Luigi Zanini's viticulture and winemaking activities began many years ago, in 1964. His passion for discovering new grape growers and winemakers led him to travel around Italy and France, visiting the grape-growing regions. After creating the Aristocrazia dei vini italiani in Switzerland, in 1985 he had the idea of founding the Vinattieri Ticinesi. In Switzerland, south of the Alps in the Italian-speaking area of the Ticino canton, lies a region traditionally associated with grapes and wine. Its natural advantages include a Mediterranean climate that is particularly favourable to viticulture. In the early 20th century there were still around 8,000 hectares of vineyards, but when phylloxera struck they were all destroyed to make way for new vines, especially the noble Merlot with its Bordeaux origins, which proved to be the most suitable to the climate of Ticino. The vineyards in Ticino now cover around 1,000 hectares.