Federico Defilippi speaks exclusively to Winemag about the frantic moments when the alarm was raised. The flames, set in several spots in the Corvino San Quirico vineyard, are arson. Investigators are conducting a full-scale inquiry.
The fire that devastated a Cantina Defilippi – i Gessi vineyard in Oltrepò Pavese, in the municipality of Corvino San Quirico, also affecting a portion of the adjacent woods, was arson. Federico and Alessandro Defilippi, the fifth generation of the company based in Oliva Gessi, are still in disbelief. The incident occurred on the night between August 6 and 7. “Wednesday evening, around 10 PM,” winemaker Federico Defilippi tells Winemag, “a friend called us from the Mairano di Casteggio hill, telling us that fires were being lit in three or four spots in our vineyard. It’s the slope below our agriturismo, in Corvino San Quirico.”
CORVINO SAN QUIRICO FIRE: FEDERICO DEFILIPPI’S STORY TO WINEMAG
When the firefighters arrived, the fire was already at an advanced stage. “It took them about four hours from 10 PM to extinguish the flames. Fortunately,” continues the owner of Cantina Defilippi, “the damage is minimal, because they lit it in a spot where the vineyard was destined to be uprooted. We were actually finishing uprooting it.” That spot was not chosen at random by the perpetrators. “It must not have been difficult to start the fire right there, because there were pruning remains and already uprooted stumps. The origin is definitely arson, although at the moment it would be better to say presumably arson. I don’t know if it’s a spiteful act, or if someone has a problem with us… But it risked causing significant damage.”
VINEYARD FIRE IN OLTREPÒ PAVESE: “TWO HAMLETS COULD HAVE GONE UP IN FLAMES”
According to the Oltrepò Pavese winemaker, if the alarm had not been raised in time to the firefighters, “two hamlets could have gone up in flames.” “Someone could have even lost their life. It is a shameful act, perpetrated by brainless people. Or it was commissioned by someone who has no brain. Investigations are underway and we will see if the person or persons responsible are identified. We are in the open countryside; there are no cameras. The important thing is that it doesn’t happen again. This time it went “well” all things considered. Next time something could happen to someone who has nothing to do with it. Anyone who wants to talk has my address.”
ONLY A FEW DAYS AGO COLDIRETTI WAS IN THE VINEYARD TO DOCUMENT THE 2025 HARVEST
Federico De Filippi does not report receiving threats or intimidation before the fire that devastated one of his vineyards. However, his is a “difficult” personality in Oltrepò Pavese, often at odds—on social media and in local life—with the positions of the former management of wineries like Terre d’Oltrepò and with the recent course of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese. A winemaker who doesn’t mince words. For this reason too, investigators are looking into every possibility to give a name and a face to those responsible for the cowardly fire on Wednesday evening.
Only a few days ago, Cantina Defilippi – i Gessi was the protagonist of the usual “green light” for the harvest by Coldiretti Lombardia. On Monday, August 4, some representatives of the union went to the Defilippi family’s vineyards to document the cutting of the first bunches of Chardonnay for sparkling wine bases. There was no sign of what would happen a few hours later, with the fire casting yet another shadow—this time of crime—over the entire Pavese territory.
Defilippi – i Gessi fire, vineyard ablaze in Oltrepò: “Someone could have died”. https://www.cantineigessi.it/.
