Vintage Stock

At Shangri-La hotel to launch his boutique wines into the Indian market,the 41-year-old points to his black suit and adds,“I have to wear a Cavalli,it’s expected.” He pours out a glass of the 2006 Tenuta Degli Dei,a wine label he established in early 2000. He is also the worldwide distribution manager for Roberto Cavalli Vodka,a premium brand of vodka set up by his father in 2004,which will be available across major metros in the country. “This is my first time in India . It is one of the fast-rising luxury markets in the world and we felt a need to be present here,” he adds.

“People expected me to follow in my father’s footsteps but I wanted to discover my passion,” asserts Tomasso. He took a meandering route to discovering wine. He spent two years breeding horses in the US in the late 1980s and then returned to the family home in Tuscany — named Tenuta Degli Dei after the family dog — to start a trotter breeding farm.

“People thought I was crazy to have a horse breeding farm on a land known for vine cultivation,” he laughs.

Soon,with the help of a wine expert friend,he set up an eight hectare vineyard at the estate. His second vineyard is located 30km from the estate,in Florence. “Papa was confident I could manage a wine label even though I never had any formal training in wine-making,” he explains. “I supply the wine for most of Papa’s fashion parties. And he visits restaurants that serve my wine.”

Roberto Cavalli also contributes a design pattern from one of his annual creations on the wine bottles for each vintage. “The 2006 vintage carries the butterfly pattern from one of Papa’s creations of 2006. It was a dress worn by Cindy Crawford,” he recalls,holding up the bottle.