Ep. 44 Monty Waldin interviews Ben Robson, Italian wine Importer at Bat & Bottle Wine Merchants | Italian Wine Personalities

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. My name is Monty Walden. This is the Italian wine podcast with me in the studio today. It's Ben Robertson of the Battle bottle wine company in Rockland in the United Kingdom. Welcome then. Thank you very much, Bonnie. Why the name batter bottle and why do you specialize in Italian wine? The name batter bottle is is slightly surreal. It comes through selling cricket bats and wine bottles, something which the Italian audience probably won't understand, but wine bottles is slightly easier yet. We used to sell both. Now we just specialize in wine bottles, pokeabouts, they've gone. Why why are you so passionate about Italian wine? And why don't you stop French wine or German wine or Spanish wine? Terrible mistake. I was sent by a monk in London to Bronx Grove to meet Missus excuse was an Italian lady from Udining who had married an English soldier in the war and she she told me that I should just sell Italian wine. So, you don't argue with older Italian ladies. I I did what I was told. So that was that. How was that? So when was that? That was back in Iowa eighty eight. Eighteen nine. It's back in the mister time, a long, long time ago. So it would have been some of your successes, which which styles of wine or grape varieties from Italy have been proved most successful for you. Well, over the years, I mean, in the early years, we were specializing in doing things no one had heard of. And we've seen a gradual move back now to the class six. So we're starting to see a huge rice in Cantrasco, for example, massive resurgence, and wines like Veradigio, even Pino Gricio, with a copter end is starting a proper price. It's not the cheap cheap stuff at the bottom. Has made a real resurgence. So we're starting to see real power through the through the middle of the Italian market. Even decent prossecco is selling, which which is a fantastic place. It isn't just the cheap stuff in the UK. When when you started, did you try very esoteric Italian? Did you stick to was that a mistake? I'm not a mistake. It made me a name, but it probably didn't make me any money. So what were these? What were the esoteric varieties or stars you were in? I mean, the crass So people like Bulfon, Chanori, Chividin, Coridenosas, it's a mad grape type. So no, not even the Italians have heard of. And then moving into things like Legráin and Skiava and up into the Arto, and down in Topulia, some of the stranger things from there, and lacrima, from the Marque and Vanetti near that. So some of the more esoteric things, and and some sold well, and some frankly were a disaster. But, they were enjoyable disasters, and that that's what's important, I think. What do you mean you drag the stock? Yeah. It was the stock. The stock all sold eventually. But, you know, things like spherical, a speckle, it was a big seller. I never would have believed that speckle would have been a big seller, but Emilittio Romagna, I think has a great check for some of those indigenous grapes, but the classics are coming back strongly. You know, I don't think we've given up on Lambras go yet in the UK. No. I think it's going back in capacity. It is. It's an alternative to Craseko. Well, I think I'll turn to prosecco's little cruel, but, it's certainly a it's a good red wine, which which is fantastic for food. Secco certainly can't in its name. Do your your clients buy foody then? Is that why they buy Italian wine or are they just looking for something curious or they know you or they like you or they like your black bottle stories? I hope they like the story. I hope they like me, but also most importantly, I hope they trust me. And I hope that they recognize that I'm gonna do my best for them and give them the best wine that I possibly can. Yes. I think they are foodies. Yes. I think they do like something different. And we do tend to get customers who buy on what they enjoy and not what they're told to enjoy. And that's very, very important. So we've got very single-minded individual customers, which both in restaurant trade and then in the private client business. So I'm very, very lucky. Just tell me about some of you mentioned some of those great varieties, tibet gula, and, lumpsville. The biggest shock recently. I mean, last year, one of our top selling red wines over the Christmas period was Cache. Mite de luchara. So, which I I couldn't believe at all from the king of tomatoes, Paolo Petrili, if you're listening Paolo, fantastic wine. Thank you. So what kind of wine is it? They're red, white. Red white, medium bodied, very, very elegant. And a cool climate from a hot climate area or cool climate starts from our climate area. So some of those sort of wines, so the English is starting to really get their heads around. The more interesting and pure