Wine and fine craftsmanship, the “Primum Familiae Vini” award goes to Maison Bernard in Brussels

Obsessive attention to every detail is what makes the difference in everything, and especially in high quality craftsmanship. This is true whether we are talking about a fine wine, for example, or a fine violin, such as those Maison Bernard in Brussels produces. It is the oldest violin-making workshop in Europe, and has been selected the winner of 100.000 euros of “The PFV Prize”, offered by “Primum Familiae Vini”. PFV is an association that unites 12 of the most important family-run European wine companies: the Italian companies Marchesi Antinori and Tenuta San Guido; the French Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Joseph Drouhin, Domaine Clarence Dillon, Pol Roger, Famille Perrin and Famille Hugel; the Spanish Familia Torres and Vega Sicilia, the Portuguese, Symington Family Estates and the German, Egon Müller Scharzhof.
Maison Bernard is a world-renowned company that manufactures and repairs violins, and is managed by father and son, Jan and Matthijs Strick, who are both famous for their extraordinary knowledge and craftsmanship. Maison Bernard has recently been entrusted with the repair of a 1732 Stradivarius of almost inestimable value.
Jan is an international authority on the Flemish school of violin making, whose history dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The prize and recognition will facilitate the publication of Jan’s book on violins in that period, and will also fund Matthijs’ trip to Chicago, where he will go to further his knowledge and gain experience in one of the best violin shops in the world, as well as help secure the future of this splendid family business.
“We had received many applications from all over the world and the selection was difficult, but in the end the jury felt that Maison Bernard was a shining example of exquisite craftsmanship as well as maintaining an antique artisan tradition in the hands of the family, a commitment which reflects what we do to support our family businesses”, commented the president of the“ Primum Familiae Vini ”, Matthieu Perrin.
On the “short list” of the finalists, there was the Italian company, Giusto Manetti Battiloro, a family business that for fifteen generations, since 1582, has produced gold leaf in Florence, as well as Makhila Ainciart Bergara, a family business that for six generations, since 1780, has produced refined walking sticks made by hand in the Basque region of southwestern France, and also the Japanese, Chin Jukan Kiln, producer since 1876 of Satsuma-yaki pottery fired in the Kagoshima kiln, and the British, The Goring Hotel, London's only luxury hotel still in the hands of the founding family.