Success

Living the end of a century and the beginning of a new one is not for many. Let alone living the end of a millennium and starting over with one that begins from zero. Yet it happened to Luciano Sandrone.
It is true that there were remote prophecies announcing who knows what upheavals for that change of millennium between 1999 and 2000. In reality, ordinary people lived that expectation with simplicity and reasonableness. Luciano too, as a man tied to the earth, lived it with common sense. He glimpsed in that "change of era" only the passage from one year to another and was not fascinated by the desire to live that "change of pace" as an epochal event.
Inside he thought that ultimately the passage from the second to the third millennium would only consist of the fact that on December 31st we would fall asleep in 1999 and the next day we would wake up in 2000.
Of course it was necessary to toast to that "change of era", but with the moderation and common sense as life in contact with natural events suggested. In his heart, he knew he would be satisfied with the toast in the warmth of his home and with his family without getting involved in the fervor that had characterized many wine producers, some of whom had even created a special package for that so fateful December 31st.
Meanwhile, at Sandrone's house the twentieth century had concluded with three positive events: first of all, 1999 had proved to be a high-quality wine vintage, which in the future would be talked about positively.
"And then – Luciano recalls – there had been two happy family events that had filled my home and my life with happiness. On January 19, 1999, Alessia was born, the daughter of my daughter Barbara, and about eight months later, on September 29, 1999, Giacomo was born, the son of my brother Luca: Both had brought to the family that light of hope that only a new life can generate. I was particularly happy for that little girl who had brought new enthusiasm to our house and not only because, as an old Piedmontese proverb says <na bela famija as comensa con na fija> (a beautiful family begins with a daughter). It was that sense of continuity of life and family that made me feel lucky and proud."
"As we could see – Luciano continues – the passage between 1999 and 2000 did not bring any particular upheavals. We just woke up 'a year older', as the popular wisdom of these hills likes to say. In practice, life went on as in the previous millennium. We continued to work and commit ourselves as before to maintain the levels of organization we had reached. In our house, then, the start of activities in the new cellar in Via Pugnane, where technique and technology had introduced cutting-edge structures and devices, challenged us even more. It is true that quality was always our North Star, but now it was necessary to do even more, because we would no longer have excuses for any imperfections. So, we threw ourselves heart and soul into the new millennium, comforted by the good harmony that reigned at home and in the company and by the excellent results coming from the markets."