J O S E P H   B A S T I A N I C H
O W N E R

Since those long-ago days of red checkered tablecloths and fiasco Chianti, Joseph has been a part of an Italian wine and food “revolution”, much of it ignited by his mother, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich of Felidia, and has since been fueled by Joseph in an ever-expanding array of projects: restaurants, a retail shop, a winery in Italy, books and much more.

Joseph partnered with Lidia to open his first restaurant, Becco, a theater-district trattoria. Becco created a huge buzz with its “prix fixe” wine list.

In 1998, Joseph teamed up with Chef Mario Batali to open Babbo. The restaurant attracted a flood of critical praise, including an enthusiastic three stars from the New York Times, was honored as The Best New Restaurant in America from the prestigious James Beard Foundation.

Continuing their partnership, Joseph and Mario opened the casual, Roman-themed Lupa, the ground-breaking Esca, where Bastianich, Batali and Chef David Pasternack have introduced America to “crudo”- the raw seafood that is a staple in fishing villages along the southern coast if Italy and Otto Enoteca Pizzeria.

Soon Joseph and Mario decided to explore other cuisines. They started with Spain and opened Casa Mono and Bar Jamón a Spanish tappas restaurant and wine bar and most recently France with Bistro du Vent.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Lidia have created a multi-unit Italian restaurant concept called Lidia’s with locations in Kansas City and Pittsburgh.

Never content to stand still, Joe again partnered with Batali and with Sergio Esposito to create Italian Wine Merchants; an upscale retail shop devoted to Italian wines. On location at Italian Wine Merchants, Studio del Gusto functions as a display kitchen and salumeria where Bastianich and his partners hold cooking demonstrations and wine tastings.

Joseph ventured into his ancestral Friuli-Venezia Giulia to create the acclaimed wine estate, Azienda Agricola Bastianich and into Maremma, Tuscany where he established the wine estate La Mozza s.r.l. He is also bottling a delicate olive oil from groves in Colli Orientali and Trieste.

Joseph has teamed with Babbo Beverage Director and journalist David Lynch to write Vino Italiano, a comprehensive book on Italian Wines. In November of 2004 they published the Vino Italiano Buying Guide a companion to their award winning book.

Joseph appears regularly as a wine authority on both Lidia’s and Mario’s television shows.
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