A woman from Apulia at the top of the Italian Young Winemakers
Taranto, December 4, 2019 – It was Piedmont that hosted the elections for the new Board of Directors of AGIVI, the Association of Young Italian Wine Entrepreneurs. For the first time, a woman from Puglia will join the Board: Marzia Varvaglione, 30 years old, from Taranto, marketing manager at Varvaglione1921, her family’s winery, one of the few centennial ones in Puglia.
A female-led board, a sign that the wine industry has no gender bias and that, in the generational handover at the top of both companies and associations, the value of professional skills remains solid. After earning a degree in Economics in Milan, Marzia refined her studies between Lausanne and London, gaining professional experience also in the USA. Once a promising basketball player — she even played in Serie A — she chose to dedicate her life to wine, continuing a tradition and, above all, a family story. Today she manages foreign markets for the company led by her father Cosimo and is actively involved in Agivi, sharing with the newly elected president, the Tuscan Violante Gardini, and fellow vice president Enrico Gobino, goals and a vision that focus on teamwork and the development of knowledge.
«I can’t hide the great joy of being called to take on such a demanding role – comments Marzia Varvaglione – which I embrace with a strong sense of responsibility, aware of the need to invest in Italy too in education and understanding of the wine world, starting from the concepts of innovation and sustainability. This is a wonderful opportunity for me, but also for my land, which I proudly represent within a diverse Board of Directors that will engage with the outside world and with the national leadership of the Italian Wine Union».
