Ep. 1309 Mary Beth Vierra Interviews Hilde & Francesca Petrussa | Clubhouse Ambassador's Corner

By now, you've all heard of Italian wine Unplugged two point o. The latest book published by Mamma jumbo shrimp. It's more than just another wine book. Fully updated second edition was inspired by students of the Vin Italy International Academy and painstakingly reviewed and revised by an expert panel of certified Italian wine ambassadors from across the globe. The book also includes an addition by professor Atilio Shenza. Italy's leading vine geneticist. The benchmark producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. The selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region to pick up a copy, just head to Amazon dot com, or visit us at mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Welcome to this special Italian wine podcast broadcast. This episode is a recording off Clubhouse, the popular drop in audio chat. This clubhouse session was taken from the wine business club and Italian wine club. Listen in as wine lovers and experts alike engage in some great conversation on a range of topics in wine If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. And remember to subscribe and rate our show wherever you tune in. Welcome to Italian wine club on clubhouse. This is according to our like a clubhouse manager, the eighty second. Is that correct, Leica? Yeah. That's right. Eighty seconds. Oh my goodness. Like, you really deserve a hand. Thank you. Like, you know, she's been working so hard. This is not easy trying to get everyone together. We've been doing this religiously every single week. I believe, except the Vinitly marathon week. Right? Yeah. That's right. That's right. So what's going to be the organization for this year's Vineetale? You made me do, like, one hundred episodes prior to Christmas holidays. Yeah. Yeah. What's going to happen before the next lina? Like going to I'm not sure, but we're planning something like with a Montefalco, but I think that's still in the pipeline. So I'm not really sure about that yet. Okay. Alright. Right. Right. We were supposed to do that Montefalco special. So we'll we'll see what that happens. I actually think married. Did you go to Monte five? I can't remember. I didn't go to the Monte Palco. I went to the, Edna and Leo. Oh, that was great. Right? Yep. It was fabulous. It was fantastic. For those of you who are unfamiliar, I do see mostly people we know. I even see Ricardo Cortarela. I don't know what he's doing, not working. He's listening to clubhouse. He was on a few weeks ago. He's gonna try to talk to me now, but he I won't bring him up onto the stage. Anyway, so this you guys know how this works. Right? It's it is the, Italian wine club. It is what we call the Ambassador Corner, where One of our Italian wine ambassadors get to do more like a fireside's, you know, chat style with their favorite producers. And today, our mod is, of course, Mary Beth Vierra. I met Mary when, she did a she was working for Gallo at the time in California, and she was their educator, and she sat for the Via Course, Phoenix International Academy, the one we did in out on San Francisco. Is that correct, Mary? Yes. It is. Yeah. San Francisco. Mhmm. Yeah. She was in San Francisco, and that's where I met her, but she is a professional wine educator a wine consultant. And now she has since quit Gallo, the big, you know, big, big animal. And, she's the founder of this thing called crush course What what is that crush course? A crush course is, my endeavor to, offer wine education to, trade teams and to general wine enthusiasts. So offering trade education for wineries, restaurants, hospitality staff to do whether it's deep dive, education and training on everything about wine or specific sector of wine, like ones of Italy, and to to bring them up to speed, or if they're carrying a new wine to give them, a training on that, as well as to the, wine enthusiast side core brick groups that maybe are doing team building. I wanna do something a little bit more on the fun side. So, a wine edutainment and, hosting wine club events for wineries and doing wine writing. So I'm doing a lot of different lot of different things? You sound very, very busy the way you describe it. I mean, it it seems like, you know, you're when you were working for Galo as the educator, it was just a walk in the park. Oh, well, I was very, very busy with Gallo as well. If you could imagine, being in charge of training, making sure that the entire Salesforce nationwide and, and everybody that was in marketing and sales and communication was up to speed on everything to do with wine. So I developed and then led like twenty wine education events throughout the year, in addition to the online wine academy and the online sales experience academy. So, yeah. They can't be pretty busy. Yeah. I I was just joking, obviously. Mary Beth, listen. Your last name is Vierra. Are you Italian of origin? I am not Italian of origin. I am one How did you get that last name? That last name, I'm Portuguese. One hundred percent Portuguese. My heritage is from the Azore Islands. And that's a mis spelling It should be, v I e I r a. So two generations ago, that's what it was, but someone in immigration changed it to a Spanish spelling. So of my great grandfather. So I looked at Spanish to tell you, but I I lived in Italy, beef actually, before I got into the wine business, I was, doing, education and teaching and training, so for five years. So I fit right in. People thought that I, you know, after a little while after I got fluent. They thought I was, Italian