A new chapter officially opens in the young but already rich history of Baglio di Pianetto, a company founded by Count Paolo Marzotto in Sicily, which became famous thanks to its Grillo d’alta quota. Grégoire Desforges is officially the new president of the Sicilian winery: third generation and grandson of the founder, he has acquired the shares of the entire company. Roots firmly planted in the hills of Palermo, an authentic brand identity and energy self-sufficiency: these are the primary objectives of the new course, determined to give international scope to Baglio di Pianetto and to develop regenerative wine tourism.
Grégoire Desforges, grandson of the founder Paolo Marzotto, is the new president of Baglio di Pianetto
Grégoire Desforges is officially the new president of Baglio di Pianetto. After a 2024 as a protagonist as the spokesperson of the winery, the grandson of the founder of the winery acquires the majority shares of the company, expanding the renewal project already inaugurated the previous year by focusing on product, brand identity and targeted strategies.
The young number one, born in Paris and a “citizen of the world” – as he likes to define himself – has decided to move permanently to Santa Cristina Gela, the cradle of the winery’s vineyards and its locus amoenus. A return to the origins that continues the winemaking dream started in 1997 by Paolo and Florence Marzotto, his maternal grandparents, with a careful eye on new technologies and the needs of today’s wine lovers.
“I am thrilled to be president of Baglio di Pianetto”, his first words in the new role. “I have the honor and the burden of passing on a passion that belongs to me and has been shared by many people before me, as well as the terroir that hosts us today. I feel like a temporal custodian of an infinite, handed down and indissoluble value, and I am grateful to be able to cultivate it.”
A significant legacy, the one collected today, especially in terms of sustainability. Baglio di Pianetto’s viticulture has been certified organic since 2011 and the winery has been vertically developed since its creation, while in 2023 the first Esg certification was drawn up.
The commitment to a lower impact comes today with the choice – identity and strategic – to focus on vineyards at high altitude, up to 900 meters above sea level.
“The altitude allows us to produce wines with unexpected elegance, fresh and capable of satisfying a consumer who is increasingly aware”, explains Grégoire Desforges.
Solid foundations handed down, but also great attention to new technologies and today’s market.
“We wanted Graziana Grassini in the company as a researcher and oenologist of new technologies at the service of vineyard management and grape processing”, continues the president of Baglio di Pianetto. “Our aim is to innovate to protect tradition. It may seem counterintuitive, but the application of new techniques allows us to preserve the organoleptic characteristics of the grapes and the potential of the vineyards while respecting the environment and countering the problems of climate change”.
The new course of the Sicilian winery
Echoing the words of the new president of Baglio di Pianetto are those of Dante Bonacina, CEO of the company, who thus charts the course regarding future strategies:
“We have decided to concentrate the cultivation area of all our vineyards exclusively in the district of Santa Cristina Gela and Piana degli Albanesi and we are consequently remodeling the product portfolio and packaging so that each wine can communicate the distinctiveness of our new brand identity”.
“The challenge of value, which has as its objective production and distribution excellence, must translate into improved margins. Each operation – from the vineyard to the cellar – has been reconsidered to minimize the environmental impact, promote biodiversity, optimize resources and production costs through targeted investments and economies of scale, which will be the source and result of a more limited and refined assortment of wines”.
“The Industrial Plan we are working on will necessarily have a long time horizon, by virtue of the complex restructuring of the viticultural heritage and the company areas. A driver for the coming years, from which we expect a significant improvement in performance and a concrete relaunch and recovery of the company”.
Flanked by his mother Dominique Marzotto, now vice president, by CEO Dante Bonacina and by winemaker Graziana Grassini, Grégoire Desforges’ vision is renewed in the name of ambition, aware of taking up a challenge.
“The strategic choices of the next five years will be decisive for the relaunch not only of the company, but also of the entire district of which it is an active part and of which it wants to be a sincere interpreter”, explains the new president of Baglio di Pianetto. “The acquisition of the majority shares was a choice that goes exactly in this direction: no cuts in personnel, but rather enhancement of resources, human and environmental”.
“We are rewriting production logics and philosophies, positioning and national and international distribution by concentrating investments and energy on environmental protection, responsible management of water resources and the construction of a motivational and engaging environment for all collaborators”, concludes the number one indicating what will be the path of the new course of Baglio di Pianetto. “We look with great interest at the development projects for the promotion of the territory, as well as hospitality, closely linked to the vision of wine as experiential and conscious consumption”.
