Ep. 2546 Anna Obukhovskaia IWA interviews Massimo Bronzato of Bronzato winery in Valpolicella | Clubhouse Ambassadors' Corner

Introducing the Italian Grape Geek program, a new and original approach to Italian wines. IGG, as it's fondly known, is a book, a podcast, an online theory course, and an in person tasting course. Our pocket sized book briefly introduces 80 grapes with benchmark producers, helping you find and taste these great wines on your own. Space to make your own notes makes the book a personal record of your Italian wine journey. No time to read? We've read the whole book out loud with added insights from Italian wine ambassadors. Listen for free on Italian wine podcast. Obsessed with Italian wine? Take the super accessible online theory course. Get certified as an Italian grape geek. Want more? Our international IGG educators have got your in person tasting course to cap off your full IGG immersion. Go to mamajumboshrimp.com and sign up today. The most important factor for our, wines is soil and the position of our vineyards. The composition of our soil is a volcanic soil, in particular, black basalt. And also the stone that is, pictured on the label. Yes. The main stone we have is the flint. Very particular stone also is the symbol of our winery. The place where we have, the vineyards is an historical place started by some different universities. The people in, in stone era worked at the flint to produce objects. I like the idea, the continuity between the past and the present. People in past work at the stone, and now in the same place, the people work with the vineyards. 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 shows on Italian Wine Podcast. Here, our ambassadors get to make to interview their favorite producers with total freedom. And if you miss it live, no worries. It's recorded and dropped later on the Italian wine podcast. Today's guest host is Anna Obukoskaya. Anna has seventeen years of experience in wine retail, marketing, and sales, worked in a number of bigger wine importing companies and independent projects, founding the Italian wine tasting club in Saint Petersburg in Russia. In 2020, she began her journey as an Italian wine ambassador. For the last few years, she's based in Slovenia. And currently, she's leading export development and sales strategies for wineries and food producers at NautilusTrade, the company she founded. Today, she's gonna interview Massimo Bronzato of Bronzato Winery in Valpolicella. So, Anna, Massimo, how are you doing, guys? All great. Thank you. Yeah. Me too. Anna, are you ready for our three ritual questions? Ready. Beatrice. Perfect. So, Anna, how did you discover the wines of Brunzato Winery? Well, it was just recently, I must say. Actually, I discovered, it it been Italy in Verona this year. And then from the first sip, I realized that this is a very interesting wine. It stood out somehow, but I can say it was not love at the first sight because, then I got a chance to visit Massimo in October in his winery. And then, I got to see the vineyards and got to understand more of his philosophy, and that's when the click happened. So tell us, and why did you select Massimo as your future guest? Well, I really like the story behind this project and and the wines are based mainly on corvina grape, which I personally love. It has a mix of delicacy and personality that somehow reflects Massimo himself and lets, the wine speak for himself. Wow. That's super nice. What are the learning objectives that we should expect from this interview? Well, we'll be talking about Valpolicella, the unique soils and biodiversity, and also the challenges that, producers face today, like keeping fresheners in the character in a warming climate. And Valpolicella is such a dynamic region, actually, and I think listeners will enjoy discovering how it's evolving through passionate winemakers like Massimo. Okay. I think it's a really nice plan, so it's time for me to mute myself. Now I'm turning over the floor to you, Anna. Have a nice interview, guys. Thank you. So, Massimo, let's start. I already mentioned that we met in person and that I've been, to your estate not so long ago. But could you please, tell to our listeners what's the story of Bronzato Winery? It's a family project born from passion and precision, but how it all began, and what's the philosophy behind it? My family cultivate the land for generations, but only in the in the last years and the last, ten years. My passion, moved to cultivate the vine and the production of, of wine. For me, the the the wine production is, like to close the circle because, the the normal agriculture of my family, they produce only raw material, while the wine production, for me, is like to close the circle, to start with the raw material, the grapes, and arrive to the final product, wine, bottled by by our, name and distributed to our customer. Yeah. It's really interesting. But when exactly you personally got fascinated by the wine, by wine as a product? Do you remember the day when you decided to become a winemaker? Yes. When I was, young, I never thought about wine production. It is an evolution. There there is no specific day. It was going out to my family job and maturate this idea because my grandfather produce wine for themselves, not for, commerce. Probably, this was the the the start for me. What are your duties in the winery? I know you're involved in so many steps, but but what exactly? Normally, in the past, when we started the the activity, I followed all the the the activity from the care of vineyards to the winery. Now I have some, collaborators that help me in particular in the the vineyards while inside the winery to produce wine before bottling. All the the operation are directly followed by by me. And also the commercial part that is is very, very important because, is important to produce, but it is very, very important to, communicate outside, the value for of your product. Well, that's true. That's exactly the link from the winemaker to the wine consumers, wine enthusiasts, out there in the world. There's no way for them to get the wines if, somebody will not go and introduce these wines or not. They'll not do the commercial part of work. So, yeah, thank you for mentioning that. In your opinion, what are the most, important factors that define the quality and character of, our bronze at the wines? The most important factor for our, wines is soil and, the position of our vineyards. In particular, the the soil, we have a very particular soil, and the altitude of our vineyards is, both together is is very important. We are in a very particular area for under meters, above the the sea level. The wind blow, every day, and this condition together with the, the particular soil we have give, very big impression to our wines. In particular, the the soil is the composition of our soil is a a volcanic soil. It's very particular soil. There is a lot of different stones, but in particular, black basalt. And also the stone that is, pictured on the label. Yes. Sorry. The the picture the main, stone we have is the flint. Flint is very common in all our vineyards. In a lot of parts, there is also black basalt. Licinia lacinia stone is another is another typical stone. Flint is very, very particular stone, also is the symbol of our winery. I like this stone because, for me, in the place where we have, the the vineyards is an historical place started by, some different, universities that, the people in, in stone era worked at the flint to produce objects. And, I like the idea, the continuity between the the past and the present. The people in past work at the the stone,