|  In a letter addressed to Subhash Arora, President of Indian Wine Academy, Castellucci says, ‘My ten years engagement as OIV Director General is coming to an end; it has been a wonderful professional and human experience which has made this part of my life truly unforgettable. Thanking me and surely hundreds of others ‘who supported the organisation and me so well’, he affirmed that he would continue to work in the wine sector through his new venture, Castellucci Consulting.
Director General of OIV is the most prestigious position not only because the DG is the senior most executive position secured only through elections by the 45 (current number) countries including India, who are the members of this prestigious grape and wine producers’ organisation that admits only government states as members. Under the charter, a DG may be elected for a maximum of 2 terms of 5 years each.
I had met Federico around 2003-2004 during one of my visits to Vinitaly. He had been elected the first term DG. He had relinquished his business in Marche by leasing his vineyards on a long term basis. Despite his busy schedule, he was kind enough to grant me an exclusive interview. After publishing the interview I didn’t come across him for a few years until one year at Mundusvini where he was a fellow judge. The international wine competition Mundusvini is held in Germany under the patronage of OIV and one of the conditions is that an OIV representative must be present at each competition.
He asked me a question that not only floored me but was a morale booster as well. He said ‘I read your newsletter every time but tell me how is it that you report 2 days before it is published in the print newspapers in Italy?’ I had been following up on the progress of a case regarding my favourite wine- Brunello di Montalcino. There had been a great interest in the US-Italian dialogue and I was following it almost on a day-to-day basis and was naturally publishing as it was happening.
We quickly became good friends. I also learnt about Federico’s love for India. His wife’s grandfather, I believe, had done business in Shimla as well as Kolkata. He was keen to support India become an OIV member but had faced a bureaucratic wall with letters and emails sent to the top official in MOFPI unanswered. After learning in detail about the benefits of OIV to India, I helped India get excited about joining and helped the two sides take the application forward and India became the 43rd member state in a record time.
Acknowledging the role played by Subhash Arora as a catalyst in making Indian Join OIV, Castellucci had told a gathering of 105 international journalists and enologists from Italy and abroad, collected to judge wines for the 18th Vinitaly Concorso Internazionale at Verona in March 2010, that OIV was looking forward to welcoming India as a full member in a few months. Arora was officially recognized when at the Annual Conference in Porto in 2011, he was awarded the rare Medal of Merit for his selfless service to the wine sector in Indian and the world. Till this date, Arora remains the only Indian to ever have been accorded this prestigious international recognition.
India First Asian Nation to Join OIV
Of course, his leaving the organisation was on the cards. Though several countries were in favour of his continuance, he declined. “I am one of the committee members that framed the rules  limiting the number of 5-year terms to 2 terms, how can I change that,” he told Arora at the World Exhibition on Bulk Wines in Amsterdam in November where they had met. He had a well-rounded concern for all segments in the industry when he used to say that bulk wine market is around 40% of the total market. How can we ignore it? Therefore, OIV supported the WEBE and he has been a regular face every year, inaugurating the 2-day conference.
His charming demeanour also came to the fore in 2012 when he was requested to come to Delhi to attend the 200th wine dinner of the Delhi Wine Club also celebrating their 10th year. Invited by the Club president Subhash Arora he accepted the invitation and came especially for the event. What was equally important was that because of his presence Mr. Ranjan Mathai, the then Foreign Secretary also agreed to join at the dinner; he had visited the OIV offices in order to ‘check them out’ as the then Ambassador to France, under advice from the MOFPI. He was so charmed by Castellucci that when informed that he would be coming to India to attend the dinner, The FS said ‘I would love to attend the dinner and renew my friendship with Mr. Castellucci.’
Castellucci who has been a winemaker and owned vineyards in Montecarotto in Marches region of Italy will shuttle between Paris, Rome and his home town in Marche, he informs delWine. He may not be associated with the OIV but he is assured of a special, warm welcome in at least 45 countries, the members of International Organisation of Vine and Wine in Paris. And he will be a pleasant and recognizable face at many international wine forums for a long time.
Subhash Arora |