Пиеропан

Венето · Италия

Leonildo, the town doctor (the equivalent of today's general practitioner), started the family business out of his devotion to wine. In 1901 he bought the first plot of land where part of the Calvarino vineyard now stands. Leonildo's sons, Gustavo and Fausto, developed the wine business with dedication and foresight. In 1966 Leonildo Pieropan — grandson and namesake of the founder and the sole descendant of a large family — made major changes at the winery after completing his studies in oenology and viticulture at the Conegliano school. He acquired new vineyards in the most suitable areas of Soave Classico, introduced new technologies and measured his production against wines he discovered around the world on his travels. Together with his wife Teresita, he shared a love of the land and a belief in the value of tradition, which must always be preserved. Leonildo's idea was simple yet revolutionary at the time: to elevate individual vineyards and give the wines an identity founded on the relationship between grape variety, soil, climate and human labour. This led to the creation of two landmark wines of Italian oenology: "Calvarino" in 1971 — the first Italian white wine from a single named vineyard (the single-vineyard concept) — and "La Rocca" shortly afterwards, in 1978. These two wines express the diversity and versatility of the area's two soils: basalt of volcanic origin in Calvarino, limestone of marine origin in La Rocca. His strong bond with the area also led Leonildo to important choices in the agronomic management of the vineyards: he eliminated chemical weed control in 2002 and began converting the entire production to organic farming in 2008. In the same year, together with friends, he co-founded FIVI, the Italian Federation of Independent Winegrowers. The fourth generation — his sons Andrea and Dario, graduates in agronomy and winemaking — have carried on the family tradition in the vineyards near Soave since the painful loss of their father in 2018, with the same love and commitment as their forebears.