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Tommaso Ciuffoletti, 38, originally from Maremma (on the border of Umbria and Lazio), he has been a “happy” commuter between Florence and the Castellina in Chianti countryside for the last 7 years.
Tommaso looks a bit like the actor, Nanni Moretti, in his early days with a sly, crooked smile. We meet Tommaso on a cold Monday in February.
The Castellina Town is wearing its winter face; many stores are closed but it will soon be waking up for Easter. Lunch is pretty tasty; polenta with mushroom and pork sauce at the “Macelleria Stiaccini”, which, in addition to the counter, has created a space for those who want to eat well.
We chose polenta, but meatballs and fried chicken and rabbit would have been a good choice as well.
Ciuffoletti is responsible for marketing and communication at DCC, Domini Castellare di Castellina. Tommaso is an unusual entity in the world of wine, where he began to work seven years ago “without knowing much about it”.
He studied at classic high school and has a degree in political science. His family has solid socialist roots, a Florentine and Roman political reality from many years ago.
Politics today for Tommaso are his many followed posts on Facebook, where irony is the key. “After all,” he says, “when you have nothing to lose politically you give your best, leaving the way open to creativity and poking fun”.
In these days of turmoil in the PD he had a lot of fun; caustic and creative, first with the “Breve manuale per scissionisti di sinistra” (Brief manual for left-wing splinter groups) and then with a satirical post where he invited the delegates of the Sunday, February 19, assembly to step out into the February sun and welcome spring.
His sms exchanges with Silvio Berlusconi have become a classic. So have the alternative press conferences; the one dedicated to the Ossevatore Romano and the one “reserved to those who like to watch soccer played by those who earn €200,000 a month”, the “pop” post for those who peruse the weeklies at the beauty parlor. Then there’s the person who says he will go nude… but then is dressed.
His articles in the Florentine monthly, Lungarno, (there will soon be two interviews with recent politicians from the Palazzo Vecchio), the column about wine (Lungarno), the direct reading of parts of classics on social media (see “Diario di un playboy fiorentino”, by Luca Bigongiari). There are also posts that create polemics, like the one about the taxi strike.
Anyway, you have understood. There is much more here than wine. But let’s go back to wine as he brings us to visit the winery which faces a breathtaking view of Castellina, facing Valdelsa.
“I am in love with Castellare,” he tells us. “I love this way of making mine wine, classic, that we find both inside and outside the bottle,” on the labels”.
There is one with a different bird for every year which has become a symbol and occult object for collectors. Tommaso tells us what the marketing and communication sector means to him: “You need to be able to tell stories that speak about essence and truth and then adapt as best as possible to your readers. For a Japanese client, tasting notes can not be the same as the ones you prepare for an
American”.
“You need to be honest and sincere – he explains – but bold as well. Sometimes we have the good fortune to work with the top companies of Europe and the world”.
Tommaso, son of an historian of the “Risorgimento”, has been impassioned with one of the Castellare wines for a long time.
There is a small market, mostly local but with a great identity and sense of belonging: Il Governo di Castellare is made with the old method, adding withered grapes and their must after the first fermentation.
“It was the wine of old,” he concludes while we say goodbye, “one made with grapes born on vines leaning against trees with wheat beneath. It is an unusual project which we hold dear”.
Matteo Pucci
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