Ep. 134 Monty Waldin interviews Donatella Adanti (Cantine Adanti) | Discover Italian Regions: Umbria

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast in the Mont awarded My guest today is Donatella Adanti. Donatella's family winery is called Cantine Adanti, and the winery is in the multiple region of Umbria. Which town are you in in the Montefalco zone? We are in, Bevan. Yeah. Which is one of the best communes, isn't it? You're gonna be too modest to say that, but it's true. I don't know. It's a it's a nice town indeed. Yes, like, Montefalco and the other here around. Okay. So tell me tell me a little bit about the history of the of the Adanti family. How did they get into wine? Is it a young winery or an old winery? No. It isn't young. It is one of the historical sellers here in in the area. So we began my father began in the early seventies. What was your dad called? My father, Dominique Quadante, and he was very passionate of wines and he wanted to to make a winery here in the area where there wasn't any winery, any modern winery at the time. Of course, wine has always been made here by by farmers, but we didn't have any any winery here around. So there is one, but it's it's a there was only, the the the the current Scaccia Guali was an historical winery here owned by an aristocratic family of Rome. So, let's say my father had this idea to make a winery with modern technology. The aim was that of making good wines such as the French ones because at that time, inology in Italy was, was at the beginning. So for us, the aim was was to make good wines as French ones. So the aim was for the French ones. And, looking at the French, styling? Yes. The the French, way and the French technique to make wines because as you know, inology, Italy modern in ology, starts from the eighties. It's not a very old analogy. The precious and good wines in Italy, all starts, start from from eighties. So before, a lot of wine was made, but, bark wine, and mass wine, and my father wanted to make this, and and it was something like an experiment. Also, the idea we now is very modern to to rediscover the old varieties of the old vines such as Argentina was one of his aim. If you look at the first of wineries in the first Italian wine guides from the seventies and the early or the eighties. Maybe we are the only existing winery in the still existing winery in the area. There were other two free wineries which do not exist anymore, making Argentina for the first time, in a driveway, but, we are the only existing and then and Scatter Gabali was owned by other people. So you're really surviving Beverly. And, they they didn't make at that time. They didn't make wines with the PambooFetti family. Davey came to a new life. There was the the cantina so charlie Follino. To the Follino cooperative. At the time, they were called, was the social and seller of Folineux trying to make a a dry second Tina and then there were us and another winery which doesn't exist anymore and and then, after some years also there, but, we were among the the first ones to experiment a dry way of making Argentina. So when you say a dry, obviously, obviously, Sacramento a red grape variety. So was it made slightly sweet in the in the area? Yes. Till now, if if you talk to to old people, old farmers, and you and you say, Argentina, they mean a sweet wine. So, Argentina was only made in a in a sweet way, it was the only way that people knew to make a vinification, to make wine from this very, very, very strange grape, very technique grape. So it was the best way to make this sweet wine, a very precious wine because you had a very low quantity from, from a big quantity of grapes. Yeah. Very rare. This was, the wine from the feast, the the parties, so a very precious wine. But the way to try to make it in a dry way in order to to drink it, at lunch dinner starts from the seventies. So before, I didn't I don't know. I don't have any knowledge of, other experiment in in this sense. So your father your father started making it in a driveway. Yes. Yes. So, but what was his inspiration? Are you saying France? Yes. At the time we may, we still make, for instance, a red wine from, a blend of, merlotte, because we had also Barbara here in the area. It was very widespread. Now you can't find it anymore so much, but they were. And so this was a strange, bordeaux style. And then, we made the a lot of white wine because in the seventies, the majority of the of the wine made in Italy was white. So the fashion was for white wines. And, more than half production was of white wine so crechetto, which is our native white grape in in my area, in the vania area, and, mainly from crechetto, and then I also some chardonnay, we planted, and the other wines, the other red ones were Sagrentino, sweet, and dry. So this was the the first production of the winery. With the time, we tried to to implement, the way of making the wines, not only the Sanarantino, also with the help of, a very close friend of my father. He died recently died. Yes. Alvaro Palini. He was, a very close friend of my father who lived in France and he was a tailor and not an analogist. But, he was very passionate as my father of wines. And, so my father, he had to come back to Italy for some reasons, and my father asked him, well, would you like to try to make wines. Let's, start to study how to make a good wine. And Alparo began to study by himself. And, he was something like a pioneer in this sense in this area. So what was his methodology then? Obviously, in the seventies, some of the red wines had a bit of a reputation for being a little bit tough, a little bit hard. What was what was his plan to tame the Sabarantino, which can be quite tenic? He perimented, of course, but, first of all, the the help of the technology. So my father bought, refrigerated, banks, and all these things that a time, we're not so banal as now. And, also the kind of, barrels, the kind of wood, and the way to make the wine, was, became a more softer soft the way to manage the grapes and the wines in a very delicate way, soft way and, waiting long time, both for the macerations, both for the aging of the minds. So all these