Where to Find the Best Limoncello in Boston: Inside V. Cirace & Son and the Story Behind Sogno di Sorrento

Most people walk right past it.

At the corner of North Street and Richmond, tucked between the Freedom Trail foot traffic and the bustle of Hanover Street, there’s a wine shop that’s been in the same family, at the same address, since 1906. No flashy signage. No Instagram-bait storefront. Just polished oak display cases, sepia-toned family photos on the walls, and one of the finest selections of Italian wine and spirits you’ll find anywhere in the country.

V. Cirace & Son is Boston’s oldest family-owned wine and spirits shop. And if you’ve ever wondered where to find the best limoncello in Boston, this is your answer.

A Family That’s Been Here Since Before Your Grandparents Were Born

The Cirace family story starts the way so many North End stories do: with a boat from Southern Italy and a dream that didn’t need a business plan.

In 1906, Vincenza and Ernesto Cirace, immigrants from Salerno at the base of the Amalfi Coast, opened a small grocery and tobacco shop on North Street. In those days, Italian families named their businesses after their wives, so V. Cirace it became. Ernesto cut hair at Grande’s Barber Shop in North Square during the day and ran the shop with Vincenza at night. They raised their family upstairs, the way everyone did in the North End back then.

After Prohibition ended, the Ciraces made a pivotal decision. They applied for a liquor license and were granted the first one issued in the City of Boston. The state license number, WD2, is Boston’s second oldest and still active today.

Their son Ernest, a Suffolk Law School graduate and World War II veteran, came home from the Air Force and took over the business alongside his sister Eda. Ernest shifted the family’s focus toward fine Italian wine and spirits, and in 1953, he established the Cive Importing Company to bring Italian wines and liqueurs directly into the United States. What started as a corner grocery had become a direct pipeline from the vineyards and distilleries of Southern Italy to the shelves of the North End.

Today, the third generation runs V. Cirace & Son. Jeff and Lisa Cirace grew up surrounded by bottles, tastings, and the aroma of Italian wine. Jeff started working with his father in 1973. Lisa brought her eye for curation, expanding the shop to include imported Italian ceramics, antique glassware, and beautifully handcrafted gift baskets. Between them, they have over 85 years of combined experience in wine and spirits.

The recognition speaks for itself. Market Watch Magazine and Wine Spectator named V. Cirace & Son a Top 10 retailer in the United States. They received the Lou Iacucci Award for excellence in Italian wine from the Italian Wine & Food Institute, the first shop to ever receive that honor. The store has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, the Boston Globe, Phantom Gourmet, Chronicle, the Food Network, and National Geographic, among others.

And yet, when you walk in, it still feels like a neighborhood shop. Because that’s exactly what it is.

Sogno di Sorrento: Seven Generations in a Bottle

The limoncello is what stops people in their tracks.

Sogno di Sorrento, which translates to “Dream of Sorrento,” is the Cirace family’s own line of Italian liqueurs. It’s not a mass-produced brand sitting on every liquor store shelf. It’s the product of a partnership between two families, the Ciraces in Boston and the Russos on the Amalfi Coast, whose combined history spans seven generations and over 120 years.

The Russo family’s story begins in 1899, when Antonio Russo founded one of the first distilleries in Campania. His son Gennaro specialized in liqueur production. Gennaro’s son Maurizio took it further, perfecting the art of infusion and creating the recipe that would become Sogno di Sorrento’s flagship limoncello. Today, Maurizio’s sons Gianluca and Massimiliano carry on the family tradition in Cava de’ Tirreni, a small town just outside Salerno.

The limoncello itself is made from IGP-certified Amalfi Coast lemons, a specific variety that grows on the terraced hillsides overlooking the Mediterranean. These are not your average grocery store lemons. They’re larger, more fragrant, and subtly flavored from the volcanic soil and sea air of the coast. An average of ten lemons go into a single bottle.

The process is straightforward but demands patience. Fresh lemon peels are hand-selected by the Russo family, then infused in stainless steel tanks with natural spirits for four to ten days depending on the season. The infusion is then blended with sugar and distilled water. No artificial flavors. No shortcuts. Just lemons, time, and a recipe that’s been refined across four generations.

Beyond the classic limoncello, Sogno di Sorrento produces a range of liqueurs that capture the flavors of Southern Italy: Crema di Limoncello (blended with rich Italian cream), Blood Orange, Pistachio (sourced from groves at the base of Mount Etna in Sicily), Melon, and Espresso Caffè made from dark-roasted Neapolitan coffee beans.

You can find Sogno di Sorrento at retailers across the Northeast, including Total Wine locations, and in several other states. But there’s only one place where you can taste it while standing inside the shop that created it, surrounded by 120 years of family history. That’s V. Cirace & Son at 173 North Street.

Why This Is One of Our Favorite Stops on the Tour

I’ve lived in the North End my entire life. My family has been on these streets since 1897. I’ve watched businesses come and go, seen the neighborhood change in ways big and small. But V. Cirace & Son has been here through all of it. Same corner. Same family. Same commitment to quality.

That’s why the limoncello tasting at Cirace’s is one of the highlights of the North End Boston Food Tour.

When we walk in, it’s not like visiting a store. It’s like visiting someone’s home. Jeff and Lisa know the history of every bottle on their shelves. They know the producers personally. They can tell you about the soil where the lemons grew and the family that picked them. That’s not something you get at a big-box liquor store.

Tour guests consistently tell us that the limoncello tasting is one of their favorite moments. Not just because Sogno di Sorrento is genuinely excellent, but because of the context. You’re tasting a family’s legacy. You’re standing in a shop that predates both World Wars, that survived Prohibition, that watched the North End transform from a crowded immigrant neighborhood into one of the most beloved communities in America. That history is in the walls, in the display cases, in the warmth of the conversation.

And honestly? It’s the kind of limoncello that makes you rethink everything you thought you knew about limoncello. If your only experience is the overly sweet, artificially flavored version served at chain restaurants, Sogno di Sorrento is going to change your mind. It’s bright, clean, intensely lemony, and smooth enough to sip slowly, which is exactly how it’s meant to be enjoyed.

How to Visit V. Cirace & Son

V. Cirace & Son, Inc.

173 North Street, Boston, MA 02109

(617) 227-3193

vcirace.com

Hours:

Monday through Saturday: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Closed Sunday

The shop is located on the corner of North Street and Richmond Street, just steps from Paul Revere’s House and the Old Sailor’s Home. If you’re walking the Freedom Trail, you’re already in the neighborhood.

V. Cirace & Son offers complimentary wine tastings every Friday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in their tasting room. They also offer delivery in the greater Boston area and can ship throughout the continental United States where permitted by law.

For Sogno di Sorrento products, you can also visit sognodisorrento.com to learn more about the full product line and find distributors near you.

Taste It for Yourself on the North End Boston Food Tour

The best way to experience V. Cirace & Son is with the story behind it. That’s what we do on the North End Boston Food Tour, a three-hour walking tour through the heart of Boston’s Little Italy, guided by a lifelong North End resident.

The limoncello tasting at Cirace’s is just one of many stops where you’ll eat, drink, and discover the real North End, not the tourist version, but the neighborhood the way we actually live it. Family-owned bakeries, legendary salumerias, century-old coffee shops, and the stories that connect them all.

No tourist traps. No fluff. Just the real North End.

Book your tour at northendbostontour.com