▻ Francesco Ricasoli

Listen in to hear the remarkable “Great Wine Life” of Francesco Ricasoli of Castello di Brolio. Possibly, the most heart-warming wine story we have covered this year. He gave us his life as a professional photographer where his clients included Salavatore Ferragmo and Valentino, to return to the family estate to buy it back from Hardy’s the Australian corporate giant (his father had previously sold the winery and brand to Seagrams in the 1960s, who then sold it onto Hardy’s). For the last thirty years he has worked tirelessly in the vineyards and cellars to take back the estate’s reputation to its former glory. He tells Sarah Kemp how to begin with it was about survival, but early on he studied the soil, put a great team together and they today make some of Italy’s most elegant and beautiful wines. A story of one man’s determination to honour his family’s history and create some of Italy’s finest wines.More information at wine-conversation.com