|
 What is common between Cecchi (pronounced as Che-kki like in Chetna and Makki) and Fratelli? ‘For one thing our family values- they are being run by brothers- in their case Andrea and Cesare who is older and the President of the family owned and run company,’ says Alessandro Secci, the Italian Director of Fratelli Vineyards. Their winery in Castellina in Chianti is very close to where I live in Tavarnelle and I know their philosophy is very compatible with ours.’ Fratelli Vineyards is owned by 3 sets of brothers and highlights the cohesiveness in the family structure and values.
I was having an exclusive lunch with the man of the day- Leonardo Raspini. General Manager of Famiglia Cecchi, the family owned company since 1893, being run by the 4th generation Cecchi brothers. He had arrived in Delhi barely a couple of hours earlier. The company now own Villa Cerna in the Castellina in Chianti, Castello Montaùto in San Gimignano, Val delle Rose near Grosseto in the Maremma area known for Morrelino di Scansano docg wines and Tenuta Alzatura in Montefalco Umbria where the Sagrantino grape variety is the king. Andrew Gardiner, the Hong Kong-based Pacific Area Export Manager is also here with him. They plan to meet several restaurateurs and hotels in Delhi and Mumbai along with the Mumbai based Brand Director of Fratelli Vineyards, Craig Wedge who also joined us for lunch along with Alessio Secci.
Production
The company produces 8.5 million bottles (700,000 cases) a year from all its facilities and exports half of the production. ‘80% of our exports go to 6 countries- Germany, US, Canada, Sweden, UK and Benelux. We have not made a satisfactory dent in the Eastern European market yet but we are making slow inroads,’ says Leonardo. As Alessio confirms, in the beginning they will export 3 labels- a Chianti docg, Riserva di Famiglia Chianti Classico Riserva and Brunello di Montalcino to India.
Famiglia Cecchi as a Distributor
Another implicit reason that Fratelli has tied up with Cecchi is due to its distribution arm since 2011, with distribution arrangements with several companies. Says Leonardo, ‘We have a wide range of Tuscan wines including a Super Tuscan ‘Quevo’, but Famiglia Cecchi wanted to cater to a wider market and offer bigger range so the Cecchi Fratelli tied up with Collard Picard, a champagne producer in Marne Valley and Cotes du Blanc slopes. Next was a Distribution tie up with the Ferragamo-owned Estate in Montalcino, Castiglion del Bosco.’
 This was all before Raspini joined Famiglia Cecchi though. He joined Cecchi last year only and has been the General Manager since September 2016. He brings with him a diversified wine experience, the most noteworthy being working with Ornellaia for 14 years. He was the GM when he left them to join Famiglia Cecchi.
With a current year’s target of over 160,000 cases for the domestic wines, the target of 4000-6000 cases of imported wines is miniscule. ‘We are not interesting in making money from our imported wine portfolio but we hope to build relationship with foreign producers by importing their wines. Who knows what we might collaborate with them one day?’ says Alessio as we demolish a couple of Pizzas from Napoli curated by the Pizza Chef Ciro Sorrentino who has come for 2 weeks at La Piazza at Hyatt Regency We also down three wines from Fratelli- Cuvee Gran Cru Brut, Chardonnay 2015 (which is tasting delicious and better than 2014) and Sette 2012, the brilliant and balanced wine with good structure drinking very well with seductive aromas and fresh and fruity flavours.
Cecchi for India
The excise registration formalities are underway in Delhi where the fresh Registration for the current year 2016-17 was opened only in mid-October. The wines will be on the shelves as soon as the Registration process is complete. Official Launch will take place at Fratelli’s annual event on January 18 when they showcase their complete portfolio. Only three labels are being imported for the moment –Cecchi Chianti docg produced at the Castello Montaùto facility in San Gimignano where the appellation allows the production of Chianti docg (Sangiovese, Colorino and Canaiolo grapes).
 The second wine is Cecchi Riserva de Famiglia Chianti Classico docg –a blend of Sangiovese, Colorino and Cabernet Sauvignon) produced at their Villa Cerna winery. (The strict rules for the production of Chianti Classico prohibit the production of Chianti docg at the facility where the Black Rooster-Chianti Classico is produced to clearly demarcate the two distinctly different appellations- editor). These wines will be retailed at an MRP of Rs. 1800 and 4500 resp. Brunello, of course is the Brunello di Montalcino which may not find too many buyers at Rs. 8,000. ‘But we must offer a wider portfolio to our Indian customers,’ says Alessio.
Although Fratelli has been involved with discussions and negotiations with Cecchi for the import and possibly extend later to wines like Orvieto and Morrelino di Scansano (now docg) and Vermentino from Val delle Rose, the final indenting, monitoring and marketing would be through their Hong Kong office headed by Andrew Gardiner, the Aussie Export Manager for the Asia Pacific region.
We part with my promise to visit their Chianti Classico wine estate Villa Cerna, about 45 kms from Florence, on my next visit to Tuscany in February 2017, but not without me sharing an anecdote. The winery was founded by a professional taster (then a rather small community) Luigi Cecchi in 1893, I tell Leonardo. His son was Cesare in the second generation. The third generation was again Luigi Cecchi again. Why were the present fourth generation brothers named as Andrea and Cesare and not Luigi and Cesare, I ask in a lighter vein? He laughs too and says,’ you will have to ask their mother-Anita who is a strong woman (which Italian single mother in the wine business is not!) and despite her age of around 89 is quite active. Perhaps she wanted to assert herself in the naming of the sons and break the tradition of ancestor names and chose to name one son as Andrea and not Luigi!
For more details, visit www.Cecchi.it or write to Cecchi@cecchi.net . Details of Fratelli Vineyards may be viewed at www.fratelliwines.in
Jai Ho! Cheers!! Cin-Cin!!!
Subhash Arora |