The fact that the Ferragamo brand is more than just a fashion statement is well established. If I want to wear Ferragamo shoes it?s more to do with their patented construction (Tramezza for instance) rather than just flashing the trademark ?gancio? emblem. But don?t expect Bollywood or page-3s to know that for a house like Ferragamo the quality is more important than the mere connotation of it.
So, continuing on the same philosophy, Ferragamo has invested in and developed a museum, a boutique hotel and also a vineyard apart from other seemingly more related businesses like perfumes and accessories. This vineyard, called the Il Borro estate gets its name from the medieval village situated in the heart of the vineyards. The village was adopted, so to say, by the Ferragamo family and soon planted with red grapes. So quaint and preserved is this village that even today the only access to it remains by means of a tiny wooden bridge!
Today the house is headed by the great grandson of the family, who also goes by the name of Salvatore Ferragamo. He has spared no expense, no effort in churning out some really superior wines which reflect the true nature and essence of the soils of the famed Tuscan region where his vineyards are, some 40 kilometres from the town of Florence. The best of winemakers, the most laborious of techniques and even the most unconventional of grapes. The wines are very similar to hi-end Bordeaux wines in style and characters (not to mention price!)
But the success hasn?t come easy. His wines do not merit regular Italian wine appellation of DOC and are classified as just above table wine due to his practice of using grapes such as Merlot and Syrah which are not traditionally allowed in Italy and surely not in Tuscany. ?We want to show the best of our soils and winemaking skills,? said Ferragamo. Eventually, he believes, people will buy the wine for its intrinsic quality and not the brand name.
But that leaves them with the onus of making their wines known to the true wine-lover and thankfully, a surname like that not to mention the lineage, sure comes in handy. The one problem Salvatore faces continuously is maintaining a steady supply of the wines. He only makes three different red wines and one only as much as a few hundred cases. Hence demands always exceed supplies and no one can do much about it.
The wines were introduced in India quite a few years ago alongside the opening of their first boutique in Mumbai and since then a lot has changed. In the beginning people were averse to buying five-hundred dollar shoes and today those things fly off the shelves faster than they can stock them. Marketing does have its evil ways of conviction.
The wines too will need a good push and a shove before Indians get down to the business of having a fashionable sip with their saag. In the meantime, here?s raising a toast to wine that tries to amalgamate two hedonistic essences ? men?s fashion and fine gastronomy.
The writer is a sommelier