Two of my favorite chaps under the Tuscan Sun are related. Ugo Contini Bonacossi and grandson Leone are probably a lot more alike than even they realize. Ugo, now 90, was an engineer and traveled the world. But he came home to guard the patrimony of Capezzana for future generations. He remade his life and is an historical figure for Tuscany, Cabernet and the Super Tuscan phenomenon.Young Leone is an artist. But family history compels him to fly the flag of the family and protect the historical capital of the winery.
When Ugo was a young man, off he went into the world. But the land, and the times, brought him back. Let’s say it provided him with a focus that previous generations had worked to build. For a family to have something that can be traced back hundreds of years is no easy task.
Young Leone is in that same position now. He has come back home. He has the soul of an artist. Ugo has the soul of an engineer. Both men have had their lives shaped by the land and the estate they call Capezzana. Ugo, and the succeeding generation have worked through the most intense period in history for Italy and Italian wine.
Now Leone has been shown the lithographers stone. It is now his time to forge his impressions over the next generation and take the place they call Capezzana into the future for the next generations.
No easy task in any time, for a young man or a young woman, with dreams and desires of their own. But a dream many a person would love to have the opportunity to pursue.Just one of the many wonderful stories in the pavilion of dreams we call Vinitaly.
