Enzo Pontoni works quietly and tirelessly in his tiny plots of vineyards nestled in the hills near the small towns of Buttrio and Rosazzo in the Colli Orientali del Friuli region of Italy. Enzo Pontoni grew up in Friuli and inherited his passion from his father, Nello, who worked the vineyards mainly for family consumption and selling some grapes to neighbors.
With an early career as an engineer, Enzo left his quite agrarian surroundings for a cosmopolitan life in the larger cities of Italy. He soon returned home. To see him now, a true man of the soil, you would find it hard to imagine Enzo in any other life than the one he has among the vines. His simplicity and humility are matched only by his greatness as a winemaker.
Enzo is notoriously fastidious in the tending of his vineyards. Nothing but the best fruit makes its way to his bare bones little cellar in the town of Buttrio. Here he produces his miniscule quantities of quivering whites and statuesque reds. Enzo has become one of Italy’s legendary winemakers for his wines labeled with his mother’s maiden name, MIANI.