Sant’Agata Wineries – Tenimenti Famiglia Cavallero

Sant'Agata Wineries

Wine, like family, has deep roots.

My mother and father, having understood the importance of their origins, fortunately did not leave their native lands like many of their peers to work at Fiat and remained in the small village of Scurzolengo to cultivate the vine and sell their own wine.

Being born and raised in the countryside with farmer parents gave me the opportunity from a young age to experiment and taste true natural products, understand the land, and know how to interpret it to get the best result from it without exploiting it and without causing damage to the ecosystem. Picking ripe apricots directly from the tree and smelling their fragrance on my hands was a sublime experience, just like picking sun-warmed tomatoes, splitting them in half, and eating them without adding anything.

I was born in 1968 to farmer parents

In the early 90s, my brother Claudio and I became the owners of the family farm, and we decided to call it Cantine Sant'Agata due to the presence of a votive pillar in honor of Saint Agatha in front of our home. That was an important starting point for us, the beginning of an important journey that changed our lives forever.

My father had a predominantly private market; they bought our wine in demijohns to bottle it at home, but it wasn't enough for me! I wanted greater satisfaction; I wanted to see my bottles in restaurants; I wanted someone to recognize our wine and talk about it.

I started traveling to promote and propose our wine to the world. Unfortunately, we were not wealthy, money was always tight, and we had just taken out a significant loan to build the new company headquarters.

The first fair abroad was Anuga in Cologne in 1993. To be able to participate, my wife and I decided to use the money given to us by our relatives for our honeymoon; it was a truly exciting first experience, even though with few sales results. I met producers I had only ever heard of; I had the opportunity to be with them and compare my ideas, but above all, I broke a barrier. I had confirmation that I had taken the right path.

The borders were no longer a problem but an intermediate goal before reaching ever more distant destinations.

Wine, like family, has deep roots.

I have three daughters: Ginevra born in 2004, Elisa born in 1995, and Altea born in 1997, the same year we landed in America for the first time, which would become my reference market in a few months.

In the late 90s, I sold more wine in Manhattan than in all of Italy. The successes achieved in the wine world are mostly owed to the Ruchè grape variety. A few years before my debut in the company, my father, with foresight, planted one hectare of this grape variety, and it was my fortune. A red wine that tastes of roses and violets with contained and non-aggressive acidity, a naturally modern wine with fusion and contemporary pairings, a precursor and master of enhancing the territory.

The real company breakthrough came in 2007 when the company headquarters was destroyed by a fire. The lack of insurance to cover the damage exposed the family once again to suppliers' banks. Franco decided to expand his sales proposals by returning to his roots, opening public service activities... thus was born the Forum vini of Franco Cavallero.