Ep. 2538 Italian Wine Podcast 4 Friuli: In conversation with Mattia Manferrari of Borgo del Tiglio winery
Italian Wine Podcast 4 Friuli
Episode Summary
<think> I need to analyze the provided text, which is a transcript of Episode 2538 of the Italian Wine Podcast featuring Mattia Manferrari of Borgo del Tiglio winery. I'll need to create a concise content analysis following the specified format with key themes, summary, key takeaways, notable quotes, and follow-up questions. First, let me understand the main content of this podcast episode: This is a special bonus episode of the Italian Wine Podcast where host Stevie Kim interviews Mattia Manferrari, owner of Borgo del Tiglio winery in Friuli, Italy. The interview focuses on a recent devastating landslide that hit the winery and surrounding area. The landslide occurred after an extraordinary amount of rainfall (300mm in 7 hours) that caused a massive amount of mud and trees (27,000 cubic meters) to come down from the hill above the winery. Key points from the episode: - The landslide destroyed parts of the winery and tragically killed two people (including a neighbor and the winery's enologist's attempt to save an elderly woman) - The winery's historical archive (bottles from the 1980s to present) was destroyed - The 2025 vintage is currently trapped in the cellar under tons of mud - Authorities have blocked access to the area for 1-3 years - The winery is a small, artisanal producer (50,000 bottles annually) with 15-16 labels - They're working to recover what they can, including setting up a temporary office - Mattia discusses the importance of preserving traditional vineyards like Ronco della Chiesa (an 80-year-old vineyard) - He connects the event to climate change, noting that 300mm of rain in 7 hours is 25% of their annual rainfall - The winery is seeking support through awareness and purchasing their wines Now I'll structure my analysis according to the requested format: **Content Analysis** **Key Themes** (I need to identify up to 5 key themes) 1. Natural disaster impact on winemaking - The devastating landslide that destroyed parts of the winery and vineyards 2. Climate change connection - The extreme rainfall event being linked to broader climate change patterns 3. Preservation of tradition - The importance of maintaining historic vineyards and traditional winemaking approaches 4. Community and resilience - How the winery family and local community are responding to the crisis 5. Economic vulnerability of small producers - How a single disaster can threaten the entire business of a small, artisanal winery **Summary** (max 200 words) This special episode of the Italian Wine Podcast features an interview with Mattia Manferrari of Borgo del Tiglio winery in Friuli, Italy, following a devastating landslide that struck his property. The disaster occurred after 300mm of rain fell in just seven hours (25% of their annual rainfall), causing 27,000 cubic meters of mud and trees to crash down on the winery. Tragically, two people lost their lives, including an elderly neighbor and someone attempting to rescue her. The landslide destroyed the winery's historical archive of bottles dating back to the 1980s and trapped the entire 2025 vintage under mud. Authorities have blocked access to the area for 1-3 years, threatening the survival of this small, artisanal producer (50,000 bottles annually). Manferrari connects the extreme weather event to climate change while emphasizing the importance of preserving traditional vineyards like the 80-year-old Ronco della Chiesa. The episode highlights how small wineries are particularly vulnerable to climate-related disasters and calls for awareness and support through wine purchases to help the winery recover. **Key Takeaways** (max 6 points) - Extreme weather events linked to climate change pose immediate, devastating threats to wine producers - Small, artisanal wineries are especially vulnerable as they lack the resources to recover from major disasters - Historic vineyards represent irreplaceable cultural heritage that takes decades to establish - Community support is critical for recovery after natural disasters in wine regions - Traditional, non-mechanized vineyard approaches may offer resilience but also create vulnerability in extreme events - Raising awareness and direct consumer support (purchasing wines) can provide crucial lifelines for affected producers **Notable Quotes** (max 3) - "So it's 25% of the average amount of water that should fall into a year... in just seven hours. So it was crazy." - "The most important thing and that that's one that we feel is making the winery hanged by a threat right now is, recover the wines because, if we lose the whole 2025, vintage, it's over for us." - "I think climate change is evident to everyone that wants to look with their eyes to be aware about the problem, and it's affecting every single one of us sooner or later." **Follow-up Questions** (max 3) 1. What specific measures can small wineries implement to mitigate climate-related risks while maintaining traditional practices? 2. How might the wine industry collectively respond to increasing climate volatility to protect vulnerable producers? 