Cantine Ferrari’s
Matteo Lunelli: a young lion continues a fabled family legacy-Part One
Story and photo
gallery by Dwight Casimere
VERONA, ITALY—Matteo
Bruno Lunelli’s enthusiasm is uncontainable. He has recently been named
Chairman of Cantine Ferrari, one of the most storied names in Italian sparkling
wine. In his upper floor, temporary private office and tasting room in the
Ferrari Pavilion in the massive Veronafiere convention complex at Vinitaly
2012, he shared his vision for the company, while also sharing tastes of his
superior Trentodoc Metodo Classico Wines in celebration of the 110th
anniversary of the Winery while presiding over a special luncheon of
specialties prepared by their Michelin-starred chef, Alfio Ghezzi of Locanda
Margon.
Prior to the
luncheon, Matteo Lunelli made a major address to the media at the OperaWine
news conference, a gathering of Italy’s top 100 winemakers held in conjunction
with Wine Spectator Magazine. OperaWine was the premiere event of Vinitaly, the world’s largest gathering of wine producers,
distributors and industry professionals with its more than 4,000 exhibitors and
150,000 participants from 94 countries. In his statements at OperaWine and
during this personal luncheon and interview at his pavilion, Lunelli showed
that he is fully aware of his newly gained stature at the helm of one of the
most revered names among European sparkling wines.
The words Champagne
and Italian and not words that you would normally associate. In fact, by law,
it is not possible, but that is precisely where the roots of Ferrari sparkling
wines are germinated. At the dawn of the last century, it was Giulio Ferrari’s
vision to create an Italian wine that could compete with the best French
Champagne.
“He went to France,
to the famous School of Viticulture in Montpellier to learn how to make
Champagne,” Lunelli tells the story, while an assistant pours 2001 Giulio
Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore , Trentino, Italy ($100).
“In 1902, there were
only 400 bottles produced after he smuggled Chardonnay grapes back to his native Trentino.”
Ferrari’s sparkling
wines gained a small, but loyal following. It was in 1952, that the destiny of
Ferrari changed when he sold the winery to Bruno Lunelli, who owned the most
famous bar in the city of Trentino. “ He and my great grandfather were great
friends. Giulio Ferrari continued to work at the winery until his death and in
the present day, his sons Gino, Franco and Mauro continued to work at the
winery.”
Matteo is the third
generation of the Lunelli family to run the winery. With his appointment as
Chairman at 38 years of age, this marks the affirmation of the winery’s continued primacy in the
industry.
Many years ago, a
wine critic described Ferrari spumante as the “Rolls Royce of Italian sparkling
wines. “ Crafted only from Pinot
Noir and Chardonnay grapes that are grown on restricted soils, the wines are
“champagne” in all but its name and place of origin.
“This comes from the
founder, Giulio Ferrari, who started a small production with an obsession for
quality,” Matteo explained. “In that day, he was a pioneer. Nowadays, everyone
speaks about quality of wine, but Giulio Ferrari did it in 1942. In fact, he
started at the beginning of the 20th century, when wine was sold as
bulk wine. Then, it was considered more of a food than a pleasure.
“Giulio Ferrari was
a pioneer in many ways. For example, he was the first one to bring Chardonnay
to Italy. There was no Chardonnay
at that time in Italy, and he was the first one to bring it to Trentino.
“ He also had a
strong knowledge of viticulture. He maintained a vineyard just for nursing
vines. There’s a nice anecdote about the fact that Giulio Ferrari sold some
Cabernet Sauvignon vines to the founder of Marchesi Antinori to use for their
Tignanello (2008 Antinori Tignanello-$79.99).
“So, at the heart of
our company is a culture for the quality of our products. We control the
production of our wine from the soil to the table. We don’t buy our wine grapes
from just anyone. We cultivate our grapes at our own estate and when we do buy
grapes, we buy them from providers that we know and whom we constantly
monitor.”
Lunelli maintains
that because of this link to the small growers in the region, “there’s a strong
bond between Ferarri and the
people of Trentino.”
Ferrari remains,
essentially, a family operation. With the baton of chairmanship officially
passed from patriarch Gino Lunelli, to his nephew Matteo, a legacy continues.
Cousins Marcello, the oenologist, is head of production and vice-chairman.
Camilla Lunelli is in charge of communications and external relations, while
Alesandro heads the technical area and planning and has become a member of the
board of directors of Ferrari and of the other companies in the group. While
Gruppo Lunelli has been opened to external contributions at the highest level,
the company maintains the features of a family-run firm, with regard to
ownership and governance.
The stories of
Ferrari sparkling wines and the Ferrari and Lunelli family legacies are only
the beginning. There is a vision for the future that is evident in the dazzling
array of Ferrari wines, both sparkling and still, that were unveiled in a
private media tasting at the Ferrari Pavilion within the Trentino Hall at
Vinitaly 2012. More in Part Two.
Photos:
1. Ferrari Chairman Matteo Bruno Lunelli
2. Ferrari sparkling wines
3. Chef Alfio Ghezzi
4. His cuisine
5. Chairman Lunelli shares a toast with Dwight The Wine Doctor
