Ep. 74 Monty Waldin interviews Fabio Maccari (Mezzacorona) | Italian Wine Coops

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. This podcast has been recorded during Vivite an event organized by the the alliance of Italian Corps. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast. My name is Monty Walden. Today's guest is Fabio Makari. Babio works for the Mitsa Corona cooperative in Trentino in Northern Italy. That's right. Well, no face. It's my pleasure. You got a big spot on your face. Tell me why. What did it tell me about Mitsa Corona? And it's a coordinated tiny little cooperative with two members. Fifteen kilos of grapes and four bottles of water a year. Yes? No. That the property after us. We are a bit bigger than that. Go on. Help me. It's bigger and older. Our copyright was founded in nineteen oh four by twenty, wine producers, in the lit tiny village of meza Corona. When meza Corona was not even in Italy was, in Austria that time. Only, fourteen years later, they become Italy. And, nowadays, Mesa Corona accounts for one third of the production of grape in Trentino is composed by two, one thousand six hundred, members, two thousand eight hundred hectares of vineyards we export eighty percent of our production, twenty percent is devoted to the, domestic market. We are approximately ranking number five, in, within the, producer of wine in, in Italy. We are a first level comparative, meaning that the property of our cooperative is this sixteen hundred, great growers directly. Okay. Okay. Now So what are your main, your main your main varieties? Our comparative is very much concentrated on the local, grapes. We basically produce Trintina varieties specifically Teraldigo from the Rotaline or Rotariana plain. Is that a red or a white grape? It's a red grape. We are one of the iconic producer of pinot grisier in the word that we export everywhere. We produce sparkling wine, classic method, Trento doc Rotery. So meza Corona is still wine from Trintino. Rotery is, sparkling method of classical wine from Trintino. So the great variety for this for the method of classical is what? The classic chardonnay, and eventually pinot noir in case of of Rose. Just like a champagne, for example. And what are the what is the main market for the sparkling wine, for the traditional method sparkling wine? Normally, for sparkling wine would be Italy, but actually we are the biggest supporter of that kind of wine of sparkling wine abroad. We are the biggest quarter. We actually export more than we sell in Italy, of, or retired. We also own two very large vineyards with, winery in, Sicily. So right opposite of, of Italy. It's about eight hundred miles away. Is it? Yeah. Yeah. Very it's very south. And a boat ride. Yeah. And, and there we produce also, we have local production, for example, of Prilo, for example, of railroad, narrow the envelope, but also of international variety. So why did you make this link with Sicily. Was it was it hard to sell lord Natalia? No. No. It it it was just, we felt at that time this project, goes back to the beginning of the year two thousand. And, we felt the the need of to balance the production of the Trentino that is mostly whites with production so that is, mostly. Right. So what's interesting about your area is kind of a high altitude, but it is dry and warm. People don't realize as to how warm your area is. Actually, the the wines that we produce in Trentino, and in Sicily, they are very different because while Trentino is, a peculiar of an in alpine region with a very high excursion, high level of minerality, of acidity, etcetera, in the south. The wines are typical of, warmer hot climates like, like Sicily, island close to the sea. So very different wines, one single producer in case of Trentianism. It's a coronavirus steel wine, rotary, sparkling wine, in case of Sicily, it's still wine is Phil Doranche. I mean, your vineyard in Trentino are often on quite difficult side, Steve, and sauce. So what is the difference in production roughly between the north of Italy? Trentino and say in Sicily? Now, consider that in Centino, you need roughly six hundred, seven hundred hours, directors in Hill, and around four hundred, five hundred hours, correctors on the planes. And in Sicily, it's two hundred just to give you the the difference in terms of, use of manpower. But you're getting lower yields in Sicily, though, I guess. We have lower yield, but not very different from deals that we can get from Intrentino. Okay. What about sustainability? You make a big play, about sustainability, particularly in the entrentino. What does that mean? Is it just greenwash, or is it, not Bri Wush. No. I have to tell you one thing. We are really sustainable in the art. Our company is, again, is a first level property. So attention to our growers is, I would say, first place. So just to tell you one one story in, nineteen eighty. So almost forty years ago, we began the first test of, what we call sexual confusion, which is a sustainable, technique to reduce the population of, bad insects, bad for, the vineyards, without using pesticides, pesticides, if Exactly. So this is this is for It's where the pheromones. So, basically, we saturate with, legal matters of, pheromones, the atmosphere with the same aroma that emits the female of the insect to attract the the male. So the male out of sexually confused. Yeah. That very You're not localized the the female, and they do not reproduce. Men men have always been stupid. Yeah. Yeah. This is the case of horseshoe. We think of one thing. I can