pool “vat” of Italian muscatel and Concord grapes.

“C’mon everybody! Jump in!,” Bellissimo called out to his wife, Kelly, and other family members who stood nearby watching him squeeze the fruit between his toes. Soon, they were all sloshing, stomping and singing Italian songs.

“This is like the ‘Lucy’ episode!,” exclaimed family friend Helene Gold as she held her daughter Gina, 2 1/2, in her arms.

“This is a big thing back in Sicily,” Bellissimo said as he stepped from the vat. “The day we harvest and stomp grapes is called vendemmia.”

Bellissimo, who came to America as a child, explained that his grandfather owned a winery in Longi, Sicily. At harvest time in early September, he said, residents of the tiny town would come to his grandfather’s vineyards to sing, dance and drink until daybreak.

The grapes used in Sunday’s stomping came from grafts of plants originally grown in Sicily, Bellissimo said. He planted the grapevine, which shades a patio seating area, when he bought the restaurant six years ago.

Bellissimo plans to use the grapes for juice and in recipes, but not wine because, he said, it’s too much work.

When Bellissimo announced his plans to hold a grape stomping, he said he was surprised that many of his American friends had only witnessed the harvesting tradition on the “I Love Lucy” television show.

Bellissimo hopes to make the grape stomping an annual event at his Ventura Boulevard restaurant. “You won’t have to travel out of the country to see Italy.”