Ep. 615 Elisa Dilavanzo | Biodynamic & Organic

Italian wine podcast. Chinchin with Italian wine people. Before the show, here's the shout out to our new sponsor, Feroine. Feroine has been the large warrant shop in Italy since nineteen twenty. They have generously supplied us with our new t shirt. Would you like one? Just donate fifty euros and it's all yours. Plus, we'll throw in our new book jumbo shrimp guide to international grape varieties in Italy. For more four go to Italian wine podcast dot com and click donate or check out Italian wine podcast on Instagram. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast with me, Monte Walden. My guest today is Eliza from the Malili winery in the Coli Ughani in the Venator region of Italy. Correct? Correct, Monty. Hi, everybody. Tell us, who you are, and why did you, create your own winery. Okay. So me, I'm an owner of this, beautiful boutique winery, which is, ma'eeli, and, which is located in the Earth of Uganines, an ancient volcanic territory when our driver from Venice, we own, twenty four hectares of vineyards in two different sites. One is named the Latarebianche Del stereo, the period white lands in the northern part of Uganes, where we grow yellow muscata, and the other, the other side is, in a bologna near the winery where we grow merlot, cabernet sauvignon, and carmener as well. What do the volcanic soils give to the wines? Volcanic soil is really important in terms of minerality. And, I can tell you that we are very lucky. Uganilza. Uganil is, take the form of a crest of eighty, volcanic eels generated by two cycles of volcanic phenomena that took place about thirty million years ago when, the region was the bottom of a warm shallow sea. The lava surrounded from the volcanoes were very dense and quickly called, thanks to the water that covered the volcanoes, acquiring the typical cone shape. And, these volcanic phenomena raised and split the seabed. Made up of, limestone and marla deposits. The great wealth of soil of Uganines evolved from the disintegration of the various, Evusiva, and sedimentary rock. So the wines coming from this soil is, as I mentioned before, reaching minerality, there is a feeling of salinity, sometimes very high. There is a kind of bitterness that you can recognize, especially in the end, the final is that there is a kind of bitterness. But for sure, you can recognize also the volcanic wine on the nose because there is a flint dim. Her tombs are yet, I'm really linked to the air. Is it almost, the aroma also a little bit smoky or not? It is. For sure. It is. What about how easy is the fitter culture for the for the different vineyards, volcanic soils can be quite fertile. Do you have issues with over productivity or over vigor, excess vigor? The richness of Ugannon is theory to it, is not just in the soil, but, We have, also a different, particular climate, which is very different from one side to another one of the hills. And, we have a lot. We have plenty of, woods, And, you know, the the the woods are very important for, three, region. For example, the first one, they they they can make a kind of, climate regulation. And they they can protect, from erosion and and landslides. And, they can allow the presence of very good insects. They are useful, to maintain the biodiversity in, in Davina yard. And then, you know, Uganes are near the adriatic sea, and also the presence of the sea is very important because it mitigates the temperature. Then we have also the rainfall, which guarantees a sufficient supply of water, and also the atmospheric humidity is on average height. Those, elements, those factor. All those factors allow the the develop of, sustainable Viticulture, with, an excellent balance within the the beanie arts. That's why we turn to biological Viticulture. And it makes sense in Uganda, because we we are inside the regional park. So it means that, Florida, the vegetation, and the fauna are protected, and the And for sure, this is important also for the VNAards. So when when was your first vintage with full organic certification? It will be twenty twenty. Yes. We we got the certification just fifteen days ago. Yeah. So I'm very, very happy about this. But, we turned to biological agriculture in two thousand seventeen to say the truth. There is not a big difference between now and before two thousand seventeen, because, the our approach to Divity culture has always been the same, very respectful, for nature, for the environment. And that's why in the vineyards, we have for sure, an agronomist, but also the team is, is made of agronomist on one hand, and then we have an entomologist. She's a girl studying, insects and a botanic, who is a guy studying, herbs, plants, and they work together to keep the the balance in, the VINAS to preserve the biodiversity. Of the Bener and the the vitality of the soil as well. So between the between the rows, are you letting native vegetation grow? And then you you roll it or you mow it, or you sowing, sauvvesty cover crops? Also, which is important is, to maintain the I want to say the herbs. Of course. Because, you know, the Uganda is, is, it's like the, sometimes it's, similar to sicily about the climate. It's very, very hot. And we have two big problems in Uganda, the drone is, and, and and we don't have any water. And the water that we have out the underground is very hot because we have, the terms, the le therme hot spring underground, and we cannot use that kind of water. So