in in noisy areas so that they couldn't hear the little, you know, errors in my in my Italian. So, Maribeth, you chose the Petrusa family. Alright. Can you tell us why you've chose you've chosen the Petrusas and how you met them? The vigna Petrusa. Yeah. How did you discover the winery? I discovered them actually through another fellow, Italian wine ambassador. Sheila Donahue is the founder of Veralvino, and, Veralvino imports, they're the US importer and distributor of, Vina Patrusa wines and many other, family owned and artisanal wines in Italy. And, Sheila Verovino hired me, and I do often, write, you know, in-depth articles for them, but also, do their Verotox conduct their Verotox, which are virtual educational interviews and tastings live with producers. So that's where I met them. Was getting to know them for these interviews, and then, tasting their wines, which are just absolutely beautiful. And I was fascinated by their story. I was fascinated by the the history of, Scielpertino and Iildez, basically, hand in the foundation of, Scupetino de Propoto, and their wines and their their story. Listen. So where is Sheila based? Is she based, stateside or Italy? I actually don't remember. She's got a foot in both. Half of the year. She's in Oh, she's in the other half of the year. She's in, in California. Yeah. Okay. Very good. So as you know, is this your first time hosting at the ambassador's corner? This is my first time hosting ambassador's corner. You know? But you know, I've seen you in the audience a few times, so you know how it works. You know the drill. We ask, you know, can we get a little bit geeky here. So we ask what the learning objectives from your call today. Okay. Perfect. Well, my learning objectives, are to go into the unique history of the, indigenous grape scale patino and how it was brought back with a fight from extinction. And to become the sought after wine than it is today. But even layering on top of that, what is what's interesting about the wine is how it's so challenging in the vineyard and in winemaking practices. So, I think people would come out aware of why this wine is so being an indigenous from the Propoto region, why it's so valuable, why it's worth working so hard. To make the beautiful wines out of it. And we're gonna find out that from, Ile in Franchesca. We'll, learn a little bit more about the Propoto region itself, why it's well suited for growing premium indigenous grapes, not only Scio Patino. And we'll also focus on their, sustainability practices. So we'll learn a little bit about that. And the story of how they are the third generation of women leading wine growing and winemaking at Vigna Petressa. Okay. Fantastic. I just want to before I hand over the mic, the floor over to Mary Beth, I just want to remind everybody that this entire episodes get replayed on the tie in wine podcast. And believe it or not, It is one of the most popular shows. So some of them get like two, three, four thousand listened, but some of them get like ten thousand listened. So there are huge fans, super wine geeks out there, especially for each tie in wine. So make sure you tune in, to tie in wine podcast wherever you get your pods. And remember, we have a kind of a sister channel on YouTube. We've started about eighteen months ago. It's called mama jumbo shrimp. So that's right, mama jumbo shrimp. Make sure you subscribe and also, you know, leave us a comment and rate us if you can. That would really be appreciated. Okay then. So over to you, Mary Beth, I will come back. I will shut up now. As you know, that doesn't happen very often. So this is a rare opportunity for you and Franchesca in Hilde. And I see Joy has joined us. And she's, of course, our Italian wine, podcast producer. She just did, I think, like, forty interviews at slow wine the past couple of days. So that should also be coming on, scheduled into the program on Italian wine podcast. Okay. Chow, Maribeth. Okay. Welcome, Yilday, and Franchesca, and, of Petressa, Vinea Petressa winery. In this interview, we are traveling virtually, to the cool northeastern corner of Italy, to the Frule, Coley orientale wine region, sometimes known as the birthplace of modern Italian white wine making and home to a wide range of very distinctive indigenous grapes. Both red and white, renowned for their aromatic purity and clean, varietal expression, and complexity. Now tucked along its eastern border of the freely Corientale, that it shares with slovenia lies the sub zone of and the village of Albana. Here is where we find the seven acre parcel of the Vigna, Petruzza, Vineyards, and winery. Its acres are farmed have been farmed for five generations by the Petruzza family, but now in its third generation as a woman owned winery. And today, we're speaking with second and third generation of these women, Yilde Petruzza and her daughter, Franchesca. After taking charge as head winemaker from her mother in nineteen ninety five, I'll de Patruca began restyling the vineyard, focusing on high quality indigenous grapes, cultivated with the Guyo training system with a steadfast commitment to continuous improvement. Vinea Petruca has been highly rated and lauded as one of quote, Italy's best and most under the radar stakes by Venus and Ian Agata. In a recent article from twenty twenty two, Agata refers to Ile Petrusa as, quote, quite simply one of the three or four best producers of Piccolit and Skio Petino. All this while naming one of their four Scupatino wines to his list of Italy's best buys of twenty twenty one. The story of Scupatino, the outlaw grape, brought back