Ep. 2539 Michele Longari IWA interviews Riccardo Binda, Director of Consorzio Vini Oltrepò Pavese | Clubhouse Ambassadors' Corner

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And it's quite funny because, for example, the appellation was created in '83. The the red wines, which isn't the one that that matters, was created in '94, while Ulta Papparese was made in the '70. And, it has a story that start back in the nineteenth century. So it's like a century older than Bulgaria, but still it's not as well known, and this is like a paradox. Maybe not many of you know, but is the first region in Italy where the method of classic or so the champagne was method was developed in 1865. It was Carlo Gancia, who was, like, a famous Piedmontese producer who who did that. And he put the know how, but the vineyards and the grapes came from Alto Poplar Veza. Because since then, since the nineteenth century, Alto Poplar Veza is considered the owner of Pinot Noir for sparkling wine production. Welcome to this special clubhouse session of the Italian wine podcast. Listen in as members of the Italian wine community engage in fascinating conversations about contemporary wine topics. If you enjoy the show, please consider donating through italianwinepodcast.com, and remember to subscribe and rate the Italian Wine Podcast wherever you get your pods. Hi, everyone. This is Beatrice welcoming you to the Italian Wine Clubhouse Ambassador's Corner, one of the top ranked show on Italian Wine Podcast. Here, our ambassadors get the mic to interview their favorite producers with total freedom. And if you miss it live, no worries. It's a recording and dropped later on the Italian Wine Podcast. Today, guest host is Michele Longari. Michele Longari is the purchasing director of Et Hey Wines, an independent wine merchant based in Ladbury, UK. Born and raised in Emilia Romagna, he began his professional journey as a software engineer in Parma. Despite a successful career in technology, Michaela's passion for wine and food led him to pursue formal education in the field. He earned his ISA sommelier diploma in 2013 and later completed the MSc in wine business management at the Royal Agricultural University in The UK. Michele joined Hay Wines in early two thousand fifteen and has since become a key figure in the company, overseeing the purchasing strategy and important management. Additionally, he serves as an Italian wine ambassadors for the Vinital International Academy, contributing to the promotion and education of Italian wines globally. Today, he's gonna interview Riccardo Vinda, the director of Consortio Vini Ultra Popavese. So, Riccardo, Michele, how are you doing, guys? Hi, everyone. I'm good. How are you? I'm fine. Thank you. Michele, are you ready for our three retail questions? Yes. I can prepare. So how did you discover the wines of Consortzovini Ultra Popavese? To be honest, I feel like I've known, the wines of Ultra Popaveze for my entire life because, as you mentioned, I'm originally from the province of Parma in Emilia Romagna. And, Pavia and Parma are not too far from each other. We'll say an hour drive, something like that. I was always very passionate for, spumante wines and traditional metal sparkling wine. So I traveled to Ultra Pappavese many, many times when I was still living, in Italy. And, during all my trips to to the region, I became more and more passionate about the smaller appellation that, I found to have a very important historic value in Italian wine. But, unfortunately, often, Ultra Popa Veze is a bit overshadowed by, other regions nearby. So this is why I thought it would have been a good idea to ask Ricardo to join us because I think there is a lot to say about Ultra Popa Veze. Ricardo, in, his past experience with the consortium of Bulgaria, I think he has proven to be not just professionally dynamic in terms of, activities, but also very much, strategically focused. So I'm very curious to hear, what are, his plans for the future of, at UCG, of which I'm very fond of. And last but not least, what are the learning objectives that we should expect from this interview? So I think, first of all, something very important, we will be able to get a better understanding of the strategic role of, wine consortia in Italy. Because most of the time, I think people are not very sure how consultancy operates, what they do in terms of protecting appellation and shaping quality standards. So first of all, I think this is something that Ricardo with this big experience in consortium can give us. Then, I think we'll be able to explore the challenges and the opportunity of what it means building a regional identity for an appellation. And, again, thanks to Ricardo's experience, listener will gain insight into what it takes to position a wide region on on the global stage. Finally, I would like, to end this conversation discovering practical lesson in leadership, quality, and sustainability because as we see, I think the conversation will highlight actionable example of how data driven quality management, sustainability practices, including leadership, can actually drive real progress in, Italian wide region through the work done by the consortium. So I think it's going to be a 360 degree interview with Ricardo because, he has a very complete professional, role. That sounds like a really nice plan, to be honest. So it's time for me to mute myself. I'm turning over the floor to you, Michele. Have a nice interview, guys. Thank you very much, Bert. Thank you. Ciao, Ricardo. How are you? Ciao, Michele. I'm fine. Thank you. Thank you, Beatrice, for hosting us, and thank for you to your for the invitation. I hope it can be an interesting interview. Yeah. I'm sure it will. First of all, you're not in Italy right now. Where are you? I am in Vauxhall at the European Parliament because there are always issues to solve. Okay. Thanks even more for joining us because I know that in this period, you're very busy and you're traveling a lot with the consortium. So I really, really appreciate you making the time for this interview. Thank you very much. It's a pleasure. So start immediately because I know that you have another important appointment afterwards. So I want to make sure that we have enough, time to discuss the most important question. First of all, Ricardo, you have worked in two very different yet emblematic wide regions. Because, as I was mentioning before, now you are director of the consortium of Vinyotropa Pavese, but previously, you are director of, consortium of Bulgaria. You are originally from, Vogueira. So, basically, you have gone back to your origins. What, did these experiences? So the one already completed with Bulgari and the one you are doing now with, Ultra Papa Veza, what did they teach you about the diversity of Italian terroir, and is, the way to communicate this to the global stage? Well, of course, most of my lessons, I have love from Bolgrew because, I worked there for eleven years while in Northropod, I've been there for one year. So I need still a bit more time to get important lesson from there, although I am being born in this area. I think I was very lucky because, I arrived in Bulgaria when I was reall