Mission Statement
The Vendemmia Foundation is a non-profit, charitable organization recognized as tax exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is dedicated to preserving Italian culture, to advancing the understanding of Italian heritage, to fostering pride in community and to supporting the education and needs of Italians in the South Philadelphia area.

History
The Italian word “Vendemmia” refers to the harvesting of the grape. Since wine in Italy seems to be the culmination of the grape harvest, I felt that it would be most appropriate to name the wine festival “Vendemmia.” The idea of having the contest of homemade wine making came after my own experience of making wine. This tradition, I felt, needed to be passed on to another generation. When the original immigrants came from Southern Italy to this country, they brought with them the tradition of wine making.

Following the tradition of my father and grandfather, I embarked on an effort of wine making of my own. That was approximately 15 years ago. Because of the closeness of South Philadelphia, oftentimes my patients would hear that I also was involved with wine making and they would offer, proudly, their wine, and many times it was offered with the statement, “You must try my wine – I make the best." This pride in workmanship, especially something that requires so much tender loving care as wine making, was clearly exhibited amongst Italians, striving to be “the best.” It was almost a bit of tongue-in-cheek that I thought it would be interesting to create a contest among homemade winemakers, to bestow the crown of “Best Homemade Winemaker” and thus the birth of our local Vendemmia.

The first year’s contest was held in 1997 in the courtyard of Saint Agnes Medical Center. At that time, approximately 330 people attended the festival and there were 25 winemakers who entered the competition and a crown was bestowed. The event was so popular, it was felt that this small area of St. Agnes Courtyard would not be able to accommodate future years of festivals. In 1998, we moved the festival to Girard Park. Since that time, the number of the people attending, the number of winemakers and the number of vendors, have grown exponentially. This growth forced us to move the 2007 event to a larger park on Pattison Avenue. Over 6,000 guests from all walks of life attended. They helped to raise funds for the Vendemmia Foundation, a newly created non-profit foundation that provides academic scholarships to our children from South Philadelphia.

The date of the 2008 Vendemmia Festival has not yet been determined. Traditionally, it has been either the last Sunday in September or the first Sunday in October. We hope to share this event with all of you for many years to come.

Gerard V. Vernose, MD