Marco Barba

The Barba Boyz conquer the Veneto region

This is the joking nickname given to the three young men who go in search of abandoned land to give it a new lease of life. Because at the heart of their philosophy is the maxim: nobody is denied a second chance.

“Three friends linked by a common passion: respect for nature. This is what brought them together and still binds them today, despite all the difficulties that an ambitious project like theirs can have.”

Marco started out as a carpenter, but not convinced of the direction his life was taking, and following his heart, he decided to move to Switzerland. The homeland always beckons and so he returns to the Veneto, to his native Madonna di Lonigo, where his adventure begins.

During his time in Switzerland, where he worked for a company with strong organic principles, he developed a strong attachment to nature. A feeling he found again at Cantina Menti, where he began working as an employee. As he continued to look around, he saw an increasing number of abandoned fields. Overcome with despair, he decided to work them himself. These fields belong to elderly women who have found no one to whom they can entrust their land, and when Marco proposes that they preserve the fruit, they are happy to accept.

What Marco Barba, together with Giulio Masato and Tommaso Verardo, do every day is an act of love towards their land.

“Taking care of something that does not belong to them is always difficult, but for them it is the most banal and obvious thing possible.”

A classic working week as an employee at Cantine Menti and the scraps of time spent tending the vines of the village elders. In the beginning, recalls Stefano Menti, Marco produced mediocre wines, but it is thanks to their collaboration that Marco Barba’s wines are now in demand and sought after.

A bond that starts with the territory and arrives at the human side. In the end, Marco has established a relationship with these ladies that goes beyond any work contract. Initially he was ‘paid’ with a cup of karkadè or some sweets, but now a solid system has been created with Cantina Menti to legalise each operation. They buy the grapes from the vines that Marco works on and sell the wines he produces on his behalf. Two separate entities, but operating in the same physical location. To date, the agreement is that the elderly women of the village will receive 360 bottles of wine in exchange, divided into Barbabianca, Barbarossa and Barbabolla, and Marco, leaving aside the economic side of things, will have a piece of the history of his village in his hands.