Ep. 101 Monty Waldin interviews Luca D'Andrea (Corvezzo Winery) | Discover Italian Regions: Veneto

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian White Podcast. My name is Montewood, and my guest today is Luca Dan Drea. Luca is the export manager for the Giovanni Corvezzo winery in the Venator. Welcome. Thank you very much, to to invite me here to to bring and our reality. Okay. Just tell us a little bit about the history of the winery. Yeah. These three, it's quite simple because six years ago, we started from really simple farmers, a couple of sectors, and then during the age, we threw up, especially from the father of Giovanni that, what was his name? Rainso. Rainso, that is really historical and actually is still on the winery. So he did he did Rainzo start it after the second world war? Or was it a little bit later than that? When did Rainzo start? And then when did you I need to go. So Rienzo take the the winery around the nineteen, eighteen, nineteen seventy five. Okay. So it start to grow actors by actors to arrive on two thousand seven on under sixty hectares. Was that large for your part of Fenedito? Yeah, especially because we planted mostly prosaico and pinot grigio, but it's quiet, big company, by the way, but only in agriculture because we don't buy any kilos of grapes or or wine because we are totally agriculture away. So you're you're one hundred percent in state wine, regarding your own grapes. What are your main wine wines and how much per se code you make in terms of percentage? Oh, seventy percent. Seventy percent of prosecco, twenty percent is pinot grigio, and then a ten percent mix of white and red wine, mostly robozo and pinot noir. Okay. That's quite interesting. You got the two sort ace cards in Italian wine, pinot grigio, and prossecco. Yeah. Sure. Tell me a little bit about the terroir. So our terroir is mostly deep clay. Okay. No chokes, even because it's from two big rivers at Ave and, Livinson, and that is mostly characterized by deep clay. That's normally when we're parented all the vineyards mostly on fifteen years ago. We make a a lot of work to have a really terminated ground and do don't have too much rain, to don't have much, humidity on in the soil, yeah, on the soil, and to have a really balanced, so to have a really healthy vineyards, especially because ten years ago we start our process on version of organic, but we took us, two years ago as one of the biggest organic one in the North Ridley, totally certified organic, and, even the the winery is totally certified vegan. For us it's very important, Giovanni took the administration of all the winery five years ago on twenty thirteen. And from that side, we decided, to go on international market, start to bottle the wine because before we were not butler You're selling in bulk? Yeah. Mostly. Yeah. Sure. And then we start this process and go to the bottle, we'll raise our brand. And, thanks. God, today, that we are doing very well in twenty five different markets. And, we are recognizing as, really good value on the market of organic prosaic on the organic pine region. So Giovanni's reason for making sure all his wines were okay for vegans is that because he's a vegetarian? No. It's not for this reason. Is is he a vegetarian? No. He's not a vegetarian. No. It's just, reliever. It's just, it's everything, but it's not that because it's the reason. It's different. Vegetarian and vegan in the wine, meaning that you can't have some substance like albumin, cuisine, or some other stuff that is typical from industry. As a agriculture company, we never use this type of, sub okay, to add to the wine. And on this way, we decide to certify as vegan because we can do it. And even the market that we cast for Visa, so we want to show and certify that we are we don't use this type of substance. So so basically, you you make the wines vegan. And you thought, because we're making the meat. We wanted to let people know. We we're always on this way. Yeah. We just want to let the people know this. Yeah. Is that quite is that when you go to America, I know you spend a lot of time in America. It's a very important market for you. It's the vegan thing people care about that? No. Honestly, United States didn't care, don't care that much about vegan. Even though, and even in the countryside. The story of organic in United States is really why where? Why? Sorry. Because the market, on the last five, seven years on organic site for United States, especially in the wine, was not performed really well, especially because the USDA USDA organic certified has different rules from European. And normally, we bought sulfates, but it's really difficult to obtain in Europe, and normally to obtain wine like this, you have to posterize the wine. So and you obtain a wine that is not good on quality. Ten years ago, start to launch the organic USA certificate in United States and people associate organic with not good quality. Okay. Because many times was not good quality. So from that side, the performing of organic wine was not so well, but I just come from two days in Orlando for a a healthy organic, fair of food and wine. And I can say right now that it started to change the things. Okay? Because people start to understand that organic is different that is, especially if the wine from, you know, from, from Europe is mostly certified meat with European grapes, and they are start to recognize even with some shelf talkers, some neck talkers, that is something up plus. Okay. And so they are they can spend a little bit more about this. Absolutely. I mean, which demographic are you talking about? Are you talking about mal this famous millennials? Or are we talking about older consumers? No. Absolutely about millennials, especially because very well. But even prosaic of my my sector is mostly composed by millennials and the ladies. So, absolutely. So you're the biggest producer of organic prosecco then? No. I'm not the biggest organic producer, but we have, the biggest, extension of, own property as organic prosecco because there's, some guys that, produce more as a industry and produce more. But they buying in grapes. Yeah. They buy grapes of wine. Yeah. So you're the biggest estate growing per second procedure. