Cantine Luigi Sgarzi – made in Emilia-Romagna

The traditional and the modern – this slogan is obviously implemented by the Luigi Sgarzi cellar, whose modern, architecturally inspiring building stands right next to the family’s old manor. In terms of packaging their wines, the Italians have innovative ideas.

The story begins, as is so often the case, with a small vineyard. It is owned by Luigi Sgarzi, who used his horse and cart to supply the trattorias in Bologna with wine. That was in 1933. His son Vincenzo and grandson Stefano, who finished his studies at the end of the 1970s, quickly expanded the business. The idea, which Stefano pushed, was to sell the best Italian wines throughout the world. All that was needed was to win good producers and to subject their production to strict quality standards; the company, after all, uses its own name for the wines. The Sgarzis have long-standing relationships with the producers and trust is a must.

Today, the Cantine Sgarzi is selling quality and organic wines, wine-based aromatized beverages and grape juices, in bulk, in bottle and in eco-friendly packaging generating a respectable volume per year of about 450,000 hectolitres, which is exported to more than 80 countries throughout the world. Trust through personal contact with the customers is also a critical factor in the export business. This is why Stefano Sgarzi travels nine months of the year, while his wife Nadia takes care of the customers and visitors. The efforts are paying off, though. One of their customers is the British star chef Jamie Oliver. In addition, awards such as gold and silver medals from the International Wine Award MUNDUS VINI assigned with continuity in the latest years prove the quality of the Sgarzi wines. In 2012 a gold medal went also to an innovatively packaged wine called Ciao, a Primitivo Merlot IGT Puglia in a shiny, purple Tetra Prisma Aseptic package.

This packaging was chosen for environmental reasons: it is light, can be produced with little energy consumption, and is easy to recycle. Anyone visiting the new cellar building and its visitor centre will notice the environmental aspect there, too: green architecture with solar cells and environmentally friendly materials such as wood. The name of one of the wine selections, “Luigi Leonardo”, is quite symbolic: It is the name of Stefano‘s son, who is already working in the business. Along with his three sisters Anna, Francesca, and Irene, the fourth generation is now at the starting blocks.