After obtaining a scientific high school diploma and a degree in literature with a focus on history from the University of Florence, he began his journey into the world of wine and sommelierie. He joined the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS) in 1983 and two years later obtained his sommelier qualification. Between 1988 and 1992, he obtained a series of qualifications, including AIS Course Lecturer, AIS Course Examiner, Professional Sommelier and Official AIS Taster.
His career developed on several levels and fronts: as co-owner and manager of a wine bar in Florence, head of reception and internal catering at Palazzo Feroni Spini in Via Tornabuoni in Florence, and as a consultant in the food and wine sector and journalist for the Order of Journalists of Tuscany.
Parallel to his rise within AIS, which saw him become regional secretary and then Vice President of AIS Tuscany, his experience in training and academia also grew: he has been an AIS course trainer throughout Italy since 1988, and from 1988 to 1990 and from 2007 to 2010 he was a member of the AIS National Teaching Commission, then AIS exam commissioner for the whole of Italy. He took on the title of AIS Florence Delegate, directing AIS courses in the province of Florence, and from 2006 to 2018 he was head of teaching at AIS Tuscany. Still as an AIS teacher, he then went abroad to cities such as Brussels, Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Los Angeles, San Juan in Puerto Rico and São Paulo. Today he is a member of the AIS National Training Area Commission.
Outside the AIS circuit, he teaches on the University of Florence’s Master’s degree course in “Marketing and Management of Wine Businesses”, the Sant’Anna Master’s degree course in “Italian Wine and International Markets” in 2015, and at several educational institutions in Tuscany. He has been a consultant and trainer for the Belmond Italia hotel chain, the Rocco Forte Hotels chain and the Hotel Augustus in Forte dei Marmi.
Since 2011, he has been teaching at ALMA, first on the Alma-AIS Master’s programme, where he is also a scientific tutor, and subsequently on the Advanced Bar and Sommellerie Course.