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. It's, you know, we decide to keep it this way because we think it's not for mold because it's totally, I can say, it's not convenient to produce organic prosecco on the problems, but we have on disease on, this type of humidity, hail this year isn't really complicated to produce organic. Okay. Especially in prosaicco with our weather and our cleanmates and our soil, whatever. So it's not convenience because the market is not is not bother resign polarizing yet the value they had the add value for pro just for prosseco. Okay. For prosseco and bean arigida to organic. Okay? But that's surely going to change. I mean, you're absolutely I mean, I've heard a lot of people say that, obviously, bean arigeria, people just want bean arigeria, they just want prosseco. They don't really care if it's organic or not, but I'm sure, convinced that will change. What I find interesting about what the winery's done is the fact that you drained the soil. I mean, if you were gonna be organic on a very heavy soil, you didn't train. Well, I think you'd had real problems. The fact that the soil was drained must have made it easier for your winery to to go to the organic root. Yeah. Absolutely. It's not easy. It's not easy. It's really difficult. I can say even if we start top with Giovanni, it's so hard. And the father of Giovanni, when we start all the process of conversion to us, okay, guys. You are crazy. Totally one one time going this way, but we just said, okay, this is our way. This is our future. We want to take care. We don't want to use these demands. And the accretive gans chemicals. We don't use this. Okay? We don't we are researching every day to use less copper because we don't like to sell the copper. We are So coppers with downy military for this. Yeah. Absolutely. And we we're using, just don't use copper. We are using, a rock powder, be carbonate just to dry the grapes and to have, a better, better vineyards. But you have to understand very well, but many times the organic vineyards is not as much beautiful as the conventional one because you saying that they don't look as good? Yeah. They don't look as good. Absolutely. It's different. It's a different concept because normally the great difference from conventional and organic conventional is really it's like we can make a bear with, the humans. Okay? On conventional on-site, there's rain, there's cold. You go outside. Okay. If you get something, if you get sick, you cool with some medicines. Okay. Commercial, in conventional side of beers is the same. You have any disease, you cool with some medicine, but it's deserved ones, but, that's for drugs, at the critograms or other stuff. Okay. Another way in organic is if rain cold, you get a scarf, you get a heavier coat. Okay. And in the same way in organic vineyards, you have two cover and protect your vineyards and you have to do as much possible to protect and have less disease as possible. Okay. Yeah. Prevent rather than cure. Yeah. Prevent. Yeah. Absolutely. And not cure. This is the difference cause everything that you take inside the vineyards, penetrate inside the leaf, and go in your glass finally. That's it. Is your prosecco made in, let's say, the classic way where it's, looks like a white wine, but it has bubbles in it. Do you make like, a yeasty prosecco wine that's bottled with some yeast in it. Is that do you do that? Are you gonna think about doing that? Oh, no. No. No. Absolutely. We produce it. I think You do make one then. Yeah. We make two. Okay. We make also Rosay. Go on. Tell us about that going. I think we share thirty percent of the market. Total market because the lee that's common or cool form though or just the method of the the grandfather that made the prosecco is something that, is performing well. But as numbers of prosecco, we are just talking about two hundred fifty thousand bottles alternate world. So we are really good that we are producing stuff like more than fifty thousand bottles yearly, okay, of, a prosecco called fondo. CallFodo means, with, with the east of the bottom. Yeah. Sure. Absolutely. And from last year, we also launched a Rosay that no one producing this way, from a typical race that is called Trabozo, but, we have five six cetera. Sabbozo, yeah, really curtisside by really high acidity, even because the ripening is really long. Yeah. How pink is the color of the robe. Raboza called fonda. This was the big problem because the first year that we made it, we had too much contact with the with the skin. And, with the eastern side, it looks like brown. So was so bad. But was it drinkable? Did it taste good? The taste was so good. But, you know, even the eye need a good, a good part for everyone. So after one year of training and make this wine, we arrive at a