Roberto Bava

Integral to the success of not just Cocchi vermouth but also Bava Wines, Roberto is a man of two parts. He writes with a fountain pen – for which he makes his own ink – and has written a book on Italian Futurism – an artistic movement with its roots in the early 20th century – so you would be forgiven for thinking Bava a backward-looking man. Contrary to that view though, might be the fact that he has taken vermouth – a drink still wildly unpopular when he took over Cocchi in the 1980s – and brought it screeching into vivid popularity in 2020, modernising and revitalising an entire category, and founding, with other vermouth producers, the Vermouth di Torino Consortium. The connecting line between these two positions – a love of the past and an eye to the future – is an appreciation for quality in all things, and a desire to protect and improve on that quality.