WHAT TURNS A GRAPE GROWER INTO A GREAT WINE PRODUCER?
WHERE DO STAR WINE PRODUCERS AND LARGE WINERIES COME FROM? PERSONAL TALENT, INNOVATION, VISION OF FUTURE MARKET TRENDS, OR WHAT?
What transforms a grape grower into a great wine producer, Alessandro Mori Il Marroneto
By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda
In Montalcino, as in Barolo, there are many wine producers born into farming families who have become international winemaking stars. I’ve always wondered whether this growth was the result of production spurred by innovation or commercial insight… or whether it arose from the ability to interpret the gifts of the land like a sculptor does with marble.
BEING A GREAT PRODUCERS MEANS PRODUCING GREAT QUALITY OR GREAT NUMBERS
How does the transformation from grape grower to successful entrepreneur happen?
Obviously, the great winemakers—and I’m thinking of people like Bepi Quintarelli, Alessandro Mori from Il Marroneto, or Elena Fucci—raise attention to their territory with their splendid wines, setting an example and opening the market to other producers as well.
Their success seems to be tied to their personal talent and their ability to make it visible.
Then there are the successful producers who transform from grape growers into great entrepreneurs, and this is what I’d like to focus on.
In books, the transformation from artisan to entrepreneur is described as the shift from making things to managing production and planning long-term strategies, “from working in the lab to working on the lab.” Translating this concept to wine, we could say that a wine producer becomes an entrepreneur when he stops thinking only about the vineyard and begins to think in terms of project, market, and value.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF WINERIES OFTEN BEGINS FROM IMITATION, NOT VISION
In reality, in wine companies, there is no clear boundary between these two visions because the wineries are backed by the collective DOC or DOCG brand, managed by a consortium that often also handles marketing, communications, and many commercial expansion initiatives. Therefore, the transition from the farmer, who puts production first, to those who are market-oriented is less pronounced than it appears. This is true even in contexts where abundant investment would suggest the opposite—a strong propensity for innovation, diversification of production and sales channels, and attention to image and communication of their identity. The agricultural world has an analogical culture, meaning it reproduces. It seemingly innovates, but in reality, it repeats what its neighbours do. This is why the best-performing wine districts appear to be full of entrepreneurs, while in reality, companies with vision are few and far between, and the others are mere followers.
Another element worth highlighting is the presence of innovators from other contexts and with significant capital. They do not always create positive dynamics, however.
THE LIMITS OF OPERATING IN SMALL TOWNS OR WITH ELDERLY OWNERS
What I’ve described is perhaps a characteristic common to all production districts, but in the world of wine, there’s a disadvantage. Rural towns are small, and therefore “social control” is very strong. Everyone knows everything about everyone else and punishes those who differ, discouraging entrepreneurship and actually fuelling inaction. It’s not wine’s fault, and it’s not an Italian phenomenon; it’s precisely the social dynamics of small settlements that have this characteristic.
Added to this is the very high average age of agricultural business owners: two-thirds are over 55, and almost half are over 65.
The answer to my initial question is therefore complicated, and the transformation from grape grower to major entrepreneur happens less often than it might seem when looking at wine districts, and much less often than it should.
The Italian paradox is this: we have the vineyard with the richest identity and the greatest qualitative potential in the world, but we too often transform it into economic poverty rather than value.