"Franco Ariano, who is an expert in viticulture and connoisseur of important bottles of wine, is an attentive observer who is always ready to experiment and improve the well-known technique.

His endless curiosity, determination, skills and creativity accompany him through his studies on the history of vineyards and its greatest masters (the most important being Dr. Ruggero Mazzilli), by observing and visiting wineries all over the globe.

First of all, he decided to collect the most important bottles of wine in the world, choosing among those selected by Wine Spectator as the "12 best of the 20th century" :
• Chateau Margaux 1900,
• Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945,
• Chateau Petrus 1961,
• Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1955,
• Chateau Cheval Blanc 1947,
• Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanèe-Conti 1937,
• Chateau d'Yquem 1921,
• Quinta do Naval Nacional Vintage Port 1931,
• Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1941,
• Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle 1961,
• Cabernet Napa Valley Heitz Martha's Vineyard 1974,
• Brunello di Montalcino Biondi Santi Riserva 1955.

Seven years later, he had managed, to acquire 10 out of those 12 bottles, in addition to thousands of other less important bottles.

The two missing ones are the 1931 Quinta do Naval Nacional Vintage Port and the 1941 Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Interestingly, when he finally had the chance to purchase them, he decided not to buy them because there were suspicions that they were fake.

He was very excited to have collected those 10 bottles, together with the 1945 Romanèe-Conti and Chambertin Dugat PY.

But even if he adores these masterpieces, his aim is just one:

to measure himself alongside them.

He is certain that he is able to do even better thanks to his knowledge and determination.

His ambition is to create the greatest, most important wine ever produced.

He is perfectly aware of the fundamental details in reaching his goal and understands the mistakes to avoid.

He analyzes the weaknesses of those “mythical” bottles: the first real problem is the contact between the wine and cork. In fact, a liquid rich in acids reacts when it comes into contact with organic material over a long period of time and will lead to the total degradation of the compound after only 100 years or less.

Other shortcomings include the lack of attention to the bottle during transportation and the fact that the future owners will be free to make decisions regarding the quality and method of bottle preservation.

Furthermore, the lack of anti-fraud systems has resulted in the cloning of many bottles, which are then sold as originals.

Having created the best method of cluster growing, facing upwards to improve their ventilation, health and lymphatic circulation in order to obtain the highest quality, was not good enough for him.

Even designing the new bottle with two corks: the first, which is synthetic, has a micro valve which lets the oxygen molecule pass and prevents the TCA (trichloroanisole) from entering; while the second cork used as an oxygen reserve for aging, was still not sufficient to satisfy him.

Continually improving the prior well known technique of burying the ERECTUS bottle in a mixture of soil and ashes, inside specially built safes with a natural hydraulic system.

For the first 4 vintages 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, he invented the ERECTUS safe that not only preserves the only wine in the world made from ERECTUS grapes, but contains the necessary instruments to manage the wine, i.e. the ERECTUS brass corkscrew, made in Pordenone, which is the only method to extract the two corks; a syringe for the hydraulic system, at the bottom of the safe box; anti-vibration feet and a brush-knife to perfectly remove the wax-rubber lacquer.

The safe box invented by Ariano has become the optimum system to ensure compliance with the aging criteria: perfect humidity, constant temperature and absence of vibration, light and noise.

It was officially recognized at the Christie's auction in Geneva, on 17th May 2011.

It is the wine with the highest quotation ever amongst first vintage wines (2009). "The first wine in history, the mythical ERECTUS ...." to reach $7,826

In 2015, still not completely satisfied with his achievement, Ariano tried to store wine in wooden, steel, golden and marble bottles, however the outcome was that glass resulted in still being the best material up to today.

It was in that moment that Ariano had an intuitive idea, inspired by the discovery of grape seeds, skins and dried residues of wine, found by chance in ancient amphoraes surviving from recent excavations on the island of Elba.

Ariano’s ambition is to create an immortal wine, a wine that can be passed down from generation to generation, the only wine together with its seeds.

Thus, starting from the vintage year MMXV - 2015, Ariano decides that he will transfer the wine from the safe to a new container made out of marble from Carrara. In that area he discovers a river which lies at the foot of a mountain from which some splendid marble stones regularly and naturally fall down on to the river bed. He starts collecting these marble stones by hand only selecting those that had a suitable shape fit within a bottle and he places them together with the grape seeds that gave birth to the wine. Later he goes to Belluno to the leading expert on anti UV transparent resins, he pours the resins on both the bottle and the seeds contained inside the marble stone and by doing so he almost creates the perfect cellar.

Nonetheless he is still dissatisfied with the shape of that magnificent stone.

Hence he seeks the advice of the architect Mario Bellini from Milan, who had recently designed part of the Louvre (twenty-three years after the opening of the pyramid designed by Ieoh Ming Pei); while his second and final contemporary architectonical work is the new department of Islamic Arts made in the Cour Visconti, a seven year long project.

Mario Bellini is enthusiastic of Ariano’s project, and after 11 months, he creates and signs the "Uovo DiVino”, the smallest and most precious wine cellar in the world designed solely to accompany throughout the millennia Vino ERECTUS.

The next vintage will be produced with ERECTUS clusters of vines cultivated at the foot of volcano Etna with the collaboration of the company ...... ...only weather conditions permitting, ensuring vintage bunches to become Vino ERECTUS.

Ariano’s motto has always been:

"If there is a way to do better, find it !!!“

The value of a wine depends on its future.

Wine ERECTUS is the only wine, created, protected and cared for from its birth and made to last thousands of years.

Just as in the past artists were called at court, today Franco Ariano is invited by the best winemakers to use his innovative method through which grapes are elevated in small parts of their vineyards.

How did he do it?

Without any concern to cost, totally rejecting a quality price compromise, preferring always and only quality at any cost with no limit to expense.

Having the procedure certified by a notary in Siena;

Only making wine vintages when the quality of the grapes is perfect;

Creating only 51 bottles per year, from number zero to number fifty;

Choosing the best plants from the best vineyards;

Patenting a manual system which maintains the bunches of grapes in an upright position until harvesting, obtaining healthier, untreated grapes, of a superior quality;

Guaranteeing quality in the cellar thanks to the collaboration of the ISVEA laboratory professionals;

Inventing the first bottle with 2 corks, the first synthetic with a micro-valve, in contact with the wine, the second cork, as a reserve of oxygen for aging;

Making it impossible to even imagine the cloning of the bottle, the safe or the Uovo DiVino

Safeguarding every single bottle within a special cellar-container as: