Our Family

We are two families. Family Fabbro - Daniel (son) , Giulio (son), Shani (daughter), Luigi Fabbro (father) and Katia Nussbaum (mother) and the family Gjilaska – brothers Alberto, Mariano and Altin, originally from Albania; we have been working together for the past 26 years.

Luigi (everyone calls him Gigi) is the “biological father” of San Polino, in that it was his idea. Born and raised in Friuli he knew all about making wine before he even went to school. As an adult he worked for many years on a Biodiversity Mapping in the Brazilian rainforest, the knowledge garnered from this adventure he brought back to the vineyard. Nature is synergetic and vines grow best in collaboration with other flora, fauna and micro-organisms. This formed the basis of our philosophy from the get-go. Now he is slowly handing things over to his sons while keeping an eye on the winemaking and enjoying the parts he loves best.

Katia is Gigi’s partner and mother to Daniel and Giulio, she was born and raised in London where she trained in social anthropology, giving her an “outside-the-box” way of looking at viticulture, the world of wine, and us humans-as-wine-lovers in the context of the present world. She acts as the glue to the household, trying her very best to keep everything in balance, people happy and the administrative side of winery life in motion. She deals with client requests and likes unravelling narratives, or, as others may put it, inventing stories. Hmmm!

Daniel is Gigi and Katia's eldest son and works in the winery and vineyard. His training as a biologist gives him access to understanding the importance of ecosystems and how to facilitate their coordination. He enjoys both the work in the vineyard and winery and is very much present in the commercial department, giving Masterclasses around the world to winelovers and experts.

Giulio is Daniel’s younger brother. Trained in geophysics he has great understanding of soil sciences. He enjoys both the work in the winery and vineyard which he loves showing people around. 

Shani is Gigi’s daughter, Daniel and Giulio’s half-sister, and Katia’s step-daughter. She studied environmental geography, worked as a teacher for many years in London, has a son, Leon, who is studying World Politics at university and she now lives in Spain with her husband, Marcus. She has recently started to work with us, helping us with our PR material, putting things into order and getting us up to date. She is a wonderful new addition to the team.

Born and raised in Albania he studied agriculture and worked in his childhood and teens on the collective farms of the era. He has worked alongside Gigi for the past 26 years and is an absolutely key person in the San Polino orbit. He is married to Bianca and they have 3 daughters.

Mariano is Avni’s older brother. He works mostly in the vineyards and there is NOTHING he cannot do. From grafting, to plumbing, to building a house or mending the tractor, he’s your main man. He is married to Refie and they,too, have 3 daughters.

Altin is Avni and Mariano’s younger brother, just the loveliest person you could imagine, kind, helpful, clever and hard-working. He works mainly outside, is totally patient with his older brothers’ constant requests and a great mechanic!