Around the corner from the newly opened Manifattura at 413 State St., sits the original wine bar that got it all started.

Sharing the same owners, Aperitivo Wine Bar at 7 W. Haley St. has returned to its original — and delightful — premise.

“Aperitivo is now what it was always intended to be,” manager Lindsey Reed told the Let’s Go Eat Team when we sat down recently.

“The pasta dishes we used to serve in Aperitivo were — and still are — great. They’re now served at Manifattura.

“But Aperitivo is at its heart a wine bar,” she added with a smile. “It says so right on the sign.”

In addition to an excellent wine and spritzer list, Aperitivo continues to offer food of impressive nuance and depth of flavor. More on the menu in minute.

“I want Aperitivo to continue being a place where you come to have a glass of wine, or a bigger experience with some great food,” Reed said.

“And we’re going to know your name.”

And we encourage you, kind reader, to get to know her. Reed has a talent for making each customers feel like he or she is the most interesting person she has met in months, and the guests love it.

“I like having conversations about wine with the guests, maybe I can introduce them to some new grapes, new wines,” she told us. “Create experiences for them.”

Something she also does every spring at UC Santa Barbara, teaching a wine appreciation class through the Department of Recreation.

Reed was raised in the small town of Ceres in the Central Valley.

“I started working in restaurants when I was 16,” she explained. “My dad, who was a chef at a fine dining restaurant in Sacramento, told me ‘you’re not going to live this life,’ and of course I did the opposite.”

After several years in the industry she decided it was time for college, and enrolled at SBCC pursuing a degree in geology — largely inspired by her grandfather, an amateur rock hound.

Reed paid her way through school by continuing to work in hospitality, including a stint at the Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, where she met Aperitivo/Manifattura co-owner Andrea Girardello.

Degree in hand, she found herself at a job interview surrounded by geologists.

“I asked them, ‘do you guys like your job?’” she recalled. “Not one of them could say yes.”

Apparently her future was not set in stone after all.

Some restaurant guests suggested she explore wine making.

“My whole life changed right then,” Reed told us.

She sought out mentors, learned the craft of wine making, and eventually entered the Satellite Wine Bar orbit, where she worked while earning her Wine and Spirit Education Trust diploma (roughly equivalent to a sommelier designation, but with less formal neckwear).

“During my time at Satellite, and then Bell’s in Los Alamos, I started sketching out what my ideal little restaurant would be,” Reed said.

“And then Andrea called and said they’re opening Manifattura, would I like to help run Aperitivo.”

Pay dirt.

While “wine” may be on the sign, great food remains a serious matter at Aperitivo. The menu includes appetizers, salads, bruschetta and a couple of heartier dishes.

Co-owners Brian Dodero and Andrea Girardello are deeply involved in shaping the menu, and together with Reed they brought on Eric Aispuro as on-site chef.

“A lot of work goes into these dishes,” Aispuro told us. “For example, the boar in the Polenta Cinghiale is roasted for hours, and the quince mostarda is a three-day process.”

He was referring to the Burrata with house-made quince mostarda, pear, and hazelnut with sherry vinaigrette — an appetizer appearing currently on the menu, and disappearing alarmingly fast from our plate the other night.

“The Burrata appetizer, followed the Insalata di Zucca, and then the Polenta with Boar are great individually,” Reed said, “and they combine beautifully together.”

If you’re more in the “drinks plus snacks” mood, try the taralli (those dangerously addictive Italian circular crackers), along with some olives and a glass of whatever Reed recommends.

“The best way to start is with a spritz,” she told us. “We use super small-batch vermouths, and in the way of true Italians, no soda water, just quality prosecco and vermouth.”

Regarding the wine, “My list is mom-and pop producers doing epic work in the vineyards,” Reed noted.

She places an emphasis on wines from vineyards that follow regenerative agriculture techniques, creating sustainable systems.

“All of these wines go with pretty much all of our food,” she added. “And no glass of wine will be more than $16. We want to keep it affordable.”

With one exception.

“The expensive one is the grandfather of Italian wine,” Reed explained. “It validates that this is an Italian wine bar. If you know you know.”

What we know is that Aperitivo has become our new Team HQ. A place to feel comfortable, eat well, drink thoughtfully and be genuinely taken care of.

“We want this to be a place you can just be you,” Reed said, summing things up nicely.

Locals Only

Definitely order the Bruschetta with prosciutto and mushrooms, a dish created by Manifattura’s focaccia and pasta maker, Jeanette.

When You Go

Aperitivo, at 7 W. Haley St., is open from 3:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It’s closed Sunday and Monday. No reservations.

More Let’s Go Eat

Rob Raede: Santa Barbara’s Aperitivo Is More Than a Wine Bar

Rob Raede: Manifattura Brings Hand-Made Italian Craft — and Big Buzz — to Lower State Street

Rob Raede: Las Vegas’ Anima by EDO Is an ‘Hour’ from Home, a World of Soul on the Plate

Rob Raede: Aegean’s Mediterranean Cuisine Already Changing Santa Barbara Food Scene