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ITALY<br />
FOCUS<br />
CEO SERGIO DAGNINO, A MAN ON A MISSION<br />
Sergio Dagnino, who has extensive experience in the wine industry and other sectors, had a vision when<br />
he established Prosit Group in 2018, and that was to bring together wineries from across Italy to create<br />
a premium portfolio for both the domestic and export markets. Not a ground-breaking initiative you might<br />
think. But where Prosit Group differs from its Italian counterparts is that it has recruited the financial<br />
help of a ‘Made in Italy’ investment fund, Quadrivio Group, to drive a rate of growth that is nothing short<br />
of meteoric. “Prosit Group is not an investment fund project”, stresses Sergio Dagnino, however. “It is a<br />
wine industry-based initiative and Quadrivio has a long-term vision for its investment. To launch such an<br />
ambitious acquisition programme, we needed the help of an external investment fund”.<br />
SPECIFIC SELECTION CRITERIA<br />
The portfolio to date features wineries in five different Italian wine regions – Tuscany, Abruzzo, Veneto, Apulia<br />
and Lombardy. Again, the criteria for selecting the wineries – some of them under sole ownership, others with<br />
a majority shareholding – set Prosit Group apart from similarly structured companies. “One of our criteria is<br />
altitude”, explains Dagnino. “On average, the vineyards are located 350 metres above sea level”. Their positioning<br />
tends to be premium, though not luxury, and the wineries need to be complementary: “The aim is not just<br />
to buy a winery for its brand, but for the way that it fits within the range in terms of varietals and production<br />
possibilities”. Another leitmotif is a winery’s potential to grow, with investments injected into brand equity<br />
and marketing strategy. A case in point is the former co-operative Cantina di Montalcino in Tuscany. “In 2000,<br />
a lot of investment was made in terms of the structure of the winery, which was designed by an architect.<br />
We want to be perceived going forward as the most contemporary winery in Montalcino”, stresses Dagnino,<br />
who works with a select group of grape growers to improve the quality of the wines and reposition the brand.<br />
SPRING 2024 • GILBERT & GAILLARD - THE FRENCH EXPERTS ON WINE<br />
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