HISTORY

It was 1915 when Gino and Olga Brisotto commenced selling wine of their own production. Owing to documentation requirements of that time Olga’s name does not appear beside Gino’s: Family is the greatest strength of this enterprise, and women will always play a pivotal role in it.

Friuli’s vineyards had just been restored after the devastation due to powdery mildew and phylloxera but Italy, in that year, made its official entry into the First World War, with the declaration of war against Austria-Hungary and our vineyards, our land once again became the object of devastation and terror.

In 1950 the Brisotto Wine Cellar (the original company name) is still active: the business endured two World Wars during which maintaining continuity in production was no easy feat, numerous vineyards were destroyed or abandoned. The connotation of the Brisotto Gino Company is that of a typical agricultural business: the grapes, obtained from their own vineyards, were vinified in the small cellar annexed to the main mansion and then sold by the owner to the inns in the area. Gino managed the company, with the help of sharecroppers in the countryside. He used a horse cart to load the wooden barrels to visit various territorial taverns to sell his product. Poverty in those years has an obvious influence on the wine demand: alcoholic beverage is primarily of dietary aspect, a source of energy for heavy-duty jobs. The actual recovery occurs in the second post-war period after an unstable and often violent period spanning thirty years threatened continuity of their commitment. It is Gino’s son, Antonio, along with his wife Angela Luigia, who gave new life to the business by expanding the wine trade and branching into the sale of various liqueurs.

Following Antonio’s untimely death, his wife Luigia decided to keep the business afloat, waiting that her son Gino, named after his grandfather, to complete his education in Oenology at the prestigious school in Conegliano and reaching the age of majority (at the time it was 21) Gino takes over and becomes head of the business.

In 1962, when Gino Brisotto took over the reins of the establishment, he is a young man of strong, impetuous character, with a distinct mindset for innovation and a strong conviction that a job well-done must reward whoever does it and must involve the local territory. Due to this belief, a few years later, he is the founder of the Consortium Friuli Grave DOC, leading to the initiation of bottling the wine with the company name on the label: the wine in the bottle is recognizable, has a name and a label, with which it can leave the ambit of surrounding towns, reaching the nearby regions and the rest of the country. In parallel, and well ahead of its time, his next move is to begin experimentation on the sparkling process for Prosecco Brut. Alongside him Liviana our mother with whom he married in 1965 and with whom he will share every project and success, not only partner in life but also work-mate.

Both fervently believed that it was possible to root the business in the territory where it was located and at the same time headway with innovation. Hence, in 1989, their ambitious new project led to the construction of the new headquarters.

From this point, steps were taken to move forward continuously, including the acquisition of vineyards in Azzano Decimo and Pasiano.

The fourth generation, Chiara, Anna, and Antonio, joined the business at the turn of the millennium and are now the current owners. They bring a sensitivity that is unique to their time: total attention to the product, from the vineyard to the bottle, because of the two main requirements that are looming on the horizon: care for product authenticity, its ecological sustainability as well as natural development of its organoleptic potential and enhancing the company image in such a way that it corresponds to the reality it produces, where technology is placed at the service of greater respect for the vines, the wine, and tradition, including the splendor it offers to the sensitivity of those who live in these places.

Family tradition is greatly important to this company because the living presence of the past and the drive to innovate are rooted in the generational continuity, drawing strength from it. For the people running the business and for those working for it with perseverance and passion, producing wine does not just mean putting a good bottle on the table, which is of course our main goal. But it is also important that while tasting this wine, the person drinking it understands all the care, the emotion, and above all the value that went into making it. That value ties together the history of the local territory and our work at present, but which also tells a story of love and dedication.