Let's discover the Gratena brand: here is our interview

Gratena is an organic company since 1994, located on the hills of Arezzo (here you find our selection of excellent Tuscan products), that produces and sells certified organic olive oil and wine. Managed by Fabio de Ambrogi, it has been family-run for generations: it was initially purchased by the grandparents in 1968, now run by mother Rosanna and uncle Paolo Sieni.

Since 2000, it has been followed by Fabio, the year when the conversion of the old vineyards into new ones began. Fertilizations with manure, treatments with copper and sulfur, hand harvesting. The key word is “Terroir” which the Gratena winery respects deeply to maintain their uniqueness and represents their unique way of working.
Thanks to the oenologist Fabio Mecca, the Gratena company manages to create products that reflect the nature of their Terroir, working only with native grape varieties, the Sangiovese and the Gratena Nero.
Gratena has always worked in the vineyards and in the cellar to provide uniqueness; today most of the production is aimed at 90% at the foreign market covering Europe, particularly Scandinavia, the USA, and Asia.

Gratena works with the sole objective of achieving quality that can be identified with uniqueness. The production of wines branded Gratena is strictly the result of organic processing with a deep respect for the ecosystem and traditions.

We love these realities, these producers of unique, certified, and award-winning delicacies: they are true treasures embedded in our Peninsula between seas and mountains and in the most remote streets of villages and countryside. We do not stop at just experiencing their products, but we want to discover more closely the protagonists of this brand. That’s why we sent some questions to those who manage communication with us.

Stay with us to get to know Gratena: read the answers!
 

• Who are we talking to?
  Fabio de Ambrogi. Managing director and producer in the company.
   
• Is the company family-run? In what year was the company founded, and who was the founder?
  The company has been family-run since 1968.
   
• Who was the founder and what was his background or what was the working and professional field he came from if different from the current one?
  My grandparents founded the company. To be precise, Ugo Sieni, a businessman in real estate, in 1968.
   
• What is the true reason or the triggering fact behind the birth of this company and when did it happen?
  The passion for the Tuscan landscapes and for wine.
   
• What is your relationship with the land of origin and its uniqueness? And why do you want to tell it through your products?
  Passion and respect for nature. Nothing from the land has been altered, but everything has been used to bring the Terroir into the bottles.
   
• What was the first product you created?
  Chianti.
   
• What is the product that you consider "flagship" today?
  The Gratena Nero made with our indigenous grape variety.
   
• And what is the product that has most represented the beating heart, philosophy, and soul of the company throughout its history?
  Chianti, but now Gratena Nero must represent the success of this small company.
   
• Talking about today: how much has the company grown since its inception? Can we have some numbers?
  Parts of the land were sold in the 80s to concentrate work and reduce costs. 
   
• At this moment: more tradition or more innovation?
  Always more tradition if this means respect for Terroir without tricks.
   
• What has been the most important evolution of the company to make it what it is today?
  Internationalization already started in 2000 and Organic in 1994.
   
• Speaking of the future: what kind of tomorrow will the company expect? Is there any change or new evolutionary process planned?
  No process other than minimal reduction of copper and balancing vineyards and olive groves to make them almost self-sufficient.
   
• Do you plan to create new products?
  Not at the moment.
   
• Having focused on Spaghetti & Mandolino, how important is online sales for you, what has been your past relationship with this sales channel, and how do you see it in the future?
  Online sales should be a support for us, but not a priority.
   
• Value: what has been, what is today, and what will be in the future for your company?
  Extreme organic, products with a uniqueness different from all others as it should be for those who use only their Terroir.

S&M