About Cin-Cin

Cin-Cin [chin-chin] is an Italian toast meaning "to your health."

Cin-Cin Wine Bar resulted from a friendship of a successful Bay Area local restaurateur and a former Google marketing professional-turned-sommelier.  Don Durante and Lisa Rhorer developed the concept of Cin-Cin based on their passion for food, wine and the environment. Cin-Cin is a neighborhood wine bar for friends and family to enjoy food and wine produced by sustainable, organic and biodynamic methods. Cin-Cin is a place where you can nourish your palate with pure, sophisticated and intense flavors
 
Cin-Cin’s interior design will incorporate many natural and recycled items such as bamboo, cork, recycled glass and reclaimed black walnut that create a “green” and vibrant environment.

New Summer Hours of Operation
We are open for Dinner:
Happy Hour: 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday - Saturday)
Tuesday - Thursday 4:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.
Friday - 4:00 p.m.- midnight
Saturday - 4:00 p.m. - midnight
Sun - 5 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Don Durante - Co-Proprietor, Business and Food Management, Cin-Cin Wine Bar

Don Durante is no stranger to the South Bay dining scene - his 30+ years in the restaurant industry have taught him the importance of impeccable customer service and enabled him to master the workings of a well-oiled restaurant. Don was owner and executive chef at the award-winning Le Mouton Noir in Saratoga and executive chef at the Silicon Valley icon Birk's Grill in Santa Clara. Don’s most recent success is Cascal Restaurant in Mountain View where the Tapa-style menu offers bold flavors and exotic cocktails.  Don looks forward to another great success with Cin-Cin Wine Bar.

Lisa Rhorer - Co-Proprietor, General Manager and Wine Director, Cin-Cin Wine Bar

Lisa Rhorer is a former senior high-tech marketing professional, working for such Silicon Valley giants as Google, Oracle and Creative Labs. Lisa left Google to pursue her passion for wine, going on to graduate from the prestigious Professional Wine Studies Program at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena and earning membership in the Court of Master Sommeliers Program. At CIA, she studied under such wine industry luminaries as Karen McNeil (author of The Wine Bible), Christie Dufault (former Sommelier at Gary Danko) and Robert Bath (Master Sommelier).  Lisa has further built on that knowledge as Wine Buyer for Whole Foods; sales manager for Spanish wine distributor, Vinos and Gourmet and behind the counter at two popular Bay Area wine bars. Her love of travel and wine has brought her to visit top wine producers in Austria, Italy, France and Spain and attend the Toscana Saporita Cooking School in Italy. Lisa participated as a sommelier judge at the food/wine pairing competition hosted by the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association's "Taste of Terroir" event on July 24, 2008.

Chris Schloss - Executive Chef, Cin-Cin Wine Bar

A Los Gatos native, Chris Schloss has cooked in restaurants around the world and has now come back home to share his delicious global-inspired food.  His cooking philosophy is simple: 1) Use purveyors who love their product 2) Cook honestly and passionately 3) Let the ingredients shine.  That philosophy has brought him success at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland; at Michelle Bernstein’s critically-acclaimed restaurant Azul in Miami; Asiate and Telepan in Manhattan and Stone Park Café in Brooklyn.  Trained at Johnson and Wales University, Chris is a distinguished visiting chef and member of the James Beard Foundation.