Ep. 697 Luca Casolari Interviews Guglielmo Bertani | Ambassador's Corner On Clubhouse

Welcome to this special Italian Wine Podcast broadcast. This episode is a recording of Clubhouse, the popular drop in audio chat. This Clubhouse session was taken from the Wine Business Club and Italian Wine Club. Listen in as wine lovers and experts alike engage in some great conversation on a range of topics in wine. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through italianwinepodcast.com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production and publication costs, and remember to subscribe and rate our show wherever you tune in. This episode is proudly sponsored by Vivino, the world's largest online wine marketplace. The Vivino app makes it easy to choose wine. Enjoy expert team support, door to door delivery, and honest wine reviews to help you choose the perfect wine for every occasion. Vivino. Download the app on Apple or Android and discover an easier way to choose wine. Well, good evening. Hi there, everybody. This is Clubhouse Ambassador's Corner on the Italian Wine Club, and my name is Joy Livingston, and I'm standing in for David Kim tonight. She is presently in Sardinia. She just flew there, so she's probably still at the airport, I'm imagining. But, for I believe it's the Gitescolastica. And so she's gonna be visiting lots of, wineries and generally doing all wine things related. So, Laika and I, Laika, the clubhouse manager. Laika, are you there? Yes. I'm here. Hi, Laika. So we're gonna be, we're gonna be the moderators this evening. So the Ambassador's corner is essentially something that was started to allow ambassadors and wine lovers the opportunity to interview their favorite producers. There's just so many in Italy, and so we're gonna we're gonna get started. This is going to probably be recorded unless there's any snafus, and then it will go on the Italian Wine Podcast in the next few weeks. This is the sixteenth episode of this program, so this is, definitely been very, very popular. I think what I'm gonna do is introduce our, guest moderator or our guest host for this evening, Luca Cazolari, who, will be interviewing Guillermo Bertani. And he's going to introduce Guillermo. But, let me just, are you there, Luca? Yes. I am, Joy. Hi. Hi. I'm just gonna give a quick introduction to you. Okay. So you are one of the most recent Italian wine ambassadors for Vinitali International Academy, and you qualified in the latest Baron audition in June 2021. And, you're a WSET diploma holder and wine educator since 2018, and you worked as a wine buyer and educator in Dubai from 2015 to 2019. And which is really cool, by the way. I've always wanted to go to Dubai, P S. And you're currently working for Moet Hennessy in Spain. Can I ask where in Spain? Yes. You can. I'm I'm actually I'm actually working in Ibiza. I'm currently here in Ibiza, and I I spend the whole year over year. So that's that's my area. I'm I'm a lucky one. Yeah. Isn't it is it true that Ibiza is, like, the party central center of of Europe? Yeah. I would I would agree. I would agree with that. Yes. Definitely. Definitely. It's, it's a great place to be. You are, most welcome to come visit one anytime you want. So Oh, gosh. Don't say that to me because I'll be on the next flight. The invitation the invitation the invitation is out there for you, Lika. Thank thank you. And, Guglielmo as well. You're all invited, guys. Yeah. Take, take care of that invitation. Don't say it twice. Alright. So I have a couple of questions to ask before you get started. So, why did you choose to be your producer of choice? So it's, it's a little bit of an, you know, emotional, situation. I I've been I've been grow I grew up. I'm, I'm originally from the outside of, countryside of Modena, from the, let's say, small village. And, it's about one hour driving from, the DOCG of, Amarone Da Valpolicella. I'm I've been outside of Italy for the past twelve year, really. And, at any time I have an opportunity to go back home. I used to go with my brother up to, to Garda Lake, you know, Sirmione, Pesquera, Desenzano. And I always pay a visit to to Negrar to visit some winery, having some tasting. And my brother and I fell in love with the with the with the wine from Bertani, with the Amaronella Balcolicela, particularly, the Santa Maria. And it became a little bit of, of, let's say, a ritual, no, to go visit, have some, buy some bottle of Santa Maria and, and have it with the family. So when I was asked to choose a a producer, it kind it was it was kinda natural, natural reaction, you know, instinctive reaction to to pick Bertani. Awesome. Okay. Well, that I I would say it's a great choice too because I think, we were recently at Bertani, for an event they held, and it's it's an absolutely stunning place to visit. And Yeah. I I hope I hope that this interview is gonna get me an invitation to the to the to the state itself. No? Of course. Of course, it will. Always welcome. Okay. So my next question is what are the learning objectives that we should expect from this interview? Yeah. I mean, I think, of course, this, this podcast is, is based on, education. So, I think is, I think having Guillermo is a great opportunity to get to know a little bit more about, the history of Amarone. I mean, there is there is some very interesting story with Bertani that we're gonna discuss later. They're all played by traditional, Veronese grape varietal, and, of course, method of production and some more information about, you know, the technique of ripasso and, wine wine making, wine making, technique that are popular in that area. I think it's a it's a good opportunity. Cool. Okay. And, you've probably already sort of touched on this, but how did you first discover the wines of Tenutas? How did you first did you did you, like when was the first time you you sipped one of their wines, or did you, like, stumble across it? Yeah. I I think it was, I mean, one of my one of my trip in, in Veneto, one of my wine trip to Veneto with my brother, we've been, we were kind of, you know, browsing around, and tasting some wine. We fell in love with the with the with the wine from, Guillermo. And, yeah, we we bought a batch. I think, I don't I don't wanna say a mistake, but I think it was a a vintage 2007 of, Toyota Santa Maria Arone Classico. And, my brother is not a fast drinker, so we still have it to the day to this day. And every time I go to Italy, we we open a bottle. So it's it's it became a tradition. I started, I think in 2000 and, thirteen, a few years ago already, and, we keep it going. That sounds awesome. Well, Luca, I am going to, give the floor to you now and let you do your thing with Guglielmo. And, go ahead, guys. I'm gonna get back to you after so that we can maybe open up for questions if we have time. So go ahead. So I think, first first thing first, Guillermo deserve a proper introduction. So, Guillermo Bertani is the co owner of, Tenuta Santa Maria, the Gaetano Bertani, together with his, brother, Giovanni, that I believe was a guest also at the ambassador corner at some stage. He represent the sixth generation of Bertani family, and, he has joined the the business full time, quite recently at the beginning of 2021. He previously was was in Hong Kong on a different type of business as a vice president of for the Asian market of Timex Group. Mostly looking after luxury watch brand. So is it this is a passion that we have in common, Guillermo. We'll talk about that another time. It is it is, it is also interesting because it was looking after China, USA, and Hong Kong. There might be some question about, you know, export market for Amarone. Today, again, is the sixth generation. Guglielmo and the Bertani family continue the tradition. And I'm very excited to have Amir, and I'm very much looking forward to have some, to start the the interview. Are you ready, Guilherme? I'm I'm ready. I'm honored. I'm, I'm I'm I'm very happy that, you know, you get to know us, and and appreciate us so well. So, I mean, I'm, I I try to