Ep. 131 Monty Waldin interviews Gelasio Gaetani d'Aragona | Discover Italian Regions: Tuscany / Toscana

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. Is the Italian wine podcast. My name is Montewood. My guest today is Jalazio Gaitani Dara Gona. Welcome. Good morning, how are you? I'm pretty good. You're looking pretty relaxed? Yeah. I'm fine. As usual. Just right now, to verona. Actually from England that come your Well, you're lucky to have escaped. Well done. Yeah. Yeah. So, tell me about, your your career, what you do, you're closely associated with Tuscany, you know, all the wineries. Everybody in Tuscany knows. You haven't yet met anybody involved one who doesn't know of you. What do you do? And and how do you do it? Hey, at this point of my life, I would say when I go around in the wine world, like today in is the first day of in Italy, at the end is, I'm still curious to see what's going on in this world. As, my life began as a wine producer, I, when I was very young, I was, in Montalcino, my family was making Bruno in Montalcino, my father, then I followed his, for quite a few years. So when did you when did you start, or when did he start with Bruno? It was, the first vintage was the nineties, well, the nineteen seventeen, which for Bruno de Montacino, is like to say the historical first period because before that, I mean, the denomination was in nineteen sixty six. So, and then, So they're only about twenty producers, then weren't they? Yeah. Twenty, beyond DeSanti was, let's say, the inventor of them, the the way of making Bruno law. And then we were, I think, ten producer, Arjano il Pajolmura, that then became, Villa Bounfi, and Lizzini, and the lady, and I think she must be, I mean, I hope she's still alive, but she was quite old at the time. So it was, let's say, the historical time of Brunelo. So many things has happened in the Bruno area. And at that time, Bruno was not like it was now, which now to speak about Brunelo is a to of Montecino is as to sticker about Bordeaux, the greatest area in one area in the world. I would say with Bulgaria, now, Bolgari and Montecino are the, everybody wants, I mean, the great investor also would love to to get vineyards and the wineries, there and, In Bilberry is very much seen as an international region in the sense that it has both local grape varieties, particularly Sanjuvezi, plus the Bordeaux influence and also Sierra as well, whereas obviously Bruno is a hundred percent Sanjuvezi. How is tension? How do you see that tension developing in the future? And how is your story? I don't think it's a it's a tension. Actually, the, let's say, the the bordeaux style Tus and wine, were very important to create let's say, the new legend of Italian wine because, I mean, SASicaa in Bulgaria was, let's say the first bottle style wine ever produced in top askhanie and the story is so fascinating that because of, that SASicaa case, for example, a parentinari thought, but why? Let's try to put some cabernet sauvignon also in my own wines So after Sashukarya, you had us, Salaya Tignanello, and, this, let's say, the bordeaux emulation brought to the renaissance of, Artosk and, wines with you know, America get crazy for, Robert Parker get crazy for, he was, he's, I mean, Bordeaux is still the the benchmark of. Now, it's, let's say it's a moment where all the new generation of Italian, producer are going back to the traditional varietal in order to find something, that nobody other has And so, I mean, it's Nobody can copy. Yeah. Yeah. And so now, because it, Italy became now it's quite famous all over the world. So, now we are it's a new, comparing to the time I was in my twenty. I mean, it's a new era, and probably another new era will be when, when China and the old yazatic will be the real buyer also of Italian wine. Do you think the old days were more fun, like when you were kids growing up in down with Bruno was a world famous wine. It was a deserted area, wasn't it? No. I think the what is very fun for everybody is when you are, young. So there is an enthusiasm that, in every generation, you represent the new. And then when you get older, everybody becomes a little more, and so they say boring things, but I think it's very important to listen, the new generation because they they are a mix of being wise because they listen to what the father said. They are respectful to what the the parents and the generation previous did, but then they have this, engine, which is the youth that that can be transforming something revolutionary, you know, then wine as you know, it's also a situation of coincidence, and, stories then mix together. So the, the, also, you know, everybody speaks about marketing strategy and, what to invent. But in the reality, all the greatest wine in the world, like the Italian, a famous wine are all, originated by accident I'll, chances. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, it it was just because, the old Marcus in Chiza was in love, bordeaux wines. And so he tried to plant some bordeaux grapes in, in his, I mean, land and then, so, you know, wine is you learn everything. I still have I learn a lot every day, and then I try to make, also some business out of this because, somebody believed that I am, a guru in wine, but in reality, I'm a good wine drink. Okay, Janazi. I think we'll leave it there. I mean, do you think, do you think, montagiano has a zone that you love and you know well, and you've had such experience with it. Do you think, do you think it's in a really good position at the moment? I I personally do. I think there's been so many changes and, obviously, there's always room for improvement, but as a region, it's made, I think, huge strides, huge progress in the last eight, nine years. Yes. Now, we are really entering in the in, let's say, in the golden age of brunelon because now, also the every single wine producer is much more conscious of how the wine should is much more knowledgeable about the international tasting of markets. So I think Bernelo, it's, and also the investor that the new wine producer are much more passionate about wine. It's not only the you know, the banks or the insurance company that used to buy in Montalcino in the in the eighties, in the nineties, now all the new acquisition are made by professional wine people, like the case in in a way, I would say the Beyond DeSantis acquisition by French. I think it's, it's a positive, thing because the French, you know, it's a big company, luxury brands. Aspirational, isn't it? So everything is, thanks to the work of so many people. I would say now, at least a three generation of, four if you consider the old, the old, the old, I mean, countrymen peasants. Yeah. I I think to people like Pacenti Barichin. Now, they must be dead, I think. Yeah. Nelo and recently passed. Yeah. Nelo passed away. But, but I think there is still, that is still, comparing to Bordeaux, for example, Montecino still has to develop some maybe some structure within the consorts or some, anyway. Step by step. Step by step. We're in Italy. Yeah. We are in Italy. Plus, we began thirty years ago to make good wines. If we go back, and we compare to the French, they they started three hundred years ago. So we just have to wait a little bit. Jalazio, it's great to see you. You are the best dressed man in Italy. Thank you. You know, you're you know, I don't know, I'm not. No. I, you know, you just, I mean, if if you didn't have any kind of career in Ryan, I'd sign you up as a top model, you know, you just have a, presence about you and, very elegant. And, you can combine sophistication with this kind of devil mic, you know, almost like you've washed up from a desert island, right? And then you worked at August, who's this hobo that's washed up on a desert island? And then you start talking Latin and Birch and all the rest of it. So your amount of contradictions were a great conversationalist. Thank you very much, man. So nice to bump into you today, and thanks for coming on the podcast. Thank you. I hope we see you again during the Vin Italy. Thanks, Chilaza. Thank you. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.