Charlie and Steph Dall’Omo, together with their Italian partner, Gabriele Bolgeri, have a great enthusiasm for sharing all the delights that Italy has to offer. This venture came about partly as the result of a long awaited Dall’Omo family reunion, 65 years on from their separation. It was hosted by Gabriele at Chiesa Di Ignano, at his wonderful B&B in the Apennines just south of Bologna. The food was wonderful, the wine flowed steadily and even though guests didn’t all speak the same language, there was so much love in the room. Gabriele and his wife Irene soon felt part of the family.

Through a mutual appreciation of the great food and wines of Italy and a love for sharing those with others, San Martino was born.

Food has always been and always will be a huge factor in our relationship, and in our opinion, a good dinner can always become an excellent one when the right wine joins the table. Whether it’s midweek family supper, lunch with friends or, dare we say, lazy weekend brunch, a well chosen wine makes it even better! Bringing the right wine to the party is so important to both of us that our first import of wine from Emilia-Romagna was for our wedding in 2015. It meant an awful lot to us that people enjoyed it so much, because for us, this was a chance to let all our very dear friends and family know just how special they are to us.

And it’s that feeling, the joy of giving and sharing something that has given us so much pleasure, that has really driven us to start down this road, and that has kept us going when it hasn’t been quite as easy as first we had thought it would be, especially choosing to set up the company and start trading within the first year of our first child’s life! How hard can it be, right?