4 - Wine and resilience: a perfect pairing We asked Andrea if, thinking back to his father’s story and his two lives, he believes there is a deep bond between wine and resilience. He did not hesitate for a moment: his father found strength in the war and found a new type of resilience in wine, the main theme of his political life. He fueled it through the exhausting battle for the DOC law, a law that he saw already implemented in France since 1935, thus arriving almost thirty years late. Rather, let's make it 100 years! The most famous wine regions of France, such as Bordeaux and Burgundy, already had their geographical boundaries mapped in 1855! (a rather thorny and in some ways frustrating issue…) In the 1950s, the Italian wine scene was a real disaster: a measly ten denominations, few protection consortia, exports almost at zero, a 30% rate of “sophistication” (an elegant way to say fraud), and wine tourism did not even exist. This was the starting line for Paolo Desana. Furthermore, his vision was not limited to the present: he imagined and “saw” the future. Every vineyard was an investment. He thought that wine was not just a drink, but the soul of a people, a concentrate of resilience and culture. This is what drove him to fight fakes, promote quality, and save traditions from oblivion. The man we are talking about was a convinced guardian of tradition and, at the same time, of innovation. He dreamed of a future in which Italian wine was recognised and respected all over the world, and he worked with stubbornness to realise this hope. Every harvest a ritual, a tribute to the simplicity and richness that his land could offer.