Ep. 620 Andrea Vincenzo | Biodynamic & Organic

Italian wine podcast. Chinchin with Italian wine people. Before the show, here's the shout out to our new sponsor, Ferrawine. Ferrawine has been the largest wine 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 kite international grape varieties in Italy. For more info, go to Italian one podcast dot com, and click donate or check out Italian wine podcast on Instagram. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast with me, Montewood, and my guest today is Andrea Vincenzo, who is the export manager. Of an estate called Capuana. Where where is your estate then? Good afternoon. At the estate is in the Cartona province in the Calabrio region, which is in the south of Italy. More specifically, we are on the hills overlooking the in Chiro, which is a little town in in Cortone. And, when we overlook the the onion seed. The ionian seed says, you're you're in a very, very beautiful spot. I envy you. It's very nice. Yeah. So what about the, the vineyards? Are they overlooking the sea as well then? Yes. The the geographical situation of our vineyards is very is very interesting, actually. The the you can basically go from somewhere where you could ski to somewhere where you could take a bath in the scene in, like, one hour of of, driving here in Cortone. And this this is kinda results in us in an interesting situation as far as, for the winemaker here. There are there is a big difference here from the temperature of the day and the temperature of the night. You know, and this means that the the grape can mature very quickly and reach n ripe harvesting time very quickly. And the the breeze from the sea that is channel through the hillside and this removes humidity from terrain and this kills mold and bacteria and other dangerous agent. And this is so basically this is a very good, good location for for vineyards and this and this kind of and basically for this profession. So what what is the family history then? Oh, the the the the capoeira family history is, actually goes back to several centuries. They've they've taken care of these lands for generate for entire generations. But, the, but the, they started the the wine, but there's certain billing in wines at around halfway through the 700s. There is actually a letter in the family archives wherein the cardinal of Amalfi Pietro Capiano writes to a brother of his and and and informs me and informs him thus. Brother, I ask you for the fine nectar that his sanctity himself has asked me off. So, like, the the card didn't know, so, like, the pope himself was asking for the local wines. Very impressive, honestly. But then, but the wondering as, as the as gotten a more modern touch in-depth in, you know, at the start of the nineties, when Doctor. Rafael Kapanos took the reins of it with the intent of adding value to the local to the local wine making scene. So what was his profession? Did we see, mister Capuana? Where where did he come from? What was his role? He was a, I think, it was a surgeon, I think. Yeah? Yes. Yes. I believe so. He he was a surgeon. And he he was the one that started bottling, bottling the wine. Yep. Yes. Exactly. Like, the the winemaking commission goes back centuries, but the, as I said, but Doctor. Rafael Capana is the one that modern that modernized the company that turned it into a company proper. What in your view makes chiro such a special place to make wine in because it is quite a unique area. There are a lot of factors at work, honestly. The the reason as I said, the geographical, the geographical feature that are not certainly as an influence. But there's a there's also the a couple of of particular, binary types that that have grown here that are local to this, to this place. That have a lot of that probably influenced the it a lot. Like, the the the two main ones are the, the gallopo for red wine and the Greco bianco for white wine. There are others that are that are starting to become more popular than my yopo and the Norello for red wine, and the Pechorello, and the Montanaico for white wine. But they're not as common, you know. So let's talk about the wines. Let's go through them one by one. If that's okay with you. Oh, certainly. What about the neruda? What's that made from? So the the neruda is dedicated to the famous point of Pablo, and, it's a blend of merlot and gallopto. It has a very soft flavor, very A lot of our wines are very, are very, somewhat traditional in taste, but, but this was, this one is somewhat more remote as a more modern taste. It's more, with more refined per bottle. I should specify that it's a black biological wine Most of our wines are not biological. We we we take that very seriously here. Okay. What would be a good dish with that? For the neruda. I suppose the best the best pairing for the neruda will be like meat or red meat specifically. It's particularly good to draw referrals for something hurty like that. Something to fill the stomach, you know. Okay. So the next wine is a white wine called Antea, which is eighty percent bianco and twenty percent, Montanaico. What is, would be a good local dish with that? I should specify first and foremost that it's, it's a good it's good for imperatives, but but, honestly, it's good for all sorts of dishes, but specifically for fish. If I had to pick one thing, I would say it's very good. It's a very caring for fish. What's the what's the most, popular fish in your in in where you are? We are relatively near the cost here, you know. So there there is a lot of choices. Like, well, like one of my families favorite recipes includes swervefish, for example. But if I if I had to to pair this particular wine, I would recommend anchovies and I a parity from with anchovies before the dish to start the meal, and you have already done a accent first impression with with your guests. Okay. So the next one is Don Angelo. Who was Don Angelo? Don Angelo was one of the access of the Donquepuana family. So this one is a rosette because of we've noticed a, an increase of interesting process over over the years, all over the world. And it's actually made with a keyword technique in winemaking. It's called the bloodletting. Also, there is no blood involved, but this is obviously. Now, The senior in frame. Exactly. And it involves allowing the free run mass to, emerge naturally from the wine with with no or with very limited pressure. So that was sorry. The