Wine Gaierhof, Pinot Grigio, Trentino DOC, 2017

In the 1940s, Germano Toni, a food broker, began independently producing wine from grapes he brought and selling wholesale in the Trentino-Alto Adige region and the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. For 15 years, he has acquired 5 wineries in the region. Ton began to buy wine from local small producers, mix it with his own and sell it. Soon, the Germano winery became the center of winemaking in the Trentino region. In the late 1950s, Germano, together with a German partner, expanded his business through the production of grape juice. The project did not succeed as expected, and after a few years Germano found himself in a difficult situation, which ultimately led to Tony being forced to abandon a significant part of his property.

Luigi Toni, the son of German, thanks to his skills and perseverance, was able not only to save the winery, but also to modernize it. With the help of a German winemaking expert, Bertold Smith, Luigi imported the first specialized white wine machines, horizontal presses. In 1976, the family business went uphill, the enterprising Luigi continued to invest in modern equipment. Sales of bottled wine increased markedly, so in 1976, Luigi founded the Gaierhof company to officially sell his wines in Trentino under a registered label. In the early 1980s, Luigi met Fabrizio Pedrolli, the owner of one of the most prestigious restaurants in Trentino and a talented sommelier. Pedrolles immediately appreciated the wines of Gaierhof and contributed to their export to the United States.

In 1991, Romina, Luigi's eldest child, took a place in the Gaierhof team, first focusing on the financial operations of the company, and then marketing and sales both in Italy and abroad. In the late 1990s, Valentina, the second daughter of Luigi, took her place in the family business. Having an academic background in agriculture, she focused her activities on the production side of business. At the same time, winemaking expert Goffredo Pazolli joined the winery, in 2000 he and Valentina got married. In 2001, Luigi's third daughter, Martina, joined the company and found her place in the areas of administration, logistics and sales.

Today, the Tony family company is the largest merchant in the region with an impressive annual production of 800,000 bottles. The company owns such wineries as Valdadige, Gaierhof and Lechthaler, as well as standard-bearer Maso Poli . Gaierhof collaborates with 100 suppliers that grow grapes on 170 hectares of vineyards throughout Trentino Alto Adige. Many of them are descendants of those winegrowers who did business with Germano, the father of Luigi Toni. In those years, all supply agreements were based on the spoken word of honor, a very traditional type of contract in local agriculture. Payment for grapes was postponed until the holiday of San Martino, November 11, when most of the wine from the previous harvest was sold.