When Giacomo Marzotto joined the family business, it was a matter of choice over destiny.

Though he lived and “breathed” Santa Margherita, the wine group founded by his great-grandfather in 1935, he wanted to develop a career of his own.

He lived in Asia for ten years — moving from banking at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong to a private equity fund in Singapore.

He took an MBA to get somewhere “a little bit more tangible than finance”, before taking on Italian fashion house Valentino, where he was responsible for retail and all sales for South East Asia.

His “passion project” a Venetian Baccaro in Hong Kong, served wine and small plates.

Last year, Mr Marzotto took on the role of business development manager at Santa Margherita, focusing on their South American, Central America and Caribbean market from his home in Milan.

Mr Marzotto visited Bermuda last month.

His Pinot Grigio will be familiar to many.

Burrows Lightbourn Ltd has been importing Santa Margherita wines for more than 30 years.

“Santa Margherita has been part of the life of many people for many years,” the 35-year-old told Lifestyle.

“It’s heart-warming because we believe in the longevity of the relationship. We’re not interested in selling wine, but making a product that is recognisable first but also for the message it conveys.”

“Here I am, one year in the job and I’m loving it. It’s amazing.”

He took on another market he calls “the sixth continent”, which he defines as “the consolidation of travel retail — spanning duty-free, military and cruise ship markets.”

“Having worked in a 6,000-people corporation like Credit Suisse during the greatest financial crisis ever or building a brand or opening a shop from scratch or building a team, like I was doing in Valentino, retail is so important for every business.”

His enterprising nature runs in the family, too.

Wine was never their “core business”. Marzotto started in 1886 as a textile company before expanding to a hotel chain and food business.

Now the group is a majority shareholder in Hugo Boss. His father also started a green energy company to support their winemaking standards.

“At the end of the 19th century, Italian wine was a quality wine, but necessity — losing two world wars — converted the vines from producing quality to producing quantity,” Mr Marzotto explained.

Today, he said, “There is no compromise in quality. We handpick each grape and we are very attentive at each step of the process.”

“Santa Margherita has been part of the life of many people for many years. It’s heart-warming because we believe in the longevity of the relationship. We’re not interested in selling wine, but making a product that is recognisable first but also for the message it conveys. People know that when they open a bottle of Santa Margherita they will find this set of flavours, but it will also bring up some memories. The key is when they say, ‘I would like a Santa Margherita’, not just ‘a Pinot Grigio’. This means that we’ve really built something.”

A trip to Jamaica earlier this year proved his point. A group of women approached him at a conference. “They came rushing at me and said ‘Santa Margherita helped me bring up my children’,” he laughed.

“One woman had three children and every night before going to bed she would have a glass of Santa Margherita. Her memory is that [it] helped her raise her children.

“Experience is important. You have to make something that is more than just wine,” he added.

The Pinot Grigio is still their best known export. The sell around five million bottles annually.

His great-grandfather Gaetano Marzotto introduced the product to the US in the 1970s when it became a “benchmark”.

“Before 1960, all Pinot Grigio were rose wine,” Mr Marzotto explained.

“My great-grandfather was in the United States for business and realised it was a very fertile market, but fertile for a different type of product. Something more acid. Something more drinkable. something refreshing, something crisp.

“He took out the skin from the first maceration and it came out a white wine. He loved it. He produced it again for the next year and everybody copied us. Now 99 per cent of Pinot Grigio is now white wine.”

Gaetano Marzotto named the business after his wife Margherita.

“The name comes from passion and love. The passion and love for an industry, but also for his terroir — his people. For him the social perspective was a priority. To create and generate business was also a way to create benefits for all the people surrounding him and all his employees.’

The new father added: “I feel that every person has his own path. The more curious you are, the more you get experience and knowledge and you can use it hopefully to the benefit of your family and yourself.”