3. What role can consumers play in supporting climate resilience in wine regions beyond immediate disaster relief? Now I'll write up the complete analysis within the word limits. </think> **Content Analysis** **Key Themes (max 5 points)** 1. Climate change vulnerability in wine regions - The extreme rainfall event (300mm in 7 hours) is framed as a climate change manifestation threatening winemaking traditions 2. Cultural heritage preservation - Emphasis on protecting historic vineyards like Ronco della Chiesa (80-year-old manually terraced vineyard representing disappearing agricultural traditions) 3. Small producer fragility - How natural disasters can devastate artisanal wineries (50,000 bottles annually) with limited recovery resources 4. Community resilience - The collective response from local workers, family, and industry peers to address immediate recovery needs 5. Economic survival strategies - The critical importance of wine sales as lifeline when physical infrastructure is compromised and access blocked for 1-3 years **Summary (max 200 words)** This special Italian Wine Podcast episode documents the aftermath of a catastrophic landslide at Borgo del Tiglio winery in Friuli, Italy. Host Stevie Kim interviews Mattia Manferrari whose family estate was struck by 27,000 cubic meters of mud and trees following unprecedented rainfall (300mm in 7 hours - 25% of annual precipitation). The disaster destroyed their historical archive of vintages dating to the 1980s, tragically claimed two lives, and trapped the entire 2025 vintage under debris. Authorities have blocked access for 1-3 years, threatening the survival of this small, artisanal producer (50,000 bottles annually across 15-16 labels). Manferrari connects the extreme weather to climate change while emphasizing the cultural significance of preserving traditional vineyards like the 80-year-old Ronco della Chiesa. The interview reveals how small wineries lack disaster resilience infrastructure, making consumer support through wine purchases critical for survival. The episode serves as both a disaster chronicle and urgent call to recognize climate vulnerability in wine regions, highlighting how historic terroir expressions face existential threats from increasingly volatile weather patterns. **Key Takeaways (max 6 points)** - Climate change manifests in immediate, devastating ways for wine producers through extreme weather events exceeding historical patterns - Historic vineyards represent irreplaceable cultural heritage that takes generations to establish but can be destroyed in hours - Small artisanal wineries operate with minimal margin for disaster recovery, making them disproportionately vulnerable - Community mobilization (local workers, family, industry peers) provides essential immediate response when formal systems are overwhelmed - Direct consumer support through wine purchases offers the most practical lifeline for affected producers facing infrastructure loss - Traditional, non-mechanized vineyard approaches preserve cultural value but may increase vulnerability to climate extremes **Notable Quotes (max 3)** - "So it's 25% of the average amount of water that should fall into a year... in just seven hours. So it was crazy." - "The most important thing... is recover the wines because, if we lose the whole 2025, vintage, it's over for us." - "I think climate change is evident to everyone that wants to look with their eyes... and it's affecting every single one of us sooner or later." **Follow-up Questions (max 3)** 1. What climate adaptation strategies can small traditional wineries implement without compromising their heritage practices? 2. How might wine regions develop collective disaster response frameworks to protect vulnerable cultural assets? 3. What role should industry organizations play in creating climate resilience funds for small producers facing increasing weather volatility?
About This Episode
The speakers discuss the impact of the recent disaster in their town and the loss of historic buildings and winery. They emphasize the importance of preserving the original characteristics of the winery and maintaining safety. They also discuss the impact of climate change on everyone, including their work with various importers and their plans to recover their wines and set up a temporary office. They emphasize the importance of setting priorities and minimizing potential damage, and encourage listeners to subscribe and rate the show.
Transcript
So give us kind of how we can help. I mean, I basically wanted to speak to you because how can we help? How can we help you right now in this moment? For us, I thought about this, and I I didn't want to raise any fundraising campaigns or something because it I I almost feel it's, unrespectful to the people who really lost lives, lost their homes. And I think that all the help should be channeled to them. Hello, Italian wine people. This is a bonus episode from Italian wine podcast. Stay tuned to discover more. Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. My name is Stevie Kim. This is a special edition today. We are here with Mattia Manferari. This is an very unfortunate circumstance. I would have liked to have connected with you under better circumstances. But most importantly, we want to raise awareness for what's happened to Bolgo Tertiglio. There was a huge landslide which affected their winery and, of course, their neighbors and that whole area there. So we'll get right into it. Mathieu, first of all, how are you and your family? Oh, first of all, I have to thank you and thank all of the people that showed huge support with us. And, for us, this is incredibly important, and, I think it's where we get the strength to go in this moment. So really a huge thank you to everyone in this moment. I really feel this this huge force coming towards us, and, for us, it's it's really meaning something. So just tell us for those who are less aware, tell us what happened in Braco, which is kind of the Borgo or the hamlet that you live in, and how did the land start come about to affect Borgo Del Tylio? Yeah. So what happened is that during the night between Sunday and, Monday last week, a huge amount of rain fell down. They are talking about 300 millimeters of rain in just, seven hours. And this means that the water becomes nearly uncontrollable, and, this affected a huge portion of the cholera area with minor landslides and other flu floods and, a lot of things. Unfortunately, let's say, Bratsana was at the epicenter of what was going on, and, a huge portion of woodland placed on the hill above the