Ep. 29 Monty Waldin interviews Thomas Bar of Antico Podere Gagliole | Discover Italian Regions: Tuscany / Toscana

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Welcome to the Italian Podcasts with me, Monte Walden. My guest today is Thomas Peire of the Galliore, winery in Chianti classico. In Castelina. So, Thomas, where are you from originally? Originally, we are from Zurich Switzerland. I started out as a lawyer and then was, banker. And in my third life started to produce wine, we were able to buy Gallur in nineteen ninety. The estate itself dates back to nine hundred and ninety four after Christ. So, it's quite undertaking to pursue winemaking on this older state. So when you say it's an undertake do you mean respecting respecting respecting the heritage and the tradition? We try to put the heritage and the tradition into our bottles. How were you received when you first arrived in nineteen ninety? You were probably like the second wave of of, say, non Italian stuff. That's right. We were always received very kindly, and the local producers always were very helpful sharing their experiences with us. And gradually, we started out with five hectares, and now we have nineteen dollars. Well, that's a nice size, nineteen. In two thousand eleven, we were able to buy a small vineyard in the famous Concord in Pansano. So what's the Concord or why is it so famous? The Concord is famous for its terroir and for its location. It has a singular, a terroir, and a singular location. So is it is it flat? No. It's a it's a shell like the name says, and therefore it reflects the sun beautifully. And with the earth that is there, it absolutely makes an amazing wine. How are you dealing with all about? Obviously, it's the Concord is a very sunny, warm microclimate, and that's important for sangiovese wine? That is very important for sangiovese wine. We have about ninety percent sangiovese grape in, Pansano, and, the grape quality there is absolutely ideal. We also started out making, biological wine and grapes in Pansano as all our neighbors also are because Pansano has a special microclimate, which lends itself very well to biological winemaking. So in the Pansano group, it's you're sort of one of the leaders in Italy for producers getting together talking to each other. And and you've got like a almost a total organic zone that haven't you? That is correct. There is a very close, relationship in coordination among the producers in Pansano. So the idea was that insects that might eat grapes fly around and don't respect boundaries. Right? Exactly. That makes it much more, much easier to make biological wine in Pansano than it is in Castelina, where first of all, the microclimate is diff is different. And second of all, the neighbors are not all as biological as they are. In Ponzalo. Do you have other producers coming to you from other regions to say, to look at Kianti? Cause Kianti's such a complicated wine sometimes in a complicated region, and people think it's a bit stuck in the mud, a bit old fashioned, but this is pioneering, isn't it? This organic project? I think, it's pioneering in the biological way. I think, the way we are doing it is, is very much state of the art. So let's talk about the taster. Your the main grape is Sanjay. That's right. So what makes Canti Clasico and Sanjuvasi such a good man? Well, Canti Clasico a rich is Sanjuez, and only more recently where other grape variety is added. So I think the out of stone grape of Canti Glassico is Sanjuez, and I think especially if you have a good terroir and a good location you should be able to make an exceptional sangiovese which can stand alone. So what do you, when you have dinner after a long day talking with your organic neighbors, when you go home, what do you, what do you make for dinner to have with your with your key and classico. We usually have, red meat, but occasionally also pasta, depending on the year, on the vintage of the sangroveza that we drink. So when you say pasta, what pasta with what, but just come up with a tomato. We have a special in our house, ravioli aperthi. Go on. What's that? We have a Tuscan Cook who, has a specialty ravioli aperthi. These are very, very thin ravioli that are not closed and are usually filled with spinach or ricotta. Do you get a bit of pressure from, Mrs. Bear about eating more vegetarian food and avoiding the steak? That's true. That's true. So how is tourism affecting Canti, both the plus, the positive side and the negative side? I think it's starting to come back again. It used to be or the past few years was a bit weak, but, we're seeing a influx again of, tourists coming from all over the place. The Kianti Glasgow region is situated between two of the most famous cities in Italy, Florence and Sienna. That's correct. So how is the type of tourists that you get, what do they look for? Do they just want to taste wine, or do they want a bit of history in culture? No. They want to be of history. They want to, of course, see Sienna. They want to see Florence. And, they also, they want to see the countryside, especially our estate, is is worth a trip because, RSA in Caselina is characterized by these dry stone wall terraces that you don't very frequently see nowadays. So where did the stones come from? These are local stones that came from where this where the terraces are really made. So they came out of the soil when the They came out. Exactly. Were being created and being worked by the pine boxes. And they gradually decay over time and turn into sand, and that may the territory what it is. Okay. So just looking at you now, you're not a young man, but when I look at you, you are a young man. You sort of made your smile and, your enthusiasm. And, so what keeps you going? Well, I think we want to, on behalf of the family, my children and grandchildren take a keen interest in the progress of the winery and help us, and, we try and, want to make one of the best wines in Tuscany. And just go back a little bit to the history. You think your your history or six goes back to nine hundred? Nine hundred and ninety four. We have a document in the historical archives of Siena, where a Langobard King gives Galulae the stage to his son on the occasion of his marriage. So you're the you're the modern day king about to hand over the next generation. That's right. Thomas Bear. It's been a delight to talk to you. I hope to come and see you in, Kianti sometime in the future. Thank you. You're more than welcome. Thank you. Follow us at Italian wine podcast on Facebook.