Is legendary winemaking about making the best wine, or knowing how to sell the best wine? Italian winemaker Angelo Gaja says that the true wine artisan needs to be able to do both. And few things bring a bigger smile to his face than being featured in a wine list. Today, 85 per cent of its production is exported to almost 60 countries.

“Restaurants are the theatre of wine,” declares Gaja in an interview. “I’ve spent much of life trying to get my wine introduced in restaurants. Private consumers are very important and selling wine to private consumers in wine shops is absolutely important. But to have a wine in restaurants and wine lists is a priority.”

He’s proud of his marketing savvy; justifiably so, since his family’s black and white label is recognised even by wine novices. That might tempt the uninitiated to take Gaja less seriously as a winemaker but that would be a mistake. Gaja is a trained oenologist – he joined the family business when he was 21 – and is at home in both the vineyard and winery. He just also happens to have a degree in economics. Gaja has done so much with Nebbiolo, and didn’t stop with that grape variety.

(Related: G’s Top 100 Wines 2016)

Instead of following the traditional practice of blending fruit from different vineyard wines, Gaja introduced single vineyard wines and labelled them according to their origins, like Barbaresco Costa Russi and Barbaresco Sori Tildin. In an unprecedented move, he declassified his three DOCG Barbarescos – Costa Russi, Sori Tildin, and San Lorenzo – in 1996, leaving only straight Barbaresco DOCG to free himself from restrictions in the DOCG regulations.

His combination of winemaking skill, business acumen and marketing flair was key to him winning Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award last year, which is just the latest in a career draped with accolades. None of that matters as much to him as family, however.

“In terms of life achievements, this is the most important one: to have children who are available to continue the family business, if they are able to work together in harmony,” Gaja notes.

And it’s for the sake of family that he’s taking a step back. His trip to Singapore last December for a Gaja Wine Dinner at Osteria Art restaurant was likely his final. It isn’t due to fatigue. He still works 12-hour days. “I’ve done this for 54 years and I still like what I do; I don’t want to retire,” he says. Pinnacle Wine & Spirits is the official distributor of Gaia Wine in Singapore.

Gaja is just making way for his three children, in a family business that’s always emphasised the ties that bind. His daughters, Gaia and Rosanna, handle the international and domestic markets, respectively, while his son Giovanni is still in school but already intent on joining his sisters. Gaia has been in the business for more than a decade, and Singapore will still get to see her when she visits. Those who want to see Angelo Gaja can still visit him in Piedmont.

Unlike previous generations, Gaja never forced his children to join the family trade. But he has always let them know that “it will give them a chance to have a foot in nature, and another foot in the market”. And, last but not least, it gives them the opportunity to “be proud to wear the name Gaja”.

Adapted from an article from The Business Times.