Word: banfi
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...content to be the largest U.S. importer of Italian wines, Villa Banfi decided to put down roots in the vineyards of Tuscany. But that turned out to be no easy matter. The company had to convince some suspicious Italians that it was a serious winemaker. Local residents feared that the Americans would produce a pallid, commercial product that would damage the area's reputation for fine wine. When Villa Banfi first sought to buy land near Montalcino (pop. 5,500) in 1978, the area's growers and agricultural unions strongly objected. They remained unconvinced even after the company...
...Italians finally permitted Villa Banfi into the region after the company agreed to a series of local improvements. The firm is constructing a winery and research center, a hotel, a restaurant, several boutiques, a church and homes for the workers. Projected total cost: $100 million. The result should be the most modern winemaking facility in Europe. No peasants crushing grapes with their feet here; everything will be stainless-steel modern. In addition, Villa Banfi has refurbished a 124-year-old winery and has begun cultivating grapes near the town of Novi Ligure in the Gavi district of Piedmont...
...Villa Banfi's leap into winemaking at a time when large corporations like Atlanta's Coca-Cola are getting out of the business seems at first surprising. But Villa Banfi's products may be the right wines at the right time. American demand for Italian wines is strong despite a worldwide glut that has hurt growers in California, West Germany and France. In 1982, Italian labels accounted for 59% of all table wine imported into...
Moreover, demand for Villa Banfi's products is developing around the world. The firm now sells wines in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Last month Villa Banfi announced that the Mitsubishi Foods Group will be the importer and distributor for Riunite wines in Japan...
...addition to expanding its markets, Villa Banfi is developing wines that are more upscale than Riunite. Directing that effort is Chief Oenologist Ezio Rivella, 50, the first Italian ever elected to head the Union Internationale des Oenologues in Paris. Rivella has helped develop new wine-production techniques that do not require additives like sulfur dioxide and allow white wine to be shipped abroad without alteration of its taste or color...