Sandro Bosconi changed the place of Italian wine in the world and has never stopped experimenting, innovating and looking forward.
When Sandro Boscaini, President of celebrated Italian wine giant Masi Agricola SpA, was very young wine wasn’t something he remembers being “prized” per se. It was everywhere, on every table, in every house and an integral part of life certainly, but not the key to a prosperous vision of the future. “It wasn’t seen as a money-maker,” Boscaini laughs, “No one had any ‘culture’ of wine. It was either ‘clear’ or ‘dark,’ ‘good’ or ‘not so good.’” Yet as he reminisces now, you can tell that even back then Boscaini always knew there was something much more valuable simmering in that magical liquid, and so it’s no surprise that he recalls with perfect clarity the moment when everything changed. In 1963 Italy approved the first Denominazione di Origine Controllata, and, as Boscaini recalls, “Suddenly, the conversation changed.” Wine wasn’t just another agricultural product, “now it represented a patrimony; it had an absolute universal value.”
After graduating in economics Boscaini gained the experience and perspective outside of Italy to see the unique viticultural richness that Italy, and especially his native territory of Valpolicella, had to offer. He witnessed the world changing and discovered the contours of a cosmopolitan, international taste that was emerging. When he returned he looked closely at the wine that represented his region: Amarone. This was a wine that wasn’t found anywhere else, but it was a
This Article was originally published on Wine Enthusiast