winery suddenly detached and, ran down along a sort of a a small river and came down to our Borgo. And, the Borgo is made partly of the winery and partly of three houses. And, it was a huge amount of mud and trees, and they stopped inside the courtyard of the of the winery. And, unfortunately, they tore down a few buildings. And the the most tragic part is that two people were involved, and, they unfortunately didn't made it. Our enologist, Matteo, was also involved. He was trying to save the, old lady that was trying to escape. He was on a ladder, and he was trying to recover her from her house that partially already collapsed. Oh my goodness. And, he was helping her coming down the ladder. He was lucky in a way that he was on the top of the ladder while the other, man who was trying to help and the old lady were already down. So they were, hit by the landline in that moment, and they were under the rubble. So they, unfortunately, didn't make it. But, Matteo, fortunately, broke a leg and lost some blood, but he made it. So, also, my my thoughts are with him, and he's in the hospital, but he he's going to recover soon. So that's the good part of of this tragedy. You know, it's so so sad. I mean, in the beginning, I was actually confused because I thought it was actually you because your name is so similar, Mattia and Matteo. So I thought it actually you were trying to help the old lady. And, you know, it's a tiny Borgo. Right? It's a tiny hamlet. It's just few houses and your winery. Yeah. Because this is the historic part of our village, which is Barzano. It's placed on the feet of the hills, and it's slightly over the rest of the village. And, yeah, it's it's made up of the church who was, was intact after the landslide. Three houses that were going, up towards the hill. And, basically, the rest is all our winery and a few other houses that, fortunately, were not affected, by the landslide on the left because this happened on the right, let's say, looking from below. So give us kind of the state of the art, the status quo of the situation. Were you able to access your winery? Like, what parts of these states were mostly affected, and, what's been lost? What was damaged? What is the situation? Give us kind of an idea. Yeah. So what happened is that, all these mud and trees and everything, they told me there were 27,000 cube meters of dirt that fell down. Essentially, crushed with extreme violence towards these houses, one of which was part of our estate. They are on the right, considering our courtyard when you go in, it's on the right. And then they deviated onto the courtyard of of the winery. And there, they made another building collapsed. In this building, we were keeping our historical archive. So it's basically all of the bottles that we kept from the eighties until today. And then, it stops on the other side of the courtyard really near to the other buildings that form our wineries. What happened is that most of the mud is still sitting atop of our barrique cellar, which was built in 2006 and was, excavated under the hill. So before there was a containment wall onto which the historical buildings that were building the sixteen hundreds basically were sitting on. So the cellar was built excavating this portion of the hill that were directly adjacent to the old buildings and was under the hill, basically. This cellar was not affected, but now a ton of of dirt is sitting on top of it. So, we are trying to understand what can we do to put that place into a sort of a more secure position. Yeah. So you were able to access the winery, but you're not working at well, you can't it's not in a workable state right now. Is that correct? No. Because right now, the authority blocked access access to the whole area. So it's still everything is still evolving. We are not, not sure about what is going to happen. For now, they are talking about, blocking the access for one to three years. Mhmm. So for us, this, of course, is dramatic because it means, not being able to go on with the activity because, you know, if we we are not able to access for three years, this means we lose everything, basically. So we are trying to understand the evolving of the situation and, understand how can we possibly find a solution. The most immediate priority for us is to recover the wine because right now, the twin 2025 vintage is all in, and it's all buried inside this, internals into this, integrated cellar. And, and it's the the work of the last year. It's basically one year of work that is buried under there, and we are at least able to recover that. So we are trying to move with the authorities to understand what's the most, safe way to to recover that. What about what about the old vintages? Well, the older vintages are safe, fortunately Mhmm. Because we have a a stand alone warehouse where we keep the wine in the in the bottle. And that one, it was across the street. Oh, okay. Besides, some mud and, some minor damage, that part was safe. So at least, the bottles are are safe. Give us an idea, you know, for our listeners, our audience who are less familiar with Borgo del Tiglio. Give us kind of the contextualize in terms of how big the wineries is, how many labels you have, and how much volume, like, you produce. Sure. So the winery was founded in 1981 by my father. At the start, he started basically with two hectares of land. Now gradually over the years, we grew up to cultivating hectares. And, overall, we manage a volume of bottles of around 50,000 bottles. We work, with a sustainable approach, high quality approach, and, terroir driven approach. So we manage about fifteen, sixteen labels every year, all the small parcels, small batches of wine that, highlights the values of the single vineyards that we manage. So it's a fairly what I would say, you're kind of a small producer. Right? Very
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