from the brink of extinction in the nineteen seventies, is thanks in large part. To the passion and leadership of Yilday herself, to champion the great, along with other locals, to win the recognition of Espiopertino di Propoto as an official and official DOC sub zone of the fury, Cori orientale. And established the consortium. Hilday was the first president of the association. Hilday and Franchesca are passionate about not only Cupertino, but other indigenous grapes of the region such as Piccolik, Priulano, Rivo Lajala, Refosco, Del Padum Guloroso. And with the recent acquisition of an additional acre, they also produced a selection of bottlings from international grapes. Vigna Petruca is committed to crafting exceptional artisanal wines in a sustainable ecological and ethical manner. They are certified as ecosystemable under the, CSQA certification. So without further ado, let's meet Yilday, and Francesca. Hello. You two can release your microphones now in Hi, buddy. Thank you, Mary Bryce, for the presentation. Well, thank you for coming and joining us. It I'm always excited to follow you on, the socials, follow you on your website, follow you through Verovino. The wines that you're releasing and the traveling that you've been doing to promote your wines. We're gonna spend much of this conversation talking about your growing region and your corner for for you and taking that deep dive history in disco Petino, but first, some cred congratulations, on some recent acknowledgements and awards. I see that you your wines have received awards and recognition, the twenty twenty three edition of five star wines, Yay, the slow wine guide and Gamarosa, not to mention many awards from Venus. And I've seen that you have two recent very recent golds for both the white and red from the sakura Japanese Japan women's wine awards. So congratulations. Will you give us, Franchesca, maybe starting with Franchesca, a brief overview of your Vigna Petressa winery, the range of grapes that you grow and the wines that you produce, maybe the number of hectares, and where have you been lately? Where have you been traveling lately? What's up? Okay. So I started and my mother would do another part. So, Vigna Petrutha has, now eight actors of Vignors, and, We are very close to this Lavingian border. There is just a river dividing us. Our area is surrounded by gentle hills. Most of our vines are between thirty to fifty years old. And, located around our winemaking facilities. As you were saying, we are mainly focused in native grapes, and this was a decision that became stronger, stronger, along the years because we want to produce wine that's, can represent our terroir, can tell our our story and our tradition that considered that we are of a long tradition of winemaking. And this, this possibility to create a unique kind of, wines typical of the era is to concentrate mainly in native grapes. As you were saying, we produced the Frulano, that is the X to cai. Then we have one of our favorite wines. There is there a cancer. There is a blend of four indigenous grapes. Then we have, one of my favorite that is Delifosco, Alberto, the cupertino that we'll verify in four different ways because my mother is, very much in love with this grape. And, then we have the the piccollet. And, as international wines, we have the sauvignon and the carbon even if we have eight actors, we have, thirteen type of, wines, and this is because as family tradition and probably like tradition of the area, The winemakers were planting a lot of different plants to be able to offer, locally different type of products. And so despite you, being so small, we decide to keep most of this vineyard and this type of vines. We are a small. So we are just me and my mom with a mainly a team of ladies. And, so we do a little bit of everything. My mom, anyway, is the winemaker, and she's responsible of, all the production of the wines. And she take most of the decision of, the winemaking, the aging, the type of process, and the type of, solution that we need to take in the vineyard, while I'm more focused in, the communication part in the sales and in the marketing. As if you want, I can tell you a little bit more about our recent traveling. We started to travel, and we were really wanting to discover new countries where to export our wines before COVID. So, before COVID, we were traveling around Germany and Austria. And then we started to, work with Sheila. And, we went to US. And, that was our last trip. And, for the last flight, they managed to flow back to Italy with the COVID. During the COVID, we've been working hard and trying to do a lot of wine tasting and, online, like with you and Sheila. And, recently, we went back to the US, and with Sheila, we went to New York, Chicago, and Boston. We went few times to Sweden in Stockholm. Two ten days ago, we went for the first time to the wine expo in Paris. I went to the Garden Lake because I was invited, to the wine media conference. And, and then we don't want to stop. So next month, we go to Provarina in Germany, dusseldorf, and we will be in verona. For the in Italy in April. Wow. You've been busy. And congratulations on getting the last flight back home during, during, the beginning of COVID. That's that's amazing. That's incredible. That's okay. Yes. We're going to be teasing out and and learning more about your different roles and the the role of, of, your mother. And I really like that you mentioned that you have mostly as a team of women working in the vineyard. So I'm gonna pivot over to, you know, going back to the beginning, your family's been farm