Behind the vine

Sveva Sernia - Morasinsi - Puglia, Italy

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

During studies I thought about wine and horticulture. Since I was a little girl I knew I had to work with nature, food and agriculture. My family is an agricultural family. I grew up trying wine. My father was drinking simple wine and I fell in love with it for it's true authentic flavours that reminded me of fruit, the smell of the cellar.

So for me, the wine world has always been my vocation. Then I started agricultural studies and fell in love with vine growing. The vineyard is not just by the vine, it's the ecosystem - the wild flaura and fauna. All these actors are composing the entire system. Agriculture is not just a job for old people. The kind of farming I want to do has a biodiversity/ecosystem focus. It teaches you to be patient and to enjoy nature's time. In wine and agriculture, you work with living microorganisms. It's different every day, as we are.

What story does your wine tell?

Three things. The expression of the land, the social mission, and the environment.

The first is the story of the land. We are here in Puglia. Special land Murgia. Dry land - you will not see big trees. Rocky ridges, hill, wild flora, wild fauna, limestone, iron. I want to take the expression of this land into my wine.

The second is our story: two young people starting to work in agriculture, wanting to work with their own hands, who have a social goal. We want to show young people that working with wine is beautiful. You can work here, in Italy, in agriculture. Drinking the wine can bring you back home.

Lastly, our wine has environment at it's core: a regenerating system. My daily goal is to keep biodiversity and wellbeing of the wine with attention to the soil.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

The year - you have to forget about the 'new wines'. Here, with the big, industrial wineries, they always want the new year’s wine. You have to forget about this. The older it is, the better it is. The year is connected to a vintage, you have to appreciate what kind of difference you see across time. Also, wine shouldn't be standard - bottles have to be different to reflect the nature, the year.

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

The farming. The agricultural side. I think you always have to pay attention to the method that the producer is practicing. Wine is made from fermented grapes and grapes are an agricultural product. You have to know how the producer is paying attention to the land. The farming side is the first thing you have to care about. You are working with living organisms.

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

To enter into the wine world with an open mind and lots of humility and curiosity. Every day/moment in the wine world you learn something. You have to be capable to learn, to prepare yourself with the good state of mind to learn day by day.

And then, if you want to work in production - it's male-dominated. Patriarchal.It’s challenging and difficult, so you have to be strong, never give up. If they want to take you down, you must not fall.

Who is a woman that inspired you?

Elisabetta Foradori. I really appreciate her because she has been capable of creating an agricultural family - sons who help her with winemaking, vegetable, and commercial side.

Where can women find your wine?

Tannico will ship our wines to most countries.

In the UK, you can get us at Diogenes the Dog.