My first work experience
Honestly, it couldn't have been any other producer to talk about first, and it will certainly be the one I focus on most. Looking back, I could say that all the foundations of my idea were laid here, starting with a classic April afternoon in Langa, cold, but with a sun that fills your belly and eyes. It was April 2010, and I, more nervous than ever, was walking up the Albesani hill, lovingly supported and reassured by Cristina, to meet the Busso family and ask if I could do my university internship at their winery. As soon as I arrived, I felt like I was in the right place, with Ramon, a Cane Corso puppy, running towards me, making an even greater impression on my heart, as if the people I would meet shortly wouldn't be able to do so immediately. We met, and both happy, we set an appointment for September... well, I couldn't wait for September to arrive!
I spent the summer in Tuscany, and on September 3rd, I was ready for my first harvest at Piero Busso. As I got out of the car, my legs were trembling like a child's; I was afraid I wouldn't know how to do things, I was incredibly excited, but in a moment I had scissors and baskets in my hand, ready to work under Lucia's skilled supervision. Soon after, I also met Pierguido, whom I immediately called Pier. My fears disappeared. Within two days, I was treated like family, harvesting with Grandma Adda, with Lucia, with Emanuela (Pier's sister), and then when it was time to load the baskets onto the tractor, I helped Pier. In the period after the harvest, I worked in the cellar with Pier, and why not, I made myself available to help with anything I was asked; I didn't feel like an intern, I felt like a nephew, and I was treated as such.
Pump-overs, rackings, devatting, I was happy: the Busso family was happy with me, so much so that they asked for an extension of the internship; for me, it was a source of great pride.
Little by little, I managed to win over even Piero, Pier's father, who initially seemed almost distant towards me, perhaps thanks to our chats about this and that during lunch, or because he saw me as willing and genuinely interested in learning from them. Unfortunately, the experience ended in December when I had to return to Tuscany, but this was only the first act of a collaboration that, to my surprise, was requested of me every year thereafter until 2016, always around harvest time. You might wonder why I talk more about personal relationships than about everything else that revolves around winemaking processes, vineyard work, labels, ties, shipments, fermentation tanks, the cellar, etc., etc.
Well, from the Busso family, I first learned to love wine and to respect the land and nature in all their forms; as for them, however, I believe that all this starts first and foremost from respect for people and love for family, which is then reflected in the workplace. Respect for the land, for the insects that inhabit it, for the vine that draws nourishment from it, for the lives that work it, for the water table, is the basis of the Busso family's working philosophy, which thus transcends the laws of a market that rewards ease of execution and reduction of processing costs in order to introduce a product to the market at an ever lower price, instead embracing what for Piero is the only right way to produce wine: quality, without ifs or buts. A logical consequence of quality production is the search for one's own identity, character, and diversity, so as to maximize the expression of the land and the hand that guides it, something the Bussos do perfectly with their wines, whether they are Barbera, Nebbiolo, or Barbaresco. From the moment of harvest, Piero and Pier take the grapes by hand and accompany them without invasive manipulations through the winemaking processes, until they reach their maximum expression in the wine.
This is where it all began, this is the romantic part of wine that made me fall in love with this world.
I will be eternally grateful to the Busso family for everything they have done for me, as they have effectively shifted my attention from wine as a product to the people who produce wine in the right way, with respect for the land, the wine, the people who work it, and the consumer who appreciates it.