farming this land since the mid eighteen hundreds in the Propoto area. And you eventually turn to growing, wine grapes on, you know, seven acres. So producing indigenous grapes is really, you might say in your DNA. But you're now in your third generation of women that are managing the, family winemaking business. Tell us about how your grandmother back in the nineteen seventies in Italy took the reins of wine growing and winemaking, managing it on her own, and some of the challenges she faced in the nineteen seventies at the time, and then how your mother took, the reins decided to pick them up, and then how you joined. And then maybe tell us a little bit about the women numb in the vineyard as well. Okay. So, the property was, from my mother's side. So my grandfather was a typical Italian family with a lot of, brothers and sisters. So my, grandfather, they were in nine. And, family was, involving the wine production. They were managing the fields. They were grain traders. They had a meal. They were producing flowers. They had, like, a, a oven as well where they were, preparing the bread that you sold locally, but then this property that was in a certain way consistent. Was split between the nine brothers and sisters. And my grandmother, there was sort of a housewife who was not directly involved. When my grandfather died, my mother was sixteen, and her sister were, twenty two, more or less. And, at that point, my grandmother, so it's the second phase of her life, decides to take over the reins of this property and to deal directly with the production of wine. This was a very, very difficult situation for a woman back at that time. And, it was opposed several times by the local male, producer, but she didn't want to give up. She was very strong, very tough woman, not very friendly sometimes. And, thank you to the fact, that we were very close to this Lavinian border. We are, like, five hundred meters away. Considering that none of the Italian men really wanted to work for a woman, we're in a family that were no men involved. We started our collaboration with the Lovenian family. And thank you to this Lovenian family that is already the third generation. We've been managing to carry on our adventure and to be consistent in what we do and, in our tradition, in our communication as well. And now, there is Bepi was the first one that started to work with my grandmother. And now we have the daughter, Marina, the same age as me, and, her nephew, that is Petro, and they are like our angels. They are mainly involved, in the fields and in the winemaking process, then we have Barbara that is supporting us, in the office and doing a little bit of everything. Then anyway, when my mother on the second phase as well, of her life, She decided to take over, of the winery. And, probably she didn't think when she moved out from Freeually. We were living when I was younger, an hour away in Veneto, closer to Venice. But every weekend, we were going back and forward to visit the grandmother because she was struggling, and she couldn't do all the tough work, by herself. So suddenly, my mom stopped working in the school, in elementary school, and she decided to take over. At the beginning, it was very, very tough for her. And she found as well a lot of hostility in the, male, producer. And, you know, the funny things that we left, and we can laugh now. Because the male producer were thinking, that's that was a job just for male. It was a male business. And so a woman was not able to produce a wine that was up to their standards. And this was on the first place of her, the, winemaking career. Then the situation, as everybody knows, it was evolving a lot. And, thank you to a association like Ladonna Delvino. The situation improve. And now there are a lot of very well trained and capable women, involving the wine business or producing wine or bee analogist. So the situation is totally different now. Thank you God. We can say. And then me, as well, I train as an architect, so I moved away from the university, then I was working abroad for, like, twelve years. And then I decided to go back. And then like my mom, I started to help a bit by bit, just going to the events, taking some decision. And then bit by bit, I got involved more and more in the wine business. And I found that very fascinating because is a all around job with a lot of different facets. So you are, you have this, constant, relation with the natural and with the product that is growing, you know, how side of your house and that that you are able to transform in something very special and to create your own lines. And then there is the part of, relation with the clients that I really like because at the end, you know, the people that are buying your wine, they are buying part of your story, on one side. And and then You are lucky because your one is usually drunk in special events, when you have a dinner with your friends, with your, with your family. And so you are there and directly for this special moment. So it's a very, it's a very amazing, satisfaction, I would say. It's a very hard work on the other side. Well, it's a it sounds like This is an amazing story. First of all, I think that probably the listeners will agree, of the the the three women and then all of the women, that are stood up to, the convention at the time. And push forward to make quality wines and with the passion. And you've picked up the passion, whether it almost sounds like it's very similar that none of the three of you in the generation really expected to get the bug. But the bug caught up with you. Whether your grandmother