Ep. 41 Monty Waldin interviews Elena Fucci (Elena Fucci Winery) | Discover Italian Regions: Basilicata

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Italian wine podcast. My name is Monte Walden, and sitting next to me is Elena Fucci of the Elena Fucci winery in Vasidericata. In Italy's deep south. Hello, Eleanor. Hello. Hello. Elena, tell me a little bit about how you started making wine at the family winery. Yes. My dream started in two thousand when, my parents and my family decided to sell vines. My vines are, very old, sixty, seventy year old. My father, my grandfather, and my great grandfather have these vines, but they don't make a wine. They sold the grapes. Hello, the producer or cons and, I, in two thousand, I decided to study medical student technology. I studied visa at university in Tuscany. Agronomy, I studied. And I decided, to start to make a wine. My seller have my name, Elena Fucci, because I'm the first generation to make a wine. So when you started, not only were you very young and taking over the future responsibility of of changing family approach actually bottling your own wine, but you decided you didn't want to work with a consultant. When you started, you didn't you didn't have a consultant. Most people, if they they're making wine for the first time, they'll they'll pay a consultant. Why did you not have a why did you want to be independent? Because, when I when I start to study, I start to prove. And, in the two thousand, I'm very young, and I decided to start alone. So so you're quite sort of in independent minded as well naturally. Yeah. Were your parents worried about you to think, hang on. She's taking over the winery. She's gonna make investments. She doesn't have a consultant. Yeah. Why doesn't she just stay in college and we can sell the winery and make some money? My father take me the morning for this dream because, in the past, he have this dream. The dream of making his own wine. Yeah. Yeah. So what's what stopped him from making his own wine? Was it because the wines from basilica turned from the Voltore were not really well known and it was economically impossible. Why didn't he just go and go to the bank and say, hey, listen. Give me some money. I wanna build a winery and make my own wine rather than selling my grapes. What stopped him? It's very difficult in the Sood Italy. In, in two thousand is at the very good time for start to to make a wine. And my father in, when he's young, he decided to to study for teaching and, this is the life. Is your is your father really happy with you now? Does he love the wines that you make? Yes. Yes. He's very happy. And he helped me, in the cellar. And he and my mother in the morning, teaching, and in the after are doing, help me in the cellar and Divina. So who decides the style of wine that you make? Is it you or is it a family decision? Say whether to put the wine in barrel or or not put the wine in barrel? No. I decide. I decide. Yes. I'm making the wine and I make My wine. Okay. So how would you describe your style of wine? I mean, when we think of Southern Italy Mhmm. And red wines Mhmm. Historically, we thought these wines were very heavy, very rich, very alcoholic, not easy to drink. Usually, yes. Usually, when you think out of wine in Sudan, when you think, so Italy, you think a very hot weather, a very strong red wine, but for the vultre, this is not true because, we are in the middle. We are on the mountain. The volteries are all volcano themed, and is one thousand and three hundred meter high. And we are six hundred meter high go on top of the mountain. And, usually, you think are very hot, but in basilicata, in vault red weather is very cold. We have, every winter of snow. And, summer in spring, we have a, high description, nineteen day, ten grade. And this is most important for the wine, for the elegance, for the, I guess, idity. And, the soil is a volcanic soil, very dark soil, minerality soil. It is most important in the wine for the min minerality. When you tested the Alyanico de Vultre, the first impression is the Egasidity and the minerality, very strong minerality. So the so the Vultre is a form of volcano. Yeah. And it's very high and because it's very high, you get that. It's very cool nights, but you get pot days because you're in the south. What are the typical flavors that you find in an allianico from the Voutre, the Voutre mountain? What are the typical flavors? Red peppers, sweet peppers, not I see. And the name is Pepironiclusconi. And usually, we drink, ayanico with, a lamb, baby lamb, and, with the, cheese. So they sheep's cheese, or are they? Cachocarallo pudolico is the name. Okay. So that's the podolica cow. Yeah. Which which they they they they they're wild as well, aren't they? Yeah. Yes. The wild, wild cow. The wild the wild cows don't go into the vineyard, though. Do they? No. In the, in the elevator, in the olive groves. Yeah. It's interesting. I mean, when you drive around, visit the car, you you can, you know, see these cows running around, we're not running around. They're pretty, pretty, they don't move very fast. What's your what what is your plan in the future for your for your wine? Are you gonna get bigger? Are you gonna expand, like, buy more vineyards? In this time, what we we complete the new project is a a very beautiful seller in the project for us is a very beautiful project because, it's the first seller in by architecture in Sudan. We use only recycled material for the construction. The building is, energetics in zero. This is most important for us. Now we start to make our oil, olive oil, and this year is the first time for us, and we are very happy. And, now I have only these vines and I produce only one wine only Titoro. Only I I have only one grape and only one label. Sorry. And it's called Titoro. The grape. Why do you call why do you call your wine Titoro? Which means tiger. Because it's the India area where we live where we have a cellar, Edvina. The name complete is, contrada, Solvania del Titolo. And Solania in my dialect is, under the sun. Very interesting that you're building a an eco friendly winery with tourism in mind. I mean, basilicart is one of the most beautiful regions in Italy, but it's one of the most undiscovered regions. How important do you think tourism will be Yeah. For you at your winery? Yes. Today with, Matyaram, is a very beautiful city in the basilicata. The tourism is very is very Well developed. Well, yeah. For us, this most important because my region's basilicata is a very full region. It's wide regions. And, Very mountainous. Yes. Very wild, very mountainous. Yes. Not very low population density. Yes. And you also have a little bit of coastline, don't you? A bit of sea? Yes. At the to see, Yonio and Terino. Elena, thanks very much for coming in today. Thank you. I look forward to tasting your allianico del Voutre at some stage. Maybe see you in Brazilicata when I go down there to see my, my extended Italian family. That's where they're from. Mhmm. Thanks for coming in. Thank you. And, hope you see you soon. In queue and awaiting you in basilica. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.