SALUTE!
The pleasure and passion of the table.
Salute! LLC is owned and operated by Renato Vicario and Janette Wesley, who love life and the pleasure of the table. The love of our family, sharing, and the pursuit of all things artfully created, join us together at the table, in the vineyards, and especially in the kitchen.
Our mission is to bring you the best tasting, all natural products produced with top quality ingredients, sourced from organic or sustainable farming methods.
Our family operates two farms, one in Italy at Villa Sant'Andrea near Cortona, and one in Greer, SC just behind our Micro-Distillery.
Renato Vicario, principle wine-maker, liqueur maker and taste educator.
Sommelier Clos de Vougeot and Comp​agnon de Bordeaux, Oenologist for Vicario Wines, Master Liqueur Maker for Salute! LLC, and author of Italian Liqueurs, The Art and History of a Creation; Writer for Wall Street International Magazine
Renato is the VICARIO behind our products. His vast knowledge and decades of experience have brought us to the place where we share these delighted drinks with you.
Renato Vicario was raised in the Piedmont region of Italy and lived in many countries across the world through his 45 years as a world culture, gastronomic and heritage travel wholesaler. Educated at the Catholic University in Milan, Cambridge University, U.K. and the Sorbonne University, France, he is fluent in many languages, as well, ancient languages, making his research capacity and knowledge profound. His book on Italian Liqueurs has been placed in the Accademia Italiana Gastronomia Storica or the Academy of Italian Gastronomic History. With a deep respect for terroir, eco-systems, and a passion for the pleasure of good taste, he is a champion for the philosophy of Slow Food and in educating others on the role food and beverage traditions play in the quality of life.
He and his wife, Janette Wesley, create Vicario Wines and Spirits at their vineyards in Cortona, Italy and grow herbs for liqueur making in Greer, South Carolina. At their Micro-distillery, Salute! LLC in Greer, SC, dba Vicario Wine and Spirits, they create a portfolio of award winning liqueurs based on ancient recipes, rare fruits, and age old traditions. Vicario Dragoncello Liqueur and Vicario Amore MIo Aperitivo have been named a Good Food Award Winner. The Good Food Awards organization works closely with Slow Food USA. Renato has been a long time member of Slow Food, and board member of Slow Food Upstate.
Renato Vicario is the author of Italian Liqueurs The History and Art of a Creation, see the video here.
Italian Liqueurs, the book, is available at Fiction Addiction and M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, SC, Omnivore Books in San Francisco, Kitchen Arts and Letters in New York. Any of these shops can send the book to you by request.
Available in Italy in Italian and English through Aboca Publishing.
Janette Wesley, from the Herb Gardens and Orchards and Olive Groves, to the celebration at the Table is involved in getting things in motion.
"Saving rare and endangered plants (especially those that provide a great pleasure to the palate!) is very important to me!
So far we have planted many varieties of ancient and rare fruit trees on the property of Villa Sant'Andrea from apples, to cherries, to figs, and the fruit of these plants provide an exceptional treat when placed in maceration, drawing out every goodness in to a well preserved and in some cases, medicinal drink."
Janette Wesley volunteers her time in Greenville, SC and currently serves on the board of the Metropolitan Arts Council and is a member of Slow Food Upstate.
She is a former Chapter Leader, and Governor for Slow Food USA. The philosophy of Slow Food- "Good, Clean and Fair" works it's way in to all of the Salute! products, made by naturally clean methods respecting the environment, delicious in taste, and at a fair price.
Renato and Janette carefully tend to the land, along with some super wonderful folks, that surrounds Villa Sant'Andrea, an exquisite vacation rental property in the countryside of Cortona, Italy. Visit an extraordinary place, surrounded by our vineyards, olive trees, cherry, almond, fig and myrtle trees, rosemary and lavender, and bring Italy home with our wine, olive oil and hand crafted liqueurs.
Janette has written for AT HOME Magazine on Garden to Table issues, a publication of the Community Journal, Greenville, SC, and has written for Wall Street International Magazine, and other various magazines. She operates the small farm from Garden to Glass at the micro-distillery in Greer, SC and works in sales and marketing and all other areas at the distillery.
She is extremely proud to have her daughter Lindsay Wesley and son Kristopher Wesley, his wife Leah, working alongside them.