good result. We have a really no maturation just the press, soft press of this type of grapes, and we have a really pale color that, with these, it looks like so good. And even because we use a really particular bottle that is, clear, is white. So it's, you can look inside what there is inside. And from this side, we take, even a small tag called shake it because we think that East is a part of the wine and we want to shake it before to serve the wine. Okay? But hang on. We shake it when when the bottle is sealed because if you start walking around a restaurant or at a party with a wedding and shake it at the top isn't on the bottle, you're gonna create a bit of a mess. Right? No. But by the way, it's really something different. You know, everyone wants to be a bartender, be a bartender with the wine. So it's just frizzy. It's not like a and I have two point five bars. So when you the the take the cork off, you don't have problem that the bubbles goes off. Okay. Okay. I'll take your word for it. Absolutely. No. But it's really no problem, we make a lot of tests, and we are even joking a lot on this. We also establish a really good website that is w w w dot the organic prosecco dot com. It's not a commercial site. We it's just our blog where we explain why drink organic prosecco is better than drink organic prosecco, by the way. And, we push a lot to the question about, the cold fondo method. You know, it's a really different wine because it's only ten point five alcohol. Okay. Really light, totally dry, but you know, very well, in Canada like United States, it's not that's easy to drink totally dry. But in fact, eighty percent of our market is United States of a type of wine, especially in New York or even Midwest in Minnesota, Florida performed really well. So what's happened on this site that we are trying to creating a to communicate very well that that is really integral low solfits is like a subtle wine. Okay. Many times we talk about what is the perfect meal to bear with wine. Okay. We don't think this. We like to drink the wine as social. It's just such a lot with friends. Yeah. Sure. And the question about and this the thing about, the surly, the call fundamental that we make that we call, come on, shake it. Okay. As I tell you, swift invented that. Yeah. How should I be? Oh, it's happened. You know, we just really chill. We take in the middle of the table with whatever you want, fish, meat, pizza, pasta, whatever you like. Is high density wine really try. Let's fresh up your math really well from everything. And ten point five for a five five barcode mini that you don't be drunk easily. So you can drink and drink and have a really good day bubbles that is really freezing. So it's really subtle one. Is not to find their perfect meal for that type of wine. That's a fun wine. It's not it's not wine that you should get too hung up about with food. It's just a brand new friends. Absolutely. Absolutely. With friends, but also with food, no, because it's not really easy to drink that type of wine just alone, like the, Rosie or pinot grrito not that style. It's totally totally high acidity. It's inside a little bit nervous, so it's different style. That's, but so when you are with your friends, some good foods on the table, even a picnic, so it's great. Absolutely. Do you think this col fondo style will catch on for prossecco? All these big it's a brand, isn't it, prossecco effectively? So all brands have to constantly re reinvent themselves. Is that one route you think that could become viable? Or is it just is it, I mean, it's obviously more expensive to make it with the yeast in the portal. So in the last two years, I know very well the market and I can tell you that even the big monopoles of, Scandinavian is looking at this style, really on the small volumes, but this starts to look. So I think that, two twenty five a small part of the market to identify and, have a good performer on the brand prosecco could be useful to have this. But many, many, many producer going on produce fist style only without the pollution prosecco because it's only allowed to be two point five bar maximum. But I think that, right, prosaic on this style could, help us to brand it more and more prosaic and just add the value. Absolutely. It's not easy. We think about prosecco, not far from five hundred million bottles. Think about organic, twelve, thirty million bottles total in the market. Think about the portfolio two hundred fifty thousand total in the market. But as you know, the prossegguis a young population. It's not much years that is out. It's in the last seven, eight years. Boom. Absolutely. The way in front of us is long, but I think that if we want to believe in stuff like this, we can do really, really well, even on prossegguis, COVID. Everyone around the world is saying, oh, at the end, in some years, we'll finish. I hope not. Yeah. I hope not as well. I just wanna say thanks to my guest today, Luca Dandrea. Thank you very much, ma'am. Of course, ma'am. It was the Giovanni corvetteso winery in the Veneta. Really interesting to hear about your got about your approach to organics. And shake it. Shake it out about your your views on the American market, shake my hand. Thank you very much. We haven't got a bottle to shake. I'm afraid, but it's a hackstick will do. And I hope to get you back on the show in the future to see how this, prosecco project develops. Absolutely. Thank you very much, Monty, for this interview. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.