originally had it or not, your mother definitely did, and I can hear it in your voice and in your story how passionate you are, about being connected to the land and then about communicating, the beauty of what your land can produce to the world and to, wine drinkers. That's, that's beautiful. So let's talk about, the, the big the love that your, mom, and your family, and, the locals have for this grape, Skielpitino. So let's talk about that. We're gonna talk about, the grape itself and the wine that it makes. But first, let's let the listeners know about the origins. If you haven't encountered yet, the intriguing wines that produces Skielpitino are as unique and intriguing as the history of the grape itself starting even with the name. The ancient name of the grape is Ribola Nera Ribola Nera. And that name is sometimes used in other parts of Priuli, but right around the Propoto area, it's always been known as Scio Petino. And it's the name isn't really an onom on a monopec derivative of Scopietale, which is a verb in local dialect meaning to burst, pop, or crackle. And either there's a debate, whether that's due to the great, thicker crunchy skins that explode in the mouth, like with a pop, or the routine explosion of unfiltered wines bottled a little bit too early, and the popping quirks and exploding bottles when the fermentation continued. So what is Guipatino? It's in the aromatic red grape of balanced acidity acidity that's really bursting with blue fruits and importantly aromas of green peppercorn and black pepper. Often accompanied by floral perfume. It's naturally very high in rotundone. In fact, recent studies show that it has one of the highest levels of rotundone of any grape, along with syrup. So the wines that that come out of Skupetino are very elegant. They're medium bodied with this balanced acidity and quite velvety tannins. And because of the level of tannins in the acidity, they have really long longevity. But what's extra intriguing is its history. It's rare and ancient and a noble indigenous red grape cultivated in that Propoto area since the thirteenth century, but it almost went extinct when its plantings were banned by the European Union in favor of international varieties that were easier to grow around the nineteen seventies. So a bit of drama follows the heights and then decline of this outlaw grape. And finally, it's reemergence that are really thanks to the passion of locals in the area including El de Petruzza. Please remind us about Skupatino's history from the Propoto area, how it was rediscovered and brought back from the brink of extinction just forty years ago by Francesca, your mother Hinde, who was here with us. Her leadership role in the fight of turning Propoto into a DOC sub zone for fuyulico orientale. For Scupatino. Italian wine podcast brought to you by mama jumbo shrimp, Okay, ma'am. Do you want to go ahead, ma'am? Do you want to open your microphone, ma'am? Okay. Thank you, Ethan. Alright. We're we're not leaving for those of you who speak English. We're not leaving you without, translation, Francheskom. You want me to go ahead and translate? No. No. If you want, you can go ahead, if you'd like to. Okay. So what, in the, was saying and then Franchesca, please correct me or add anything that I've I've missed here. The she was reminding us that, the it was the, Rapuzzi family, who originally found the grapes that had almost vines that had almost gone extinct and started cultivating them. So they were the first, family that was cultivating the wines that were not the vines that were not legally, allowed anymore by the EU, coming from the Propoto region. But, Yilday, along with other, locals knew that they wanted to continue to propagate these plans. So in Two thousand two, I, they organized and brought together all the producers of Skio Petino in the area of Propoto, into an association of producers of Propoto with the intention of enhancing the local Indigence Vine. So they hired an abronomist, who helped them experiment with the best way to cultivate the vine. They researched old bio types and planted what they would call a catalog vineyard in order to carry out microvinnifications. They were in search of the best Viticulture and winemaking practices that would help them achieve that kind of a territorial identity for the wines coming out of the area. So they took this was not something happens to us. This was very, very, very structured that their plans, to go forward. So with the group, she also led the establishing of a specialized laboratory in the area for cultivating and producing local yeasts, for winemaking. So the result is they reproduced the indigenous yeats from their grapes and created a, you know, a p a P. A p a p a d couve or a starter culture that then all the producers could use to allow, for it to maintain that, you know, ter terroir in the wine. So, also, in addition to the what's going on in the vineyard and creating the starter culture, the association also more recently commissioned an in-depth study to re research the rotundone molecule. Which is, if you're not, familiar with it, is an aromatic precursor of that, pepper aroma, found in Skupetino, Sarrah, and other grapes. And when the rote results came back in, they were really surprised. Well, maybe not they were pleasantly surprised when they discovered that the grapes from the Propoto area The percentage of of rotundone molecule was much higher than vines coming from other areas. So I think this is brilliant. Your association, is they, has been incredibly active, with, you know, actual actionable learnings that are going