50 years as oenologist of Fausto Maculan: from the Torcolato to the great reds, up to the PIWIs

Born in 1950, visionary entrepreneur and architect of the turning point in terms of quality of the winery, so much so that he became one of the protagonists of the rebirth of Italian oenology in the 80s : in 2023 Fausto Maculan celebrates 50 years of career , in the name of goals achieved and those to come. From a very young age, Maculan's love for classical studies and a salesman disposition coexisted which led him, already thirteen, to visit customers accompanied by a chauffeur. The following year he was directed by his father Giovanni, founder of the current winery, to the Enology school of Conegliano Veneto from which he graduated in 1970. After his military service in the Alpini corps, he returned to Breganze and in 1973 took over the management viticulture, production and trade of the family business . Here begins a personal revolution which, despite some initial mistakes, over time will become part of his wealth of experience and awareness, reinforced by numerous trips, tastings and key meetings with great international figures. “The primary objective of my career has been and continues to be understanding how to bottle the highest quality – explains Fausto Maculan -. Between the '70s and '80s my ideas were rather vague, which is why I began to dissect and explore the individual elements in depth which then, brought together in a harmonious overall design, create the wine. I started by studying the land, the exposures, the planting layouts, the fertilizations. I continued with the varieties, the ratios between clones and rootstocks, the yields per hectare and per vine. I therefore concentrated on the height of the fruit, the choice of the best shoots and bunches, the times and methods of harvesting, following the cellar activities with the same precision. For this precious knowledge I have to thank the travels, the courses, the studies, the conferences, the university visits, the countless tastings and the meetings with professionals of the highest caliber, such as the Californian winemaker Andrè Tchelistceff and Paul Pontallier, winemaker of Chateau Margaux, who, together with other masters of the world of wine, have allowed me to give the right qualitative turn to our company". In 1977 he presented the first vintage of Fratta , a wine destined to become one of the company's emblems, the result of the personal and territorial interpretation of the Bordeaux blend. A few years later Fausto left for the first overseas trip which would inaugurate the presence of Maculan wines in the United States. Thanks to his studies, numerous training trips to France and the success achieved, in 1990 the entrepreneur assumed the position of vice-president of the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Breganze, a role he still holds today, and in 2002 he started, together to other winemakers, to the Magnifica Fraglia del Torcolato . With the excellence of his wines, Fausto Maculan has been able to conquer the great exponents of the gastronomic world and national and international critics , as well as the palates of the entrepreneurial elite, fascinated by his histrionic character. The long friendship with Gualtiero Marchesi, the tête-à-tête with Prince Ranieri of Monaco, the collaboration with Count Paolo Marzotto for the construction of his cellar in Sicily have made his life a constellation of anecdotes and illustrious encounters, giving a compelling glimpse into the history of the last fifty years. Tenacity, thirst for knowledge and desire to experiment have made Fausto a true innovator in the sector and a profound connoisseur of his territory, who still continues to study today. A passion passed on to his daughters Angela and Maria Vittoria , who have been sharing the business management with their father since 2007: professional and enterprising, they represent the future of the Breganze area in terms of technological innovation, sustainability and internationalisation. An example is the PIWI project which in 2017 saw the planting of vines resistant to fungal diseases and which this year took the form of the new MaWi reference, a blend of Cabernet Volos and Merlot Khorus. The new wine was born in 2020 in synergy with the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Padua , as part of the Environmental Passport project for the agri-food products of the Vicentina Mountains , aimed at reducing the company's environmental footprint.