Fresh Plantings

Villa Banfi builds on success

The summer home of the Italian Prime Minister? A rambling country estate in Emilia-Romagna? No. Villa Banfi is the name of the largest U.S. importer of Italian wines (1982 revenues: about $250 million). Once the 65-year-old Long Island company was simply a modest seller of specialty wines like Marsala. But that all changed in 1967, when the Mariani brothers, John Jr., 51, and Harry, 45, traveled to Italy and sampled Riunite Lambrusco, a light red wine of the Emilia-Romagna region. The brothers struck a deal with the local growers' association and initially shipped 100 cases to the U.S. In 1982, Villa Banfi imported 11 million cases of Riunite Lambrusco, Rosato and Bianco, outselling the next six Italian wine importers combined by more than a million cases. Says Villa Banfi Chairman John Mariani: "We knew Riunite was going to be successful. It has the taste that was married perfectly to the American palate."

Not content to be the largest U.S. importer of Italian wines, Villa Banfi decided to put down roots in the vineyards of Tuscany. But that turned out to be no easy matter. The company had to convince some suspicious Italians that it was a serious winemaker. Local residents feared that the Americans would produce a pallid, commercial product that would damage the area's reputation for fine wine. When Villa Banfi first sought to buy land near Montalcino (pop. 5,500) in 1978, the area's growers and agricultural unions strongly objected. They remained unconvinced even after the company promised to produce only high-quality wines there. In 1981, the major agricultural unions of the province announced in a letter to Montalcino Mayor Mario Bindi that they were dropping their fight against Villa Banfi. Nevertheless, they asserted, the American firm's project would have "negative consequences on the production of local wines."

The Italians finally permitted Villa Banfi into the region after the company agreed to a series of local improvements. The firm is constructing a winery and research center, a hotel, a restaurant, several boutiques, a church and homes for the workers. Projected total cost: $100 million. The result should be the most modern winemaking facility in Europe. No peasants crushing grapes with their feet here; everything will be stainless-steel modern. In addition, Villa Banfi has refurbished a 124-year-old winery and has begun cultivating grapes near the town of Novi Ligure in the Gavi district of Piedmont.

Villa Banfi's leap into winemaking at a time when large corporations like Atlanta's Coca-Cola are getting out of the business seems at first surprising. But Villa Banfi's products may be the right wines at the right time. American demand for Italian wines is strong despite a worldwide glut that has hurt growers in California, West Germany and France. In 1982, Italian labels accounted for 59% of all table wine imported into the U.S.

Moreover, demand for Villa Banfi's products is developing around the world. The firm now sells wines in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Britain, Ireland, New Zealand, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Last month Villa Banfi announced that the Mitsubishi Foods Group will be the importer and distributor for Riunite wines in Japan.

In addition to expanding its markets, Villa Banfi is developing wines that are more upscale than Riunite. Directing that effort is Chief Oenologist Ezio Rivella, 50, the first Italian ever elected to head the Union Internationale des Oenologues in Paris. Rivella has helped develop new wine-production techniques that do not require additives like sulfur dioxide and allow white wine to be shipped abroad without alteration of its taste or color.

So far, Villa Banfi's new wines are promising. The company will introduce its Chardonnay next spring, a cabernet sauvignon in the fall and a Brunello di Montalcino in 1985. The most interesting product from the company will be a Moscadello di Montalcino, a frizzante white wine, first made in the 17th century, that has been out of production for 50 years.

Villa Banfi's most arduous wine-making challenge, though, is still to come. Following the lead of other vintners, the company is going to try to make wine on New York's Long Island. It has already planted 15 acres on its Old Brookville estate with Chardonnay grapes, and company officials hope to put in more vines during the next two years. Although isolated vineyards have been cultivated on Long Island for 300 years, no famous wine labels have emerged from the area. Villa Banfi wants to change that by bottling a world-class Nassau bianco.