into, improving your wines and making them known, in the in in in the marketplace, even in Italy. Franchesca is anything that you wanna add to that. Not that this association has a very strict regulation on producing the the wine and to try to get the, the best wine that you can, you can produce because is always be even if it was not, legally, accepted as a, as a vine. Everybody was producing it, but then, probably, at that back in the time, like, when my grandfather was producing the Cupertino, they didn't have the right technique to have a very high quality wine. So the association did did a very good job. Nice. So, why guess it just kinda raises the the question. Yes, it was a local wine, but why work so hard for this one one grape scale patino? What are what are some of its characteristics that you, your family, and other locals love about it, and the wine that it produces? Why spend so much time creating this association. And, it became Ildes, favorite grape from what I understand, the her most beloved grape, and wine. She loves to speak in all the time. Please go ahead. Okay. Alright. Translating from here, She's really highlighting the unique nature that this is a unique grape, really, from their region. So they were proud of this grape, and they wanted others to be able to discover it. And what they love about is the is how elegant it is, how it's so balanced, and how it really pairs well with so many different types of food. So they're enjoying it so much. They wanted others as well. And then, very proud of their work in order to, get their recognition. In two thousand eight, they received the crew certification from the ministry. So meaning Propoto is, is, oh, is one of only two regions that may be called out as an official sub zone on the label. For skilled patina within Triuli Cori orientale NLC. You know, the other is, and then so those are the only two that can can be called out. So they're just, encouraged and excited with their production. And, they believe that their wine is is unique. Anything you wanna add, Franchesca, to just, in general, why, you love it? Or No. Further other things? Is is unique, is very versed, very how do you say versatile? Elegant with his velvety tannins. He's complex at the same time, and he's quite, a rare. So Yeah. That is, I think, one of the interesting and what attracts me to, skill patino, I'm always attracted to winds of discovery that are rare. And I think that's becoming a trend, you know, in the in the Sommelier set as well. As and that's what's so interesting and and, fun about Italian wines is that you can discover new wines from different regions. And Skielpertino just captured my interest as well. So It wasn't only the fight, from extinction, that, your mom and your family, you know, raise up Skupatino. But what is curious of Skupatino is so difficult to grow and to vinify. We know that wine is made in the vid vineyard, but quiltino's notoriously difficult, but you still love it. It is a vigorous vine making, large bunches, lots of leaves, It's difficult to ripen. It has compact bunches. It's late ripening, so at risk of early rains. And it's overall sensitive. So why, not why are you behind externalities, why are you behind them, but what is it that the your your mom and the other producers in the region have been doing to work with the vine and to bring out the quality of the vine. Why is it well suited for growing in your region? And then what are you doing to, bring out the quality of the vine and manage it, basically? Okay. Ma'am, do you want me to explain the the the terroir and the store? Do you want to go ahead with the description of, the territorial. Okay. Flush. Okay. Thank you, Is there the okay. So there's a quite a bit to translate here. So she was telling us about the territory. What what makes their region, so great for growing this grape or, you know, any grape of quality. The Freule Venezia Julia, from the point of view of its orographic confirmation, is unique. The area has very high mountains close to the sea. So that's something that's interesting about it. But for winemaking, it means that, both the body and structure will, it it contributes to body and structure in the wine. So we have the moderating influence of the sea. And, the mountains give this good temperature range or diurnal shift that holds that acidity in the lines and cools, the grapes in the afternoon. So in the, small valley of they where they have their land, there's three three types So the hills are formed by a model called Pankaj. So, a lot of people have heard of maybe the fleece. The famous fleece stoy stoyles from the area. Well, locally, they call it Pankaj in Prakato. That's alternating layers of calcareous clays and sandstones, which have calcium carbonate magnesium. And so that gives wind the minerality and the longevity. So some other hills in the area have the, red iron rich stone, earth. So that gives, darker and concentrated wines, and the valley floor is as stones. So the capacity for storing and then reflecting the heat. And that, you know, the area can be can be quite cool, so that's important. And so when they've done tastings with other producers, they've, noticed that, you know, there really is a variety. Even within the Propoto region of different, producers, there's a variety of flavors in a variety of styles from the different, from a different land in the tier one. But just get anything that you wanna add to that? Not really. You know, that's right. You know, when we do the wine tasting of the of the scupitino. You can really tell the difference from the soil where they