Today we introduce you to Massimo Meneghello Canoso, owner and production manager at the Canoso winery. Located in Monteforte d’Alpone, at Ca’ del Vento, this winery has been producing the volcanic wines typical of the Soave Classico area for over sixty years. Together with his brother Primo and, since 2015, his dear entrepreneur friend Giovanni Bartucci, they have managed to give a new imprint to this historic company, and the results have not been long in coming. We had the opportunity to delve into this and other aspects of their reality when we went to visit them a few days ago.

One thing that immediately strikes you when you arrive here at the winery is undoubtedly the youthful environment: all your employees are young, and one thing that I personally find fascinating is that these guys, despite being very attached to their TERRITORY, have all had important experiences ABROAD (USA, Australia, New Zealand,…). Here, I would like to start with these two elements, which seem to be in opposition, but which you have evidently managed to reconcile.

• It is a specific choice that we made. We discussed it with the partners and decided to create a group of people who are close-knit from a human point of view and rooted in the territory, but who also have had experiences abroad so that there is a good appeal when we receive customers or foreign people. In this way they can feel at ease with people who have had experiences outside of Italy, who have a wealth of foreign experience.

And I think this is also reflected in the production plan, because your winemaker has also worked in Australia.

• Absolutely. Exactly, our winemaker Marco has been both in Australia and America, and so we have brought home some feedback regarding production as well. Since 2015 we have reviewed the entire company structure and also the type of products, we have translated it to a more international level, looking for products that are good for export and international taste. This is not always easy, because since we are very rooted in the territory, we have always worked with standards that are those of the area. However, with the help of the guys who work in the cellar we have managed to do a good job, both from a production and commercial point of view. From their experiences abroad they have brought home a clear idea of ​​how Italy and Italian wine are seen in other countries. And this has helped us find a good compromise between territoriality and international offerings, which is not easy. The temptation would be to be “historic” and rooted, also because we are one of the oldest companies in the Soave area, but we also need a view that goes beyond our borders.

This has therefore created a very dynamic environment. I always like coming here because you can really feel a POSITIVE ENERGY.

• It’s true, we have managed to put together a good group of guys who are very close-knit with each other, and the atmosphere is always very serene and relaxed. We had neither the need nor the desire to create one of those stereotypical companies that must have rigid rules, we are very relaxed from this point of view. And we understood that it bears fruit.

And with the same concept you also opened a wine shop in the historic center of Soave, right?

• Exactly, this was also an important choice, because moving from Monteforte was useful to have the possibility of being in contact with more people, especially foreigners who go to visit Soave, which is a focal point for tourism in our area. We have noticed that interest has grown a lot even outside of our city and our province. It is a slightly different formula from the one we have here in the cellar: it is essentially a single-brand bar where we serve our wines, we do tastings, we have also invented some very popular wine-based cocktails. It has become a meeting point for locals too, and we would never have imagined it. There are those who meet there for an aperitif or for a chat, in an environment that is always very familiar and intimate. A formula that, we have seen, works. In addition to wines there are also other local products, cured meats and cheeses, which are supplied by other local companies with whom we collaborate.

As we mentioned before, in the last 10 years the company has undertaken a series of actions that have led to a radical change in mentality. Do you want to tell us how the winery has evolved?

• Since 2015-2016 the corporate structure of the company has changed. Giovanni Bartucci, who is not only a dear friend but also a great entrepreneur, has joined the company and brought a new spirit, a different vision from that of the local wine company. We were born as a family business in the 1960s, and we sold bulk wine. The first bottles were sold at the beginning of the 1990s, but for a long time we did not focus on bottling and we mainly sold bulk wine (as we still partly do today). So we can say that we are one of the oldest companies in the area, but at the same time one of the most unknown and newest if we talk about bottles labeled with our name. At a certain point we had the opportunity to make this leap in quality, because Giovanni was looking for a winery to invest in. For him this is a passion, it has nothing to do with his job, but he is an industrialist who has had a lot of experience both in Italy and abroad in the energy sector. However, he has never lacked a passion for wine, as his father worked as an oenologist for a certain period.
  With this new structure we have managed to divide the tasks better: Marco, the oenologist, and I follow the production part, my brother Primo the vineyards, while Giovanni gives us a big hand with regards to the company and commercial organization. There has undoubtedly been a leap in quality, we have reached around 100,000 bottles sold, which is not a lot, but still a considerable number. The goal is to bottle all our wine, and we are slowly getting there.

You mentioned that Giovanni works in the energy sector. Has this fact also influenced your company policies, directing you towards a more SUSTAINABLE type of production?

• It certainly has had an impact, we have tried to make our production more sustainable in all its phases: the reduced use of pesticides and herbicides in the vineyard, the agri-photovoltaic with which we are trying to convert the company to sustainable energy, little by little we will become more independent also from an energy point of view. We certainly want to do something good for the environment and for those who will come after us. On the other hand, the first to benefit from sustainable agriculture is the farmer himself, because he is the one who works in the field every day and comes into contact with the substances that are used there. This was also an important choice, because we must not forget that in the last hundred years we have made enormous progress in the use of chemicals in agriculture, even if perhaps we have exaggerated and it is better to try to go back to what our grandparents did, which was not really wrong. We do not have organic certification and I do not know whether to do it or not because with the climate change that is taking place it is not easy to think of working with organic certification. Without a doubt it gives you opportunities on a commercial level, but on a production level sometimes you risk bringing a product to the market that is not as healthy as it should be. So we try as much as possible to work with an organic and sustainable approach, sometimes intervening with different methods.

To conclude I wanted to dwell for a moment on hospitality, because without a doubt when you come here you find yourself in a place where you feel good and, I tell you also from experience, people do not want to leave.

• When we welcome customers, we really like that the welcome is cheerful, festive, that there is this climate of pleasure in coming to the winery, of feeling at ease and satisfying some curiosity. This was the imprint that we wanted to give to our guys when we decided to open the doors of the cellar to the public, to create a climate of empathy where people can relax and feel at home.
  As for our offer, we have tried to diversify our products in all wine areas, from bubbles, to still whites, reds, and sweet wines, there is something for all tastes. All wines come exclusively from native grapes grown by us, we have no suppliers, so our production philosophy is reflected in every bottle we put on the market. I do not exclude that in the future the use of international vines could also become interesting, at the moment we only have a small plot of Cabernet Sauvignon that is already giving us great satisfaction. But our wines are all very territorial, we like to keep one foot in the past. We can almost sum up our production philosophy with this image: one foot in the past, but looking to the future.

With this suggestive image we conclude the chat, but if you are curious to visit Canoso winery in person, join one of our “Soave and Amarone” tours. We are waiting for you!
If you already know their wines or would like to taste them, you can find them on our online shop, and we will deliver them directly to your place!