HRHistory of the Rossi family
About us
Federico Rossi, father of Francesco (Marino's great-grandfather), was born in 1865 in a small Friuli town between Udine and Tolmezzo in a family with many children who lived in great poverty. The only escape from hunger that the parents saw was to give the little child to the Trieste Orphanotrofio, an orphanage in Trieste. In those times of poverty, orphanages were full of abandoned children. At that time, when it was difficult or impossible to get money in the countryside, the then Austro-Hungarian government decided to encourage adoptive parents with financial benefits. So Federica decided to adopt a woman from Bajkini who, becoming a widow, could barely raise her own child, and the financial aid offered to adopt Federica was a great help.
In the new family, Federico grew up equally with his new brother. Later, when the stepmother passed away and the adopted brother went to Italy, Federico stayed to work for food as a servant of the richest family in the neighboring village of Bajkini. At their place, he met their maid, who was herself an orphan, and his first love happened. But the masters did not have the heart, so they chased the pregnant maid out of their home together with Federico. Federik's wife gave birth in a kocha, a field house made of straw and palud, while it was snowing outside...
Nearby, in today's house of the Rossis, lived a married couple of elderly people in poor health who were not cared for by anyone, nor could they maintain their property by themselves. As Federico took care of them, they offered accommodation to his young family. Federici supported them until his death and then inherited the house and some land. According to the official land purchase contract, Federico bought the first vineyard in 1885, and that's when it all started.
Federico's family had five children. Still struggling to make ends meet, Federico's son Marco (Marin's grandfather) continued planting vines, among which at that time corn, beans, potatoes, lettuce, radicchio and everything else that was needed for life was planted, because there was little land and it had to be used to the maximum. Back then, everything was done by hand, without the help of oxen, cows or loads that they didn't even have.
Back in the Austro-Hungarian era, Federico started producing brandy as an activity complementary to winemaking, with which it is perfectly complemented. After World War 1, during the rule of Italy, the production of strong alcoholic beverages was prohibited, but as it was part of the tradition of these areas, it continued hidden from the authorities, in the forests, along the streams. In short, the Russians have been making brandy since they made wine.
In the time between the two world wars, while these areas were ruled by the Kingdom of Italy, a bank decided to sell a large piece of land between the village of Bajkini and the river Mirna. No one remembers the price in lira, but it was worth ten adult oxen. Although penniless, Marco Rossi decided to take advantage of the opportunity. With his neighbor, partner and guarantor, he took out a large loan in the Trieste bank, which was supposed to be enough to buy land on which to plant vines. But the neighbor suddenly gave up and Marco fell into unexpected financial difficulties and was under enormous pressure. The extent of Marco's distress can only be understood...
if it is known that at that time he owned only one load, and the market price of just one ox was four to five times higher than that, and the price of ten oxen was dizzyingly unimaginable. Finally, his health already impaired by the gravity of the situation, Marco came up with a solution. He found a Venetian timber merchant, and on the land he bought with a loan, he hired a large number of loggers who cleared it along with the stumps. They dragged the mass of wood to the river Mirna, then took it by raft to the port of Antenal at the mouth of the sea, and then by boat to Venice. He earned a lire worth sixteen oxen, so he paid for the loggers, the raft, and -- most importantly -- the land on which he immediately planted the vines..
Business Development
In the eighties of the 20th century, winemaking became the main commercial activity of the Rossi family. Larger quantities of wine were marketed in Slovenia, where the demand for quality wines from Istria has increased. In the 1990s, a wholesaler in Trieste bought large quantities of bulk wines. In that period, the Russians increased the production of domestic brandies and created Biska, Medenica, Eucalyptus and Orahovac.
With the change of the millennium and the opening of the new century, under the motto "quantity is not important, but quality", the Rossis strategically invest in innovative technologies and branding of their products. Their goal is to create wines and spirits of the highest quality, to position them at the very top of the premium segment of the domestic and foreign markets, and to postulate the Rossi family brand as a concept of wine and spirit quality.
.jpg)