it's very important herbs because, you can keep maintaining the heat direction of the soil, that's why we don't use to cut the herbs between the the vines. Oh, so basically what by leaving the native vegetation, it's a way of of of helping the vines not get too vigorous. Yes. There's competition So tell us about the wines you make. Okay. The production is, actually very focused on a yellow muscat grape. From this vine, we used to make five different versions of yellow muscatas, so we produce kind of sweet wines, sparkling sweet wine, rinsy wine, the passito. We have a steel and dry white wine, and then we have the ancestral method, which is, kind of a pec knot, a wine, which, referments in, in the bottle thanks to the indigenous yeast. And then we have a classic method, the root natur, which is really particular. I can I think they which is, it is the the only one in the world? I'm not talking about white muscat because I I see that in Piedmont, they they make a kind of But, this is a yellow muscat. This is from volcanic soil. This is a root natural, so very, very particular. So, w, you're talking about the muscat, particular. It's not muscat, because that one is, white muscat. Yellow muscat is, particular, Moscato? Yes. Moscato giallo, of course. And, I think the the challenge of Miali is just to celebrate to express the potential of this grape, which is, so different from any kind of muscato, generic muscato in the world. Because in Uganda, we have such a particular territory in terms of soil and climate and biodiversity. And so the the wines coming from here, and so also the yellow muscat can, they they can refine in the time. They can, they are elegant and also they have a lot of longevity, which is not so common speaking about yellow muscat. So what about, matching food with the various, whites that you make? Any tips? We push a lot. So what is an unusual matching and pairing with the the yellow muskata in the the Spartan suite version. Just to tell you an example, Fior de Rancho, which is the sparkling sweet wine, is not just an, a dessert wine, but it can be an imperative wine. That's why we used to match the the sparkling sweet wine to different kind of food, such as, goat cheese, the salumi like lardo or mortadella. But he's amazing with, Asian food, That's why the fior de rancho is very such school in China. For example, the yellow muscat in the steel and dry version is a perfect with vegetable in general. For example, asparagus, and is very linked to the seasonal cuisine. It goes well with, stock efficient. It's perfect with white meats, and the ancestral. I mean, the the patina is very beautiful. It's, with the, with the gourmet pizza, is perfect when you are, with your friend that is the wine of the conviviality because, is that kind of wine? Again, that can meet also people who doesn't like to match the wine? You know, there are people who prefer beers and this kind of wine. Because they it has the listing side, sometime remind to some, to be artisanal beer. So it's very easy to drink. What about what about two questions about the Petiana Charelle Betna? Is, How cloudy is it, and what is a good food match for it? Yeah. It's cloudy because of, the presence of the East, and, in my opinion, is a very easy to drink. And my favorite pairing is, is with pizza Courmet, which is not that with any pizza, but, the the pizza that made with a very high quality corner and the and the other ingredients, pant. On which kind of pizza. And, salumi, for sure. It's a it's okay. I think that, it is very, very easy to drink with your friends, no matter at all. Did you when you were small, did you have sweet tooth. We say, did you like sweets or chocolate or things like that when you're now that you're making some wines that are have got some sweetness? Yes. We always think with muscat, it's gonna be a sweet wine. For sure, it's a it's also a sweet wine. That's why you can for sure match to, kind of biscuits or or chi, or, some cakes. But, in my opinion, it's more interesting. If you it's more interesting, match to, salty salty food. For sure, if I have chocolate, I I will pair with, I will match aceto, the red wine, which is sweet for sure, but with a very high level of acidity, and that's why we love it so much because it's not too much sweet, like the sparkling sweet. I think there there are very interesting balance between the weakness and, see, and, and the acidity and the minerality as well. Final question. Just a little bit more about markets for your wine outside of Italy. Okay. The first market for us is USA because it's very big. It's very wide. And then we have also Canada. China is growing faster as a as a market. Then we have, we export in Mexico in Guatemala, in the north of Europe. I mean, France is a big fan of a yellow muscat. They go crazy for the, sparkling suite. And they used to match that kind of, wine to the soup don't answer. It's very amazing. And then, Germany, and then, Romania, and Russia. Yeah. Those countries. Okay. Alright, Elise. Listen, it's really nice to talk to you. Hope to come and see you in the Cardio Ghani at some stage. And have a look at your vise, on those volcanic soils. Take care. Yes. I hope to see you soon in Uganda, always welcome. Thank you, Monty. Thank you. Thanks, Lisa. Ciao. Ciao. List into the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Himalaya FM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. 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