Behind the vine

Claudia & Giulia Benazzoli - Benazzoli - Verona, Italy

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I think I have wine in my blood. I'm a 4th generation winemaker. My great-grandfather started the wine business and my grandfather and father were involved in the business of selling wine. My sister and I were born into the wine environment and grew up seeing vineyards, smelling fermentations, and tasting wine. Our lives followed the life of the vineyard. We are part of its world.

What story does your wine tell?

The story of our wine is the story of wine made by women. My father was a commercial winemaker - he would transform the grape into wine, but then sell it to other labels. When I finished my study of winemaking and Giulia, my sister, finished her study of agriculture, we started a small production that we bottled ourselves.

In 2009, everything changed. Our wines were getting recognized more and more, but we didn't have the right label to tell our story. As two young women and sisters, we were trying to find a designer who showed care for our story. We would talk about wine for women and designers would come back with Hello Kitty-like designs. No one understood our philosophy. Finally, we told our story to a designer and he said; 'We have to talk about wines made by women, not just for women'. From that point, we understood where we were going. We started to describe our wines as different women - each has its own character and personality. For example, our Java - which is dedicated to our grandmothers - is made from our Corvina grape and is a sophisticated, elegant, and powerful wine, so we show our label as a woman's face surrounded by a lioness's face.

We love to let our wines talk by themselves. I was trying to show my skill to my father during my first harvest after graduation. He looked at me and said, 'Go into the vineyard. Check the quality of the grape, and let it talk by itself. That's the best way to make the wine speak.' When you taste our wines, you feel the environment and climate - the terroir and the story of our family. We like to do less.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

There are so few people who know what's behind a bottle of wine. The most important thing we can do as a winery and as winemakers is to open up our doors. We have to share our knowledge. Every time I host people here in the wine shop, people are smiling and feel more confident talking about the bottle of wine because they've been here and met us. I tell people that every time they open a bottle of wine they don't have to think about the drink. They have to take the time to sip, smell the wine, and let it enter their brain and body.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

Winemakers are connected to nature every day of our lives, so the most important thing about wine is that it connects you to the people and places behind the bottle. It's not only a drink. It is something you share with people and connect over. Wine is always surrounded by people: friends and families.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

When you work in a business that's full of men, they try to make you feel inferior. What's important for women is to be focused on who they are, and be very proud of their knowledge. Women bring something different to the wine business. They say men produce wine, but women transform it into money. We know how to make, promote, and package wine.

Who is a woman that inspired you?

My grandmothers really inspired me. They were two strong women who did an amazing job without being noticed. They were always there helping the family and doing their jobs.

Where can women find your wine?

We export 70% of our production to the US, Canada, and Australia. We have a small distribution across Europe, and if you're in Italy you can buy on our site.