tell you one thing. For sure for them because we don't have to kill them. Where is is enough to confuse them. So we began this, in on seven actors in the village of Mexico. Now, you can understand that the vineyards, they are often are within the villages in in Trintino. And, today, the entire surface of Trintino used this kind of, technique to reduce this kind of pain. So next, and also the two the two companies, the two vineyards that we have in, in Sicily are all covered by is actually confused. Did you have any organic growers, though, in in Sicily or in Sicily. And is it growing? We, in Sicily, we are in conversion. You know, you need three years of conversion. We are in the year two. But for how much of your, about five percent of the vineyard, ten percent or everything or One hundred percent. Really? The two. One thousand hectares. And in Mexico. In Mexico, we have different approach because the property in Mesa Corona, in Trentina are very small. You consider that our average member has just one point five actor of property, and normally not even in one piece. Right. So it's difficult to to go to organic production directly. So we are doing, you know, a very nice program with the sourcing of drinking wines, and the entire Trankina has been classified with a certification from the ministry of agriculture that is called SQMPI. That is a sustainability certification. There is a process in which the superior Institute for Health, which is the research center of the Ministry of Health identifies the products that are potentially dangerous for human health, and we eliminate this, this products. Now we all have this, certification. You see, we have this little B on our labels from this year, and this is we we produce this, leaflet in three language. One is English eventually. I will, deliver you the one in English because this is the first year that we go out with this kind of certification. Also, last year, we came out with our sustainability balance sheet. Okay. It's a way a way of grading growers on what they're doing or what what they're not doing? Well, this, this is stability. So the ability balance is, follows a standard that is international GRI is followed by twenty eight thousand companies. Initially, we're the first wine producer that makes this kind of, balance sheet. And, you can't find it collected in, in this book, all the activities that we do on on sustainability. Okay. Last question. Your main markets. Our main markets are United States, Italy, Germany, and then we expert in the system of sixty countries. Very important in growing our China and Russia, for example. And you're most important for rutals or or types of wine? Let's say, Dan, our two most iconic varietals are Teroldago and Pinoguchi for the international markets. It's interesting to understand that we are, delivering our brains and our, our territory, our vineyards, our system ability approach. A lot via social media, we're very attentive to millennials in the way they communicate. We produce a lot of the little films to communicate all this kind of, of activities that we do. I'm not a millennial, by the way. I'm, like, a a prehistoric dinosaur. How old are you? Six hundred and seventy two. No. I'm how old am I fifty? Sixty two. Fifty fifty. You are in so you are a baby boomer? No. I an exchange. You're in an exchange. Am I? Yeah. Well, that's good to know. I didn't know that before. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And what? I I I get a next next generation. Oh, when I see my section. Oh, x generation. X gen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a baby boomer, unfortunately. When were you born? I am, fifty nine. Oh, you are a baby boomer. Well, that'd be a bit. Yeah. I'd ought to be a baby bit we start with the old people. I'm happy. I'm happy being an ex wife. But you know that, United States now, since last year, the millennials, people born from ninety to eight men, from eighty to ninety five, are one fourth of the population. And, us, the baby boomers that were the, the biggest part of the population are now full number two. So it's important to, in the in light of co correctly communication to the future consumer in lennials are now in the thirties. Lake millennials are in the thirties. So they are setting up families, child, child, children, etcetera, etcetera. It's correct to, communicate to them in, a inappropriate way. So using their channel communication is important, for example, to put together online communication and offline communication. We have forty five thousand visit tours every year in our or about wineries. So we try to explain ourselves, explain our, our territory online, but then show to our consumer directly in the winery. Well, our audience, Fabia Magari, we got we got three listeners. We got two baby boomers and one manelli also. They're gonna be thrilled listening to to what you've had to say to us about the Mexico and cooperative in Northern Italy. Great to meet you, and I hopefully see you up in, Trentino at some stage. Yeah. I am very pleased. Thank you very much and come to visit us. I will. Thanks. Although you are not the millennial. No. No. I'm alright. You're welcome. You let me in there. Okay. Absolutely. Thanks a lot. You're welcome. This episode has been brought to you by Venitale twenty eighteen, taking place in verona from April fifteenth to eighteenth. Vin Italy is the wine exhibition that helps you discover and get to know Italian wine and features over four thousand two hundred wineries. Follow Italian white podcast on Facebook and Instagram.