Ep. 54 Monty Waldin interviews Gerd Stepp (winemaker) | Italian Wine Personalities

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast with me, Monteu Walden. Today's guest is Gert Steppp. Gert grew up on his family's vineyard in his native Germany's FELTS region. The FELTS is to Germany what AlSas to France, by the way, the two regions lying either side of an historically hotly contested border. Having finished his studies, Gert then became a flying winemaker. He worked in both Zimbabwe and South Africa before returning to Europe. So how did Gert end up making wine in Italy? Hello. Good morning. How are you? Very well. Thanks. I listen. How did you end up getting some with Italian wine. I did some work following the training in Germany and working for my parents, Vinejets, and so on. I then went to go a little bit international and worked in New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe. Then finally, I decided to come back a little bit closer to home, to Italy, and startle work in Tuscany. So where was your first job in Tuscany? Which region? First job in Tuscany was in Macatala, Baltepesa, and a small organic wine producer called Fattori Espoli, which is sort of located around about just nearby Florence just a little bit south of Florence. So what was the lifestyle like? Were you kind of very rigid, Joan? Are you a bit of a fly by night or Not fly by night, but because coming in and first observing a little bit, learning the language, of course, I spoke very limited Italians or to Tuscany, to, sorry, to Florence, and, picked up the language there in, in the school, and also, the winemaking was, of course, slightly different styles and everything. So I into learning a little bit with some local winemakers, some consultants, how to, benefit a central visa, which is slightly different to other regions. So when you say, did you have a sort of a more modern outlook? Is that what you're saying in terms of maybe more traditional winterizing testing? Thank you. At that's stage, I was probably, a little bit more modern. I experienced winemaker New Zealand, but also in in South Africa parts of Germany, of course, are a little different because it's more white wine focused. But, there was a more modern outlook in the winemaking. But also in the market, I worked in UK in London before at a retailer called Open, so I had a pretty good experience and knowledge of what maybe the customers and the market wanted. And, with that together, then I, started in Discuing in Megatown. So roughly what period of time was that? When was that? Well, it's almost twenty years ago. It was I started in ninety four. Okay. So when you talked about the sort of UK market were at that period in time, was was the UK market looking for very fruit driven Italian wines? It was pretty crazy at the time. As I said, I worked at Hopkins, quite a well known retailer at the time, wine shop for, putting the new world on the map in many ways, and new styles of wine. So that Australian, New Zealand, they're gonna wine right through to you. Of frontier, modern wines as as they were called at the time. And, yeah, those were sort of the, that the big time and the changing times. But today would be more revolutionary than evolutionary. There was a big step in the nineties happening here in the UK. So when you're in Tuscant that time, did you think it was old fashioned, or do you think that some of the traditions there were very valid? And it was just a question of honing those to make wines that were I think because I I suddenly switched back to a wine maker and I had a lot of conversations with the buyers again, and people are more engaged in the market and with consumers. They were always telling to me that You you know how to make wine. You know how to make modern style wine, but we don't find it here. If you can make it for us here, we'll we'll we'll buy it in Tuscany. And they were, like, really challenging saying, we have a good market. We people like Italian wine, but they don't like the style necessarily that you that it's being offered at the time. This is twenty two years ago. So when you say the wines are a little bit hard and tannic and lacking fruit? They were hard tannic, a little bit old fashioned, traditional, whatever that means, but it was a little bit kind of today, they have lacking fruit, a bit too extracted. Maybe extraction dryness in, in the style that the people didn't enjoy. Again, because at that time, the fruit driven, more vibrant, superint wines were, were the thing on that everybody was looking at. So you're you're in Tuscany recently. How have things changed over the last twenty years? You think Tuscany's quotes modernized itself? And has that has that been a good thing or about Absolutely. It has modernized itself. It's still on the journey. I think it's it's it does take a little bit of time, but where you see there's been some great steps being done. I I know a lot of places in Tuscany and a lot of the winemakers and everything. There's so so much more, in June with what the consumers want. I think that there's more act between consumers and the production. Although it's still a journey rather than the end of the journey, the wines are much more fruit driven, the better, panel management the the ogres is much better integrated nowadays. There was a phase where there was no ognut, then there was too much og. I think it's becoming back, into better integration. I think there's