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A wine does not need to be perfect.It needs to be authentic.
I have devoted my life to wine, to getting to know and appreciate it, in an attempt to understand its boundless complexity. Each wine is a world to itself, which lives, grows and changes as human beings do, acquiring over time a personality that makes it unique and unlike any other wine.
Loving a wine is like loving a person: to do so, we must shed our prejudices and learn to understand and accept the countless facets of its character, with the complete honesty and respect it deserves.
FedericoGraziani
It was 1990 when, at the young age of fifteen, I decided to enrol in my first wine-tasting course to pursue my passion: a passion that was soon to become my profession, radically changing my life.
A professional wine-taster from the age of 19, at 23 – in 1998 – I won the AIS (Italian Association of Sommeliers) competition as best Italian sommelier, an achievement that gave me the opportunity to work at a high level alongside Gualtiero Marchesi, Stefano Cavallini, Bruno Loubet, Carlo Cracco, Aimo and Nadia Moroni.
02
Each wine is a world to itself, which lives,grows and changes as human beings do.
Not justa sommelier
Inquisitiveness and a desire to improve drove me to further pursue my studies and to earn a degree in Viticulture and Oenology in 2006, the year I met Salvo Foti: it was our mutual friendship and esteem that afforded me the opportunity and motivation required to become a winegrower.
In parallel to this, I work as a consultant and popularizer. Since 2012 I have been collaborating with the Feudi di San Gregorio wine company as area manager for central and northern Italy.
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03
You can only really understanda wine if you knowits origins.
I first came here in 2006, upon invitation from my friend Salvo Foti, to visit the ancient winegrowing areas and acquire more in-depth knowledge of wines from the Etna area. I wished to find out what it was that drew me to these wines, what lay concealed behind their distinctive taste and aromatic complexity.
I could not imagine that this short journey would mark the beginning of a new life for me. By chance, I learned that a century-old vineyard was about to be uprooted in the Passopisciaro district. I decided to purchase it, to prevent a corner of a territory so small yet so rich in history form being erased from the map.
Years later, through my collaboration with I Vigneri, I started producing my first wine, Profumo di Vulcano, with the valuable support of Salvo Foti and Maurizio Pagano. This wine reflects my eagerness to share a special experience. It is the outcome of my encounter with the traditions and flavours of a unique land.