kind of things that now are banal and a common and very very clear for everybody at the time. They're not so clear. So people used to make wine in a part from, some regions of Italy, some exceptions in, and in task, very, very optionally. Okay. So how do you feel? Obviously, being a sort of pioneering winery in the Montefalco region, there's been a a huge influx recently of new vineyards wineries, people coming from outside and investing in the region. Has that been a good thing or a bad thing? It has been a good thing. I IFING because we, for the whole area, it is a way to have more visibility and, to be known, well known in this sense, it's a good thing. In another sense, well, maybe this has, has taken, that the area some years ago to a boom of investments and so on, which were not, well planned. Now the area is still, a little area in comparison with other wine regions in Italy, but maybe too many beanieres have been planted in some years, not anymore because now, no. But, ten years ago, there was not a well planned, development. So some vineyards may be being planted on in areas where it would be hard for Argentina to ripen. Not for the ripeness of the San Latino, but because many peoples came here to invest to plant without knowing how was the market, how was Sagrentino as well, as you say. But, it takes time to know Sacramento, to know the area, like anywhere. Many people thought to become rich in a very sad than way, but, it isn't like that. It isn't so, so fast the process. So I think, now, now it's, more equilibrated. Yes. So in terms of sales? How does that work? Do you sell wine directly from the winery, or do you have international markets? We have, international market for, thirty percent, more or less. And then the the majority of the of the sales are in the region and in Italy. So in the region, how do you sell wine directly from the winery? Yes. Tourists come? Tourists, yes. Tourists, came more than, than in current times. Tourism in inumbria needs to be developed a lot. And also with the earthquake, we had, a drop. Yes. A drop of the tourism. So in the last two years, I see that, we should do more efforts to let people come here and and, appreciate the area. How much do you sell from the winery door directly? Directly. Let's say a ten percent more or less. That's quite small. Yes. And your main markets abroad in export markets are? It's, like, like, for everybody in Italy. It's, you, the US market. Course. It's, the the the most important. So when you go to the United States with your Sacramento, is the American market focused on drinking Sacramento on its own or drinking Sacramento with food, say, classically like a steak? Both. Many people in strangely, Sanrentino is, is becoming well known in the passionate area of the wine lovers in US. So many people already know not so well, but know this name and, at least once they tasted, Argentina. And, sometimes, they prefer to drink it without anything just to appreciate. Or yes or otherwise with a steak, with a but, they the American market is is is a very nice market for us because people are very curious and open minded in this in this sense. So Of course, I always tell them, this wine would need, red frosted meat, but if they like to, to, to drink it with wild fish, no problem. No problem. Yeah. So that's quite that's all interesting about America. A little vignette that you paint that, you know, when we think about the UK market, we're quite can be very conservative. You know, we go, oh, this we drink bordeaux with this kind of food. We drink Yeah. You mean. Champagne in a certain way. And we can be a little bit stuck in in our way of thinking. So it's quite interesting that you say that in America they're much more open minded. In this sense, yes. Yeah. No. It's it's also, I think, a question of market. So in, in England, to sell, wines, like, Argentina is difficult because because of the of the taxes, so it's a it has a very, very high. I do sell in UK, well, I have an importer who sells well my wine, but he mainly sells, Montefalos, which is, the little brother of Argentina, and it's easier to be sold because, the price is, it's easy. Yeah. So you make a Sacramento, and you make, multifalco Rosa. What are the differences between the two blends? Your Sacramento, is that a hundred percent Sacramento? Yes, of course. Always if you say Sanrentino, it means hundred percent. And the amount, Monteval Corosso. Monteval Corosso, by law, you have, you can put, if I'm not wrong, it's, no, it's, from the sixty to we put the seventy percent of sangiovese, and then fifteen percent of San Antonio. Now it has been increased to the twenty percent by the new lows. But of sangiovese, I think the minimum is sixty percent, but still, because they change it to something. But, we put seventy percent San Jose and I care a lot of of San Jose because I I like very much San Jose. I think it's, the real, Italian vineyard, so it is the most representative, buying, in in Italy. So it's our character, generally in the center of Italy. And, so we take care a lot of, of, of, our sangiovese, and I, I like this. And, we put seventy percent, fifteen, Sacramento, and then some other, the the the greats that we have. So, Mario Cabier. In the future, where do you see Sacramento going? Do you think the boom will come to an end? Think there are difficult times ahead or are you optimistic? Moderately optimistic in the sense that, it is a wine which needs, to be told. And sold, isn't it? Yes. Yes. But I see that, the interest is increasing. And, the problem, you know, it's not what I think. It's the market. So I don't know what will happen in, in five years, in the financial another world. We cannot do anything with that. Okay. I just wanna say thanks very much to Donna Deladante from Cantina Dante in the Montefalco region of Uber. It's been great to talk to you. Very enthusiastic. And, your family history is, obviously a very special thing for you. That, you're really one of the pioneers of Argentina. Thank you. Great to have you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much to you. Bye. Bye bye. Follow Italian White Podcast on Facebook and Instagram.