Of all the farm's produce, grapes and wine stood out and soon proved the first to respond well to organic methods. In 1991 the wines began to be inspected and certified by a control body under EEC Regulation No. 2092/91, and winemaking and bottling techniques also became regulated by a new European statute on organic wine. The winery gained organic certification in 1991, the year certification bodies were created in Italy.
"The same wine my family and I used to drink at the table was labelled and shipped to a faraway country: that made my dream come true of letting others taste the fruit of my land. More than thirty-five years have passed and I feel I have lived so many lives; every harvest is an adventure of its own, exhausting, unique and unforgettable."
More than 35 harvests and so many family moments, which Settimo remembers like this: "There were lots of us picking the grapes, all family members. It was a time of celebration and we never felt tired. We all waited for Grandma Giselda to bring us a snack, often a good sandwich and 'a sip of the good stuff'. My dad Gino led the singing, and that much-mentioned 'Barba' echoed across the fields. That is where Barba came from, the name of our prestigious Malanotte DOCG, Il Barbarossa. And then I remember how the voices and sounds that kept us company all day slowly faded, leaving room only for the reassuring silence of our vineyards."
