This year the Italian wine family is blowing out 140 candles. Mario and Elisa Piccini tell unfiltered behind-the-scenes stories of nearly a century and a half of history.
“It is immensely satisfying to be here to toast the 140th anniversary of our history,” comments Mario Piccini, with a bright smile, “and yet, away from the spotlight, our family continues to be an easygoing band of children and grandchildren who, between a chuckle and a laugh, have never lost the enthusiasm of simplicity.
“We are an authentic family,” adds Elisa, exchanging a complicit glance with her brother Mario, “success has not changed us one iota. We are still the ones who gather in front of a long table every Sunday: a bit rowdy and a bit bungling, but always ready to lend a hand in times of need. The typical Italian family.”
Familiar memories chase each other, bringing the hands of the clock back to childhood days.
“We were a bit naughty as children,” Elisa amusedly recounts.
“You much more – Mario bursts in giggling – but you were daddy’s girl.”
At the memory of his father, Mario’s gaze lights up with tenderness: “He was a great man, capable of lightning with a glance, but also capable of infinite gentleness. Over the years, he tried to pass on to us all his knowledge about wine, and every day we treasure his teachings.”
“Luckily, our ‘apprenticeship’ started from the cradle,” Elisa recalls, “we were literally born into wine!”
“From our terrace,” Mario recalls, “we could almost dive into the warehouse from which the cellar doors opened. We grew up enveloped in this concert of scents. We can say that wine is our second skin, a family friend that saw us grow up.”
In the Piccini household, wine is ubiquitous. From the table to the family photos scattered in every corner. Prominent among them is one of a gentleman, dressed in the 19th-century manner, looking proudly before him behind two thick mustaches. He is Angiolo Piccini, the progenitor of this five-generation long family adventure. Angiolo’s is a strange story. From time immemorial, his family had been dedicated to the art of trading, an activity to which one day Angiolo also seemed destined. However, on a day back in 1882, when he was only 21 years old, the boy gave a shove to his destiny, abandoning the plans the family had embroidered on him to pursue his true passion: the world of wine. Thus Piccini’s adventure was born, from that courageous and rebellious spark that led Angiolo to found a winery by breaking with his past.
“This,” Mario concludes, “is undoubtedly the most precious legacy passed down to us by our ancestors. In a nutshell: love. Love for their work and for their land.”
“Angiolo managed to do something extraordinary,” Elisa adds, “we are all here, thanks to our great-grandfather’s courage and desire to dare. This shows us that sometimes we don’t have to be afraid to break the rules if we are driven by passion and the ideas we believe in. And it’s wonderful to know that 140 years later this spirit still runs through our veins and those of our young people who are slowly refining the tools of the trade.”
“You are right Eli, in their eyes I see that fire that we also had inside at their age. It’s really exciting as a father to touch, every day, the passion they put into their work. I am sure that, one day, they will be able to carry our flag high; with them, the future of Piccini is in very good hands!”