Duangelo. Yeah? Yes. Exactly. A lot of the wines that have names of cultural significance to the to the local situation and the history of the of the company and the family that they that gives the company its name. So the next line is Iitaroom. I I can't even ask that one. Okay. It's ataroom. It's a It's a latin. And that's for my wife's cabinet, and, is that what is that? Is that a very oaky wine or is it unoaked? Obviously, I guess, a red wine. Yes. Exactly. And is it is it oak aged? No. No. Not not oak aging. In act it's actually made to rest in French wood, in in French wood, parts. It's not specific. It's it's not specifically hot. It only rests briefly in bottles before for being sold to the public. This is one of our most popular products. Sure. Okay. What about the, Chiro Bianco? Would you make a hundred one with a hundred percent correct to Bianco? It's also important, but it, but it sees a lot of sales in Italy. But it's very popular in Southern, in Italy, especially. We sell it a lot, along a lot around here. And is it mainly sold in Italy, or is it exported as well? Yes. It's yes. It's a lot of sailing restaurants, but, but but also as where it's It's popular in this. It's very popular here, but it also says where it's, it's a bit of a jack of all trades, kind of wine. Okay. And do you, make a Bianco Ligzante a symphony It's the Cracobianco on a fifty fifty. And is that okay, or not? The, yes, that one is okay. And then, and then you have a one called Don Araffayale, who was, Chirollo. Who was Don Rafael? Don Rafael is actually one of the most important ancestor of the Capano family. He was the one who built the family house home that still stance at the center of the estate. The grapes used in this wine come from a vineyard that has a very limited per production. Like, it only produces alpha kilogram per. I believe it is only alpha kilogram per vineyard. This is very little for for for an entire vineyard. It's a little that every single bottle of Doncrafale is very rigorously numbered. We don't if you buy a bottle of Doncrapale, you can see the number of the of on that bottle because because they're they're they're very limited. Where is that sold mainly? Is that mainly sold in Italy, or do you export that as well? That one actually is very popular, overseas. We sell it a lot in the US. It sees a lot of selling Switzerland. This is We actually, we are, we actually specialize a lot in in, in sales for, like, niche markets. Like, we, we don't really sell, a lot of our vineyards produce relatively little wine, but, but very high quality wine. So it's only our best interest to sell to hotels, to restaurants, to to these places that that that can recognize quality and appreciate it. So and and and this is especially true in a wildlife elected on the file. Here. So is there anything that we've missed? Is there anything that you, you want to tell us? I do want to specify something, but, something that's very that that that I mentioned a bit, but I feel like then it needs to be repeated is that we take the the biological side of things. We're very seriously here. We we strongly believe that it's very important for us to keep our territory healthy and to and to leave it in good condition for the next generation. Not only for not only for their sake, but for hours as well. Because, from a purely, selfish standpoint, keeping the unhealthy territory means producing a better wine, and it's in our interest to produce a better wine. We are all about high quality. Because as I said, we don't produce a lot of wine. So we so we want what wine we produce to be very high quality. And not not only we avoid pesticides and and other chemicals both in the in the in the grapes on the grapes and in the wine, but we are also shooting to about to become sustainable from an energy standpoint. We expect between solar panels and reducing emissions to become completely economically energetically self sustainable by point twenty three. So would that be with, solar panels, mainly? Yes. Exactly. Mainly with solar panels, but we will also be reducing our own, emissions. Of our agricultural machinery. Is that quite a big, issue in Calabrio? I mean, you're obviously in a very sunny place, generally fairly dry. Lots of wineries and other businesses in the local area. Also, working with, solar solar panels and other such energy saving. When in Calabrio, winter bands are more popular than solar panels, I believe that on this particular issue, we are a bit tired of the curve, I think. Yeah. I don't I forgot about the wind power. That's an interesting point, Ashley. I mean, where do you where do you put the energy saving device? Should we say, do they go in the vineyard or do they go, on land that you've got somewhere else or, or what, windmills really well? Well, we're the details are still are still a work in progress, but I believe they will go on the various buildings that the company need, they the vineyards, not on the vineyards themselves, but on the buildings nearby. Perfect. Okay. Alrighty. So is there anything else we missed? I suppose if there is still a bit of time, I could mention that how we fared during the pandemic. Well, the pandemic has been tough on everybody. There is no in ignoring that. But but it has taught us something very interesting, the importance of diversification. What kept us afloat during the pandemic was was contact with uh-uh abroad markets. Because while, while we couldn't make a lot of business with other businesses in Italy, we have a lot of contacts with, foreign businesses in America and in the rest of Europe. And that allowed us to to keep our our heads above water, so to say. And we we this has been a very important lesson and we intend to keep it in mind in the future. And and so we're going to keep finding new business prospects with other with other companies, Abro. K. Let's hope for, at a time in the future. And, if I ever make it down to, Calabrio, I'll come and see you. I haven't been to Calabrio, so I must, I must come do that on stage. Are going to be absolutely welcome, and we hope to see you soon. Thanks very much, for coming on the podcast and we wish you and the business to every success. Okay? Thank you very much. And thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. Listen to the Italian wine pot cast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italianline podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time.