Aldo Tasca spent his childhood watching his mother run a busy milk business – an experience that taught him what it meant to work hard and build something of your own.
As a young man in 1952, Aldo had a hope and a determination to have a better life than he was likely to be able to achieve in struggling post-war Italy. So, he applied to emigrate and boarded a ship to Australia.
When Aldo arrived in Australia, he threw himself into work. He then became managing partner at King Godfree, where for 25 years he built a loyal clientele that included major banks, law firms, media companies, doctors, and local families.
In 2008, Aldo took over a modest store at 321 Lygon Street in Melbourne’s ‘Italian’ suburb of Carlton. It marked the beginning of Bottega Tasca, a family business founded with the ethos of sharing the everyday pleasures of Italy with the community through sourcing and selling premium wines, spirits and beers.
“Like many family businesses, one of our first challenges was setting clear roles,” Aldo’s son Paul says. “After opening Bottega Tasca, Aldo stepped back to enjoy life more, having worked so hard all his life. I took on the operations side of the business, and my brother Fabian oversaw the accounts.”
The Tasca family also employed two full-time staff members who have remained steadfast by their side for the 17 years Bottega Tasca has been in existence.
The biggest challenge Paul and the family have dealt with over their journey has been the constant need to adapt to changing consumer habits. “Tastes evolve, trends shift, and we’ve had to stay nimble,” Paul explains. “A big part of that is knowing how and when to buy. Through many years of working with wholesalers, we’ve built trusted relationships that allow us to secure the best quality and pricing, keeping the business competitive and resilient.”
That need to adapt has never been more important than in recent years, with Paul saying that the industry has “shifted significantly”, particularly in winemaking. “Younger winemakers are producing softer, more approachable wines with lower alcohol content, often using cooler climate fruit to create medium-bodied styles,” he says.
“Gen Z is drinking less, which has driven us to adapt by expanding our range to include non-alcoholic wines, spritzers, and cocktails. We’ve also seen strong demand from this demographic for natural pet-nat – pétillant-naturel, a naturally sparkling wine made from a time-honoured method in which the wine is bottled before the primary fermentation is finished – and orange wines, which now make up nearly 20 per cent of our sales. We embrace change.”
The strong community spirit has played a key role in Bottega Tasca’s long-term success. “We’re incredibly lucky to have built a strong and loyal client base over the years,” Paul enthuses. “We cater to a wide demographic, offering a broad range of products with a particular focus on small to medium-sized wineries, and we remain highly competitive in the market.
“Many of our clients have been with us from the start,” Paul adds. “This loyalty stems from our commitment to consistently delivering strong service, a considered product range, and our deep knowledge of the industry.”
The key insights Aldo, Paul and Fabian have learned on their journey that they would like to share with other families looking to build a sustainable, community-focused business are: To have clear, shared goals; to avoid the potential for confusion and ‘family feuds’ by appointing one person to lead and take responsibility for operations; to have transparency for all family members by keeping communication open, discussing strategies regularly and honestly appraising the results of those strategies; to resolve any differences that do arise straight away; and to be ready to adapt and change quickly.
- This story was originally published on Inside Small Business.
