Would you drink wine made by a Ferragamo?

Fashion runs in his family, but wine is his calling. Massimo Ferragamo, the youngest child of shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, who founded his namesake label in 1924, steers a global network of ready-to-wear, accessories, hotels and charities. For the past 15 years, however, the Chairman of Ferragamo USA has been splitting his time between New York and Tuscany in Italy, where he owns the Castiglion del Bosco winery. In Singapore recently to launch its Zodiac Limited Edition: Boar, he shared with MARY LIM the life lessons he learned after becoming a winemaker.

What do you want us to know about Castiglion del Bosco?

Our winery’s terrain spans heights of 300m to 450m, so grapes from different parts have different characteristics. It’s generally rocky here too, so the grapes must fight for water and other nutrients, which also gives them more character.

In 2013, you launched Zodiac, a limited-edition Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. Tell us more about The Year of the Boar vintage.

It is the sixth of the series, after the Horse (2006), Goat (2009), Monkey (2010), Rooster (2010) and Dog (2011). Grapes were harvested in the first half of October, and aged for 36 months in French oak barrels more than 300 years old, and then for another six in concrete tanks.

The wine has a firm structure that gives way to a very elegant finish. We’d bring this to the Chinese New Year party!

It’s made with Sangiovese 100% grapes from 2012, a good year for winemaking. It has a good complexity, with cherry, leather, foam, and iron aromas and flavours. The label also features the work of Hong Kong artist Tse Yim On, who is renowned for his use of bright colours. As with previous years, we donate 10 percent of the proceeds from each bottle to a charity in Asia.

You said you want to make wine easier to drink...

We now drink for pleasure, so wine no longer needs to be heavy. I like a lighter wine so I can enjoy it like a cocktail. I have a glass of wine at the end of a day to chill. My wife Chiara doesn’t drink, so we never fight over which bottle to open!