I and my family have always lived in Chianti and participated in the world of fine wine and olive oil, and I have had opportunity, through our sales and distribution company SELEZIONE FATTORIE, to further broaden my interest and experience, working in close contact with importers and distributors from all over the world in a spirit of complete involvement on behalf of the culture and commerce of Italy.
The many occasions which I have had to participate in the presentation of wine have given me an important awareness of the new interest in quality wine and olive oil among young people in Italy. This, in turn, prompted the idea of opening a Vinoteca in order to be in direct contact with consumers with a structure of this type.
I found the site which I had long been searching for near the splendid Charterhouse of Florence, on this historic Via Cassia which joins Rome to Florence, a mere 900 yards away from the Firenze-Impruneta super highway exit and near the Florence-Siena highway as well.
The name which I chose is closely tied to the site which was selected: Vinoteca al Chianti because this is the road to take when leaving Florence in the direction of Chianti. The logo, in fact, recalls the black rooster - the "Gallo Nero" - which symbolizes both this territory and the nearby town of Galluzzo, and the rooster, in turn, is perched on the goblet of the coat of arms of medieval Vintners Guild of Florence.
We organize get-togethers, tastings, tasting courses, and an important event, VINO E PIACERE ("WINE AND PLEASURE"), held each year in September in order to maintain the vitality of the links between producers and consumers and to contribute to the growth of interest in and awareness of fine wine and olive oil. This because I have come to understand that we must not confine ourselves to merely selling these products, but must promote them in the widest sense, demonstrate the values of tradition and the quality of life which they embody and which can enrich the life of those who learn to appreciate them.
We also wish to have an emporium with the gastronomic specialities which we have come to know from years of contact and friendship with the artisans from all over Italy, from north to south. And this because a good bottle of wine needs to be matched with the genuine foods and authentic flavors which these artisans create and because a good olive oil is an important aspect both of flavorful food and a healthy diet.
I strongly wish to have a wide range of Italian and international wines, though I am aware that our prime duty is to work for the local production of Tuscany, then the rest of Italy, and only then for the rest of the world, though a varied gamut is important in order to stimulate the interest and curiosity of "my" customerss and further stimulate their enthusiasm.
We are still young, but the market for quality wine is a young one in Italy as well, and I wish to grow along with it, offering an appassioned contribution and continuing, together with my family, the daily work of "sowing" which will yield an abundant harvest of interest in the values, the traditions, the culture, and the flavors which Nature, and the men who work with it, gives. My parent and grandparents have given me the opportunity to truly live the emotions and sensations of the countryside and its people, and for the Vinoteca al Chianti every glass, every bottle, every slice of bread and olive oil, must transmit this message and my personal contribution of awareness. A toast, then, to wine and olive oil of real quality and to all of those who produce it, who consume it, and transmit its message to a wider world.