Life, in the day of a Wine Marketer…

“Marketing & Purchasing Manager” doesn’t properly capture what Marco Filippeschi does. “One day I am in the winery following a shipment for the UK. And the next day I am in the middle of the field with my camera catching some dude’s picture for our social media. Or organising a wine tasting for customers or a restaurant owner inside the winery. So a lot of things going on”.

Marco joined the I Greppi team after meeting our winery manager Dale Heatley at a restaurant in Rome. He had all the skills we were looking for and was brought up in the area. “I am a Bolgheri boy inside and out” he says. “I live in Cecina, 10 km away. When I was young, I spent a lot of time in Bolgheri, because I had a friend who lived in a villa alongside Cypress Avenue.”

But since Marco was a child, he’s seen the area grow and develop. And in a good way. “It’s the coolest wine region here in Tuscany… in in all Italy. It’s a wine paradise at the moment.” He explains how he sees demand for I Greppi’s wines grow, as an expression of the unique terroir and growing conditions of Bolgheri. And how his friends in other parts of the business look on at this region with a tinge of jealousy.

Right now Marco is in the middle of “changing all the packaging for our wines. Right now we have a wooden box for Greppicaia and a cardboard box for Greppicante and our white wine Vior. I would like to change the packaging of that wine. I have an idea of how to improve the appeal of the box and also the graphics.” Greppicaia fans will be familiar with Marco’s work on packaging. “I created the wrapping paper for Greppicaia, representing a map of the whole area.” Marco explains that this is more than just a visual representation of the area. “We are the part of the DOC… and this is a tribute to all the people who have worked here for 25 years inside Bolgheri. As the last company who have arrived in Bolgheri.”

Marco has a special understanding of the area, that adds to his expertise in marketing. “I am the only Italian person inside the company” he says. “I Greppi is Italian. But also a bit Welsh, a bit Irish, a bit American… it’s strange but true. People think that in Bolgheri there are only local people working here. But for us there is another kind of story. And this is important. At I Greppi we are all normal people from different countries who have come together to work for the winery.”

Marco brings a lot of skills to the team. He’s been an operations manager for a health company. He’s studied as a sommelier with the Association of Italian Sommeliers. He’s studied International Wine Marketing at the IED – the Istituto Europo di Design. And he’s much in demand as a wedding photographer, describing photography as “pure passion”. But at I Greppi he is able to blend this passion with his other skills.

I am proud to be here. Because it is a big opportunity for me and for my career. And for my life also because it’s not easy to be a part of a Bolgheri winery in 2021″. He thinks back to the chance encounter that started his journey back to his hometown in Tuscany. “I was lucky to meet Dale in Rome that day. It’s a day-by-day experience that improves my knowledge in all these wine-related fields. I’m very happy.”