a great journey at the moment happening in Tuscany. So what are your favorite grapevine? Use from Tuscany. What I have to say is Sanjay, of course. That's, it's a great, great variety. What makes it so great? I like Pinanoa. It's what I do also in Germany, and I like Sanjay because it has the same difficulties. And but the same challenges and the same rewards. Once you get it right, it's the most amazing grape variety amongst others, but definitely it's an amazing grape variety. So in your terms of your favorite Tusum wines made with Sanjay, are you a fan of Kanti can Glasco Brunello, Vignon Oberle. Definitely, Kianti Glassi Pronelo is is great. All these are fantastic. I'm not this regarding or not disliking the more bottle esque varieties in I think they're a little bit more challenged. I think they need a little bit more care and handling in the vineyard and a bit more, attention to the style because they don't plan, in my opinion, as well, with sangiovese. Some people think they do, and they always, and happens maybe a little bit too often, but separately, and in the in the right hands, although also the portal style wines can perform really well in Tuscany. Now, you mentioned county class ago. Do you think that's one of the world's most underrated wines? Most underrated in the future. Yes. If con if the journey continues, I think it and there's a great, advantage of the winemaking and the the styles for sure. They will be, pretty underrated and it will come back again. In terms of the Kianti classicoteloa, what makes that special, for example? The diversity. The, a crazy thing about Kianti Kandi classical, there are so many hills, so many different Tewas, And I think you have to really know, your producer, your, your, your, your town, your village, whatever, the two, where these grapes are coming from, to, to actually really make the difference between some of these, qualities or names, because often it's, it's, or it's, it's always quaranty classical, but it could be so different from one village to another. There's differences in altitude, difference in the, the composition of the soil, the inclination, the phasing of the of the the vineyard that it makes a really big quality differentiation. If you have a a really good canty, what are you looking for in a really good canty? Canty Glasgow. I'll look for, definition, honest the, expression of the sangiovese gray. This is not always about the biggest color, the most extraction, the biggest, fruit weight. It it's about balance in the war and more than actually one or the other. And the most, the most highly regarded for me are the, which which made that balance in terms of extraction of the, of the, during fermentation, during humidification, but also the, the management of, the maturation and so on, and the expression of Sanjuiza, which is a bit like pinot noir. It's not a big red grape variety. It it it's more subtle, and it can really express the soil and the teawai in a very precise way. When your eyes light up, we're tasting Sanjuiza together in one expression, you always come out I love it. It's got crunchy fruit. What do you mean by that? The sunroof has such a lovely fresh fruit and also the acidity. If it's picked at the right time, so not too high, not maybe you're near fifty percent alcohol, more thirteenth thirteen and a half percent alcohol. And then it is a crunchy refreshing fruit on the palate. And then if that is retained by the wine maker, and balance with a little bit of aging and some bigger barrels, or, oak, buried, then, then that, that's just fantastic. And great match with food. What are your favorite dishes when you're in Kianti class again? Oh, I like ching appetel, chingale, which is perhaps pasta with the wild pork. Yeah. They likes to do in the winter. That's fantastic. Stew. Estew here. Like, cook in a pot. Yeah. That's good with the glassy candies. Oh, well, even Bruno, it cuts through the fat. Yeah. When's your, where's your next trip? My next trip will in to Italy will be in, in probably just before for harvest again. So around about September to to look at vineyards and so on, and then back in in September October for the harvest. Okay. Final question. In terms of Italian wine internationally, where do you think it Italian wine can improve its game in terms of its marketing as as much as its winemaking. I think the marketing is already really great because of the acceptance and I work internationally, what it's getting labor, I'm based a little bit in Germany. And the UK. So I think the the reputation is really great, but it does still commut need to communicate a little bit more with the the consumer what it actually is in terms of style. And it sort of needs a little bit more definition, task and learn what are the also, being aware of, there is a consumer that is actually developing further. So to keep on track with the the further developments in terms of style. And, I guess, right now, a little bit less oak, more fruit driven wines, a bit more, a sense of place, a bit more authenticity is always good. And I think continuously is right on track if they continue where they are. Okay. Good step. Flying Wijmeke. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Tuscany and General and Sanjay in particular. I look forward to having some, wild boar past olivier, so it's actually a big loss again. Thanks, Martin. Good to speak to you. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.