Born in Forli’, I grew up in a small village in the Tuscan Apennines. Attracted since my teens to the magic of wine, smell, taste, rituals, diversity. I have always been quite curious and willing to try different wines, and pretty eager pop out lots of corks to see the difference. After 2 limping years at the Uni of Agriculture in Florence I got myself a job as casual cellar and vineyard hand at Fattoria Selvapiana, 20’ east of Florence.
Since then chasing harvests became a lifestyle. The smells, the colours, the long hours, of sweating, the night shifts, the chaos: intoxicating. Australia was the main destination, I could support all my trips, big enough to somehow calm my soul, the perfect gym to drain my energy, diverse enough to always be a challenge and stay amazed. The wineries and the winemaking the most diverse. I moved up and down the northern and southern hemisphere for ~20 years. Pretty proud of my 11 straight years of double vintage! With the going I did not have much trouble landing jobs in New Zealand, Oregon, Sonoma and France.
I got lucky enough to work with winemakers of the calibre of Stephen Pannell, a real gem, Steve Webber, David Bicknell and many others. In the Nothern hemisphere I crossed the path of Roberto Voerzio, Nicolas Potel when in charge of Maison Potel at la gare de Nuits St.George, just the most “genial\crazy” vintage show ever, and Enzo Boglietti who really encouraged me to start this project and very generously gave me the opportunity to use his modern cellar and impeccable equipment for many years.