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Fantini Group founder Valentino Sciotti visited Armenia for the first time at the invitation of VINO&VINO. At VINO&VINO’s venue on Mashtots Avenue, he presented a selection of Fantini wines and met with Armenian wine enthusiasts, sharing the story of the brand, the principles behind his work and the regions that shape the character of its wines.

The visit marked the latest chapter in a partnership between Fantini and VINO&VINO that has developed over nearly a decade. For Sciotti, a local distributor is far more than a company representing a wine brand in a particular market. It is an ambassador that remains close to consumers, understands their expectations and communicates valuable market insights directly to the producer.

“When we begin working together, we consider our partners to be true business partners and ambassadors of our brand. We understand how demanding their work is, so we strive to maintain the highest standards while making their job easier. Our sales team also works to remain as close to each market as possible, to understand it and support the promotion of our wines,” Sciotti says.

This philosophy is reflected in VINO&VINO’s approach. Through tastings, presentations and special events, the company regularly introduces Armenian audiences to different wineries and wine regions. On this occasion, guests had the opportunity to discover Fantini’s story directly from its founder.

For Sciotti, any conversation about wine inevitably begins with grapes. He grew up in a family involved in grape growing for several generations, and early in his career he recognised that Abruzzo held far greater potential than was being realised at the time.

Fantini was built not around a single large estate or an established name, but through partnerships with small-scale grape growers and regions that were then relatively unknown. This principle became fundamental to Sciotti’s vision: an unfamiliar region does not necessarily produce lower-quality grapes.

Asked which Fantini wine best reflects his personality and philosophy, Sciotti points to Edizione, one of the most distinctive wines in the company’s portfolio.

“Perhaps Edizione, because it is a wine without an appellation, and bringing it to market was the greatest challenge. In sport, you sometimes begin with everyone expecting you to lose, and then you become the winner. I think Edizione truly reflects my philosophy of life, my approach to creating wine and my attitude towards sport.”

That philosophy also shapes his vision for the company’s future. Fantini is now present in more than 90 markets, but Sciotti does not view this achievement as a final destination. He is particularly attentive to a new generation of consumers whose tastes and relationship with wine continue to evolve. In his view, producers must not only understand these changes but anticipate them, identifying new expectations before consumers have fully articulated them.

Within this context, Fantini’s relationship with VINO&VINO has evolved well beyond traditional distribution. What began as a relationship between producer and importer gradually developed into friendship and, ultimately, a genuine business partnership.

For Sciotti, the central question is not simply how to sell more wine to a distributor, but how to help that partner become more successful. At the heart of this approach is a shared focus on the consumer. As the company in direct contact with Armenian wine drinkers, VINO&VINO provides Fantini with insights into their interests, preferences and expectations. This knowledge, in turn, contributes to the brand’s continued development in the market.

For VINO&VINO, partnerships of this kind create opportunities to introduce Armenian audiences not only to distinctive wines, but also to the people, regions and ideas behind them. Tastings and personal encounters allow guests to go beyond what is in the glass and discover the philosophy, experience and human stories that bring each wine to life.

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