Many company stories have the pace of a fairy tale, and that of mine, despite its simplicity and concreteness, is no exception.
There was therefore, once upon a time, an energetic and extraordinary woman engaged in agriculture, who every day got up at 3 in the morning to do, arrange, coordinate, check, receive, send ...
Her name was Ancilla, and she was my grandmother.
In the mid-1970s, with the help of her daughter, Ancilla bought two estates with vineyards: La Ghidina and Cadellora. The first in Lugana di Sirmione, in the heart of the production area of one of the most elegant whites in Italy, and the second in Villafranca di Verona.
Her daughter is called Maria Teresa, and she is my mother.
From the beginning, Maria Teresa followed the vineyards of La Ghidina, personally taking care of the production of grapes, which at the time were sold to some famous Lugana wineries.
At the beginning of the 2000s, however, my mother wanted to give me the baton and I was faced with a choice: to sell everything or to become producers of Lugana. I had a job in finance, but a passion for the land in my blood: I always took vacation when it was time to harvest.
Land or finance?
I chose the land, and I changed my life. I had the advantage of working in a suitable area, of starting from an experience in the production of grapes for winemaking, I could count on the help of trusted collaborators who knew this land and its grapes well. In the cellar I didn't know how to do anything, so I learned how to do everything: for a year I worked like any apprentice, pulling pipes, decanting, cleaning vats, preparing yeast cuvées, supervising fermentation, following bottling. An experience that helped me feel even more my own the cellar that I later built in Villafranca, in the midst of the Cadellora vineyards.
Even today I keep getting my hands dirty, and when a hand is needed, my team knows I never back down.
The lifelong commitment of my mother and grandmother today is still a young project that is growing. Day after day, the most difficult challenge I could face is proving to be my greatest satisfaction, and the best choice I could make in my life.
That's why my company has the same name as my grandmother: because her dream today is also mine, and it's a beautiful reality.