wines. Of course, the obvious stuff from buddhia is still doing very well. The primitivo still do well. Squinson or just because we love the name and everyone else does it. But when you're selling these wines with these almost unpronounceable names, you just say to be able to listen, just trust me. It's good. Don't worry about pronouncing that. Yeah. And you've got to give them a product code or a bar code of ordering them over the internet is far safer than over the phone. So, yeah, we we are we are doing the people trust us, which is, it's the way you sell wine, I think, small small importer level. Do you have any Italian who come into your shop? Yes. Amazing. We also have French, and they are my favorite customers selling Italian mines French people is is is is just something that brings a huge smile to to the heart. And also it shows that the French can learn. And and yes, we do have Italians as well, and they they they, of course, enjoy it very much well, their Italians in the past have been more used to classic wines, so they can get annoyed by my warehouse when they don't see what they wish to see or what they think they'll recognize. What like you to my brunello or Canti? Wow. The big names, so you know in Italy there's still the cesare's and Massey's, all of these, the the the grand old names of Italian wine and not But all of them, but for the cesare. Yeah. And I I don't worry about them. They're they're they're fantastic wines, but we'll leave them to the importers who specialize in those So when you make a road trip to see, how do you feel? Do you kinda feel like you're letting your hair down? Sure joy. Sure joy. And this should be fantastic. Leaving get a couple of days skiing and on the way that works very well, maybe you're doing champagne a couple of days. This is this is Sorry to mention that. Did I, I probably said French or Tim. And just heading it down through the Alotto Pemonte through Pima, is fantastic. What better countries do business with? You know, the further you can get the better, but if you just scrape Pemonte, you haven't be handed too badly. So if you had to move to Italy, which region would you live in? Probably right now, it would it would be the Altor pi Monte, I think, maybe somewhere around Laisona or Bramatara up, I've gotten out of that area. So quite easy to get across down into Barolo, but also easy to get a little of white stuff up in the north. And also, I I love those high altitude nebbiolo, so you're getting from the villages, Laisona up across to Boca, fantastic wines, and Er de balocha, which I still think is going to be one of the great Italian white wines of the future. It's enormous potential. How did traditional Italian wine grows treat you? Do they think you're a little bit nuts? Or are they really appreciative of of the work that you're doing, and and the enthusiasm that you have? Worry about me at first. Your sanity. Yeah. You know, you're wonderful. But they they they they trust the will keep the business straight. But in at the end of the day, I don't know at the end of that terrible phrase that'll have to be cut out immediately. Yeah, they they do appreciate what we're trying to do. And once you understand what we're trying to do, we get a lot of support from our suppliers, and we're very, very lucky most of our suppliers of friends and were very fond of all of them. So how do you how do you see things progressing over the next, say, five years in terms of Italian wines? Obviously, we've got Brexit to build it, but in terms of, new new priorities that you might want to try or new regions you might want to explore. Right. And I I think I still think Alianneco has a great future. And as we spread down into Brazil Carter and have a look more carefully that some of the producers coming out from there and fascinating, I can see us doing a bit more work on Aetna. We'll be down on Aetna in a couple of weeks. We're doing a little funny enough. The Veneto seems to still be sharpening up this the indigenous grapes get a little bit more, press and I I think they deserve everything from your abosos through to luganas and everything and everything in between. So I think we're gonna see huge, huge growth in most areas. I'm praying for a growth. The number is good, but I'm, like, I don't I'm not that optimistic. And maybe other sparkling wines apart from Prosecco starting to get looking. So maybe the rise of Trent or Spomante's and and French check orders perhaps. I hope Cool. Ben Robson, fascinating to talk to you. You really are a one man band. You work incredibly hard. You're such a great supporter of Italian wine, and there's native great varieties of that poplins in, rutland in the UK. It's been a pleasure to talk to you if we go on a road trip sometime. I'll do the driving, though. Thank you. I I you're bound to be better. Nice. Yeah. It's true. Thank you. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.