are from. And from the, tradition of the family that they produce the scupitino, you can tell where there is, like, How do you say? High history in the past, a wine that was drank from, other families, or if it's like, a new winemakers with a different type of, palate and flavors. So you can it's very funny when we do the wine tasting because you can find a lot of shadow of these, sweet potato grapes. Okay. So I'm really wanting to go there, for a lot of reasons to come and taste with you all. So what I found one of the things that fascinated me, quite a bit when I was, talking with you the first time that we met was learning how extraordinarily difficult, and finicky this grape is. And then all of the, the research and the, and the findings that, your mom has put, together along with the, the association. Tell us about the early experimentation with the vines and the current vineyard practices that that you at Vigna Patruosa are implementing to overcome the grapes' really challenging nature so that you can make this crew level wine with a grapes that is hard to ripen is, so vigorous, has huge bunches. What are what are you accomplishing? How did you get there? Mama, do you want to say something with your skill, Petino, or can I go ahead? I can go ahead with this one. Anyway, there are, only hundred and eight actors dedicated to the cultivation of this, and in total, between all the producer There are between hundred and twenty, hundred thirty thousand bottles produced. And, and most of the, I would say, all of the companies, all of the winery, family run, and, everybody we are around twenty twenty two. We have, just few actors of, this type of, vines. This Cupertino, as you were saying, require a very hard, work, because it's a plant that is very vigorous and produce a lot of grapes, more or less, four kilos, five kilos per plant. But, with the association, they decided, that the maximum production for the plant is one kilo and a half per vine. And, and then, there are different phases where you, thin all the branches. And, I would say that there are three different passes, at the beginning, roughly in May now. We start, you know, in February, we start to, select the, double bats, leaving just one. Then there is a second phase. When, the the grapes started to, when you start to select the, how do you say the the dimension, not the branches, and you leave Jasper, you remove the second bunch and you leave just one bunch that has your one. And then when there is the Verizon, there is the third passage in the vineyard where you, You leave just the best bunches, and then you cut the bottom and the two wings, leaving just the heart of the bunch so all the berries can get at, at the same time, to the maturation. And so you get, a sort of more standard, quality of grape. So, and then there is the final, work that you need to remove all the leaves, leave to expose the plant to the sun for the final maturation. And then there is the harvest that is done usually at the beginning of October, and then it's done almost manually in our winery. So it's a very hard work. And it's a very delicate, so you cannot dispose the, you know, the bunches too early, other otherwise, the, the gray, burn, and, suffers a lot. So, yeah, it's a very hard work. So that's when you and, all the other women that you mentioned spend a lot of time in the vineyard. You're you're continually passing through. It seems like just watching your vines and, selecting the grapes And then it comes to harvest. So I think that we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the fact that you have, you'll vinify four different Scupatinos. So in addition to the other whites and the other reds that you, produce, tell us about their four different Cupertino grapes. I mean, four different Cupertino wines. Wines. And then yes. So as as as you can understand, is my mother obstruction and love So we produced four different kinds of cupertino. They maintained the main characteristic of the grape, the hint of spiceness, the elegance, this velvety tannins, but they express the four of them with a different strengths and intensity. So the the Rinera, the is IGP, is our lighter version of Cupertino. He doesn't see any wood. It's just a vinifier in stainless steel for twelve months. And this is easier and fresher to drink is very good with an imperative, or you can pair with fish, with tomato sauce, or with meat. Then we have the, where we have the doc. And is done, of course, according to the rules that we were describing before, from the rules created by the association. The maceration in our winery is done in big wood barrel. For twenty two, twenty four days, more or less, where there is the malolactic process as well. And then we do the, ourselves, while we're there inera, we use indigenous, east. We decide to put the this wine in big wood barrels that are already between, fifteen to thirty hectiliter ...ractometers. For twenty five, twenty four months. And this will use a big barrel because the impact of the wood is, less consistent. And so we'll not cover the main characteristic of the scuba team of rape. And, after the twenty four months resting in the in the barrel, we bottle it and we let it rest for another year in the bottle. This Cupertino for me is amazing. If you pair with a steak, with, roast, but I love it with a dish with truffle or with mushroom. It is the same sort of base of flavors. And then the last used Cupertino, are produced just on the best vintages and on select of the grapes. So the one that we have, now is the two thousand and eighteen, while the previous vintages