2.1 From Giacomo Borgogno to Marchesi di Barolo

"At the Cantina Borgogno – Luciano continues – I was really happy and for this reason too I never felt tempted to return home to follow my father's trade. I realised it in the following years: that time at Casa Borgogno was a fundamental experience for me. I was young and all the new things captivated me. When I think back on those years I wonder whether I learnt all that I could have. Everything fascinated and intrigued me back then: work was important, but it was not everything. Working at Borgogno opened many doors for me: in the village (elastic ball and football), but also beyond the municipal boundaries. It was not easy to travel from Barolo, but with the complicity of the Borgogno family I occasionally managed even that".
Working in a small operation meant attending to many things. It is true that Luciano's primary role was working in the cellar, but partly out of necessity and partly because of his eclectic disposition he ended up attending to the agricultural side as well. It was easy, therefore, that between one job and another in the cellar, he found time to walk the rows of vines to see how the season was progressing and perhaps to lend a hand with the various cultivation tasks.
Luciano had indeed entered so deeply into the owner's trust that he was often the one sent to Alba to make the purchases needed by the cellar and the farm.
"Speaking of vineyards, – Luciano's memories become richer – at Borgogno they were truly well organised compared to other producers of the time. Cav. Borgogno had even bought a stable, from which he obtained the manure to spread in the rows of vines and other cultivations for organic fertilisation. And so, in agriculture and, more specifically, in viticulture, I learned to do a bit of everything, from fertilisation to plant care, from pruning through to the harvest". As he learnt and gained experience, Luciano came to understand that he truly enjoyed agricultural work. It gave him satisfaction to see the plants develop and grow, the clusters ripen, the vines change the colour of their leaves as the season progressed and winter drew near.
In 1966, having turned twenty, Luciano received his call-up papers and, against his will, had to leave for military service. After spending the Recruit Training Centre period in Cuneo, his final posting was Ulzio, in the upper Val Susa.
Meanwhile, his work at Borgogno had begun to attract the interest of other cellars in the area. Even though at that time various business owners had plenty of labour available, nonetheless – if there was a capable man – everyone tried to snap him up.
So, when he came home on leave, offers to change cellar were frequent.
"The most insistent of all – Luciano recalls – was Felice Scarzello of Marchesi di Barolo. He did everything possible to meet me. He wanted me, on my return from military service, to leave Borgogno and come to work in their cellar. That too was a prestigious company, even larger than Borgogno, and this persistent pressure from Felice Scarzello flattered me. And, besides, that company too was based in Barolo and this would not have changed my life all that much".
At Marchesi di Barolo, responsibility for the cellar was entrusted to Giuseppe Scarzello (a distant relative of Felice and uncle of Giorgio Scarzello, whose family had a small cellar). Everyone knew him as "Pinòto", his name translated into Piedmontese. He was still in good health, but his years were beginning to mount up and within a few years he would be retiring. Felice Scarzello's plan was clear: Luciano was to settle in, gain experience, and then take "Pinòto"'s place as the person responsible for the cellar work.
Naturally the proposal and the prospects – not only financial – were quite attractive, but Luciano still had some doubts about the wisdom of leaving the Cantina Borgogno to go to Marchesi di Barolo. The village was small and Luciano had little tolerance for gossip. And he feared that a choice of this kind would have sparked quite a lot of it.