was, vintage was the two thousand and eighteen. The we do the pedicuvée as well. It's a refined thirty six months, in tono. So five hundred liters barrel, and always one year in the bottle. The Pebanera, instead, is our fourth Cupertino, I think that my mother created it because was the way that my grandfather was producing this wine. As I was telling you before, there was not in the past, the right technique to produce, elegant wines from this grape. So my grandfather was, drying the grapes to obtain, like, a, a special wine used in special occasion. The Permanera is sweet, but not sweet. Is delicate, but with a strong character as well. And, the harvest is done manually, but in this case, we use wood basket. We let it dry in full time. There is just a room with natural ventilators, for two months. And then we use a smaller ballard, barrels. So one year more, in wood, in Barrick, and just and always one year in the bottle. And this, my mom loves it with chocolate, I prefer with, that or with game, you know, with, like, special meats with special taste. So these are These wines are beautiful for anybody who hasn't tried them. I mean, I think it's, just to recognize that you have the Cioppetino d, that you worked so hard, as a family in the region to, to make that wine. That's kind of your flagship But you created the Ervinera, which is a stainless steel only just to highlight the grape. And then the two, special lines, the reserva and the the Perlinera with the. Yes. You're right. At the beginning, we're calling re Ribolanera, but then we had to change the name. And so now we call Scupetino Renera. Mhmm. I I'm seeing where we are on time. I one definitely wanted to, ask about your, your other grapes and the other wines that you make, but I know, Stevie, that there is also possibly questions out there. Should I ask one more question or shall we turn it over to, opening up a question you can ask one last question, and then we're gonna have to close. Okay. Okay. So tell us a little bit about the other wines that you make in your portfolio, Beyond Scio Cortino. As oh, as I was saying before, we are mainly focused in indigenous grapes. So we have, a ribola jala that is a very popular wine that is, Vini if I just in stainless steel, then we have our Shulano, that was the old tokay. Then we have their fosco, that is my favorite red wine. And, that is more round and juicy. The force cupertino. And another wine that we produce that is very typical of this era, and it is producing very small quantities is the picolite that is a rare wine. It is, like, coming from floral abortion. So, we produce one thousand and two hundred bottles per year, and the bottles are zero thirty seven. And it's very velvety, very elegant, And, it's it's special. It was, drank by the Burjik Corto and all the pulp as well, and leave you this velvety feeling with the final taste of almond and honey. But then my favorite and I think my mom's white favorite wine is Vericenza, that is a, a wine that is a cuvee, an indigenous grape. So Fruliano Malasie Espriana, is Linranano, and Picollet. We've identified this wine in a separate way, and with these different techniques. So stainless steel for some wines, Barrick, or bigger wood barrel. When they are ready, we assemble them. And then we let them rest after the bottling for minimum six months in the bottle. Usually, is a wine that is ready after four, five years, and then he's a long lasting wine. Even a but this is still perfect. And we created this wine because my grandmother and my ancestors They had, they were planting a lot of plants, and, so instead to remove this plant that were older by small quantity, we decided to give them, a new life and a new dress. So seventeen years ago, my mother decided to create this blend. And we gave the name of, princess just to, you know, these famous female pictures of our, family. So that's it. That that is, one of your wines that I have not tried yet, and I I can't wait. And I'd love that you're honoring all of the, all of the other grapes in your vineyard by creating that blend. So thank you so much. This has been a really fun getting back in touch with you again and, sharing your story with everyone. Is it time for us to see if there's any questions out there? No. I'm gonna I'm gonna have to close a room, but just two things. There's no there's no time for questions. You do you guys did an exhaustive, interview. Just two things I want to say. First of all, I don't know if in the new book of Italian wine unplugged two point zero, which is the textbook of of the, Via International Academy, Official textbook, and this year, what we did was with the grape entries we have benchmark producers. So for which is, we have, of course, but also, Vigna Petruza. So congratulations. You are one of the benchmark producers. I don't know if you know that. To bring quickly Leica up, and she can tell us who our next guest is. Hi, Stevie. Hello? We're still working on, the next guest, but we're going to have Alan Kwok. He's recently our Italian wine expert. Yes. From Hong Kong. And he's still confirming, with either Julia Adona of Katal de Madona or Alberto. Yes. Okay. Great. So that'll be next week. State shouldn't come back, you guys. And, yeah, life is a little bit tight because she worked Sunday and yesterday, all day long at slow wind, doing thousands of interviews. So Thank you very much for that. And, of course, Joy. Thank you, ladies. Listen to the Italian wine pot podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, email ifm, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time. Cheaching.