Ep. 309 #iobevoacasa LOCKDOWN SERIES | Jeff Porter and Oscar Farinetti

Oscar. Oscar. Thank you so much for your time. Welcome to the Italian wine podcast lockdown series. Every Monday will be connecting with Italian wine people. Join us to find out what they're doing and drinking today. This podcast is brought to you by Colangelo and Partners, the leading fine wine and spirits agency in the US. Visit Colangelo and partners on WW w dot colangelo p r dot com. How are you? But Jeff, if you tell me before that you have the Guitter, I take my Guitter, but I have it in my It's not possible now. But if you start, you play and I say Don't champlain. My favorite actor in Italy is domenico modunio. Please. You start with one go. Please. One dough. You know, dough? The dough? No. No. No. No. This is not dough, please. Alright. Do do and laminore. Do I have? You start by to what you want. Please? Yeah. Okay. Don't. Bye. Oh, yeah. Okay. Cool. Yeah. We're working on it. When when when we're able to get together, you, me, and Joe will, will, will, will jam out. Will out it. Bye. My wine. Well, Oscar, thank you for, joining me today. It's a real honor to see you. It's been a while. And, I just wanna reach out and check-in right now. How are you and your family doing? Very good. The salad is very good. No problem. The problem is for the work because you know that all my restaurant in all the world is closed. For the loans. And, now we have a sixty percent of the turnover that is out. You know, this is a big problem. We have nine thousand employees. And I want to guarantee the salary. Many sacrifice, but I am very strong. Never ever give up. I I think there's there's two parts to your the existence there. Where actually are you? Are you are you in Serelunga right now? Yes. Now I stay in Serelunga in Fotarafrelda. And, we work here because it's only three, four kilometers from my house. And it's possible for me to go with the car. It's okay. Bullocratic. Okay. And I I stay all day in my farmer company. I will ride I read, and I speak online with all the world for all the problem. Well, I think that leads me into one of my first questions. You're you're a lover of philosophy. And, in in this time of COVID, are there any particular philosophers or particular philosophy that keeps you motivated to look towards the future as you were saying about your employees and the strength that you have? What are what are you, what do you rely on to to help you give that strength in the arts? I I like the philosophy. I started a philosophy all day. My my preference is the first philosophy, socrates. I can tell in English, socrates, socrates, no, socrat. You remember, socrat was a fantastic, time in the old Greece in Athena. Very clean, soccer team, Plattoni, Aristotle. One hundred seventy three here from one born, very clear, one died, aristocracy. The change change all the future of the world. And Socrates was the best. You know, that Socrates don't write nothing. It was platone that after right and Socrates tell. I know that I don't know. And this is fantastic. In particular, in this time, that these many, many people that speak, speak, speak, speak, that tell. I know. I know. You don't know nothing. The only thing that I know is that I don't know, and I love Socrates for these offerings. I I think we should make a t shirt right now that says that What, you had mentioned that you've been reading a lot. What books are you reading currently? But normally, I I tell you one second. Okay. Normally, I read two or three books together. And, at the same time, I write one my book. For example, this is my new book. You know what is the serendipity? This is my new book that exited in the library the next week. And I think that in two or three months, you will have in USA is serendipity. It's fifty history of invention that's born for mistake. Maybe it does not your v one of your favorite, inventions that were discovered by chance, that's that you write about in the book, a little preview as it were. I I I have right to fifty history. Panettone, Barolo, champagne, sotern, amarone. My preference is the history of the cold flakes of the the brother column Right. Was incredible history is American history, incredible of these two brothers. Then have big problem for the conflicts. Yes. Hello. This is my preference. Once you're allowed to travel within Italy, not for business, but for pleasure, where where would you go first, or where will you go first? In Italy, because the last company that we have built of wine is in Italy in Aetna, is Carranco in the north part of the Earth that is the best. I like very much to go in Sichly because Sichly is not what Rachel is one continent. Right. Every vowel is different. Every landscape many hearts because seventy percent of the the old arts of the world stay in Italy, and fifty percent of this art is incision. Because, you know, that instantly go to Greece, go to Spanish, go to Normandy, blah blah blah. And I like very much the south of Italy that is one part difficult of our country because, a big problem, mafia, blah, blah, blah, but is incredible landscape of sea, landscape of mountains, scape of, ballet landscape of hill. For me, Sicily was a revelation of, of thought and emotion for me. I'd only been there once before, but for one day, and I spent ten days in Sicily last year, all around. And it's you can feel so much history of of the entire Western world being there. And then you can also feel mother earth. Like, in talking to everyone in Aetna, they're like, she decides everything when they and they put them out Aetna, and it's it's unbelievable. It's truly And the moon type. Okay. But you stay in the landing in my side. Oh, I love. Of course. I mean, I'm the barolo bear. When when we speak about the region of Italy for the side, which is the more beautiful, we tell after the lung, blah, blah, blah, You understand. Before the language. After the language, it not is the best. Okay. That's amazing. With you being home more often, Would you say you're you're you're drinking more wine right now? The same amount of wine or less wine? It's good question. Normally, before meals, I stay medium average one or two day per week in the house. Because the other day, I stay in the world. And normally when I stay in the house, I don't drink nothing. Zero I have fantastic seller wide in my house. We both are incredible, but it is, you know, possible to drink because every day for the work, I I drink blah, blah, blah. Now, that I stay every day in the house. I drink in the house. It's news for me. It's news. It's news. I don't go in the restaurant, but not too much. Not too much because I like to drink, but not too much. And I think that, if I drink too much, I don't, I don't understand the why. I normally don't drink at home at all because I travel a lot like you. And, but now that I've been home, I've been drinking a lot. Yeah. But it's been fun to rediscover wines because most of the time I'm out, doing a VIN or something. I'm drinking what the event is, and now I'm tasting wine for my seller and being like, oh, I remember buying that. There's a store that goes. Like you said, you met your friend. You drank this wine from Franconia, and it gives you that beauty of what the connection is of wine. When you when you were able to come back to the United States, What's the first type of non Italian restaurant you wanna go eat at? I don't know. I don't know which restaurant, but I know the dish that I want to eat. Right. I want to eat the giant scallops from, from Boston that is coming from Boston. The giant scallop is incredible. I want to eat with one, one riesling from California, from Sonoma Valley. And the other dish that I like very much from New York is the cheese salad. You know, the cheese salad is one seredity. Was invented in Mexico is incredible history of the cheese salad. It was invented from Italian Italian chef, but they live in Mexico before and in San Diego after. And the the real cheese salad, I like very much. I think that it's not possible to test one. She's our salary in Italy, same in USA because the that you have in right state is the best. And, I like to eat cheshire salad with pinot noir Mhmm. From California. Fantastic. Fantastic. It it is waiting for you here and, when you when you're able to come to the United States. I think we have one last question for you. Leave. Why why is it so important to be talking about Italian wine more than ever right now? Every time it's good for to speak, to celebrate Italian wine, manao particularly. Because The Italian wine have two assets very important for me. First, the biodiversity of Italian wine is possible every day to change one region. And to trust a different one because you know that in Italy, we have one thousand two hundred different grains. The second in the world is French that have two hundred twenty two This is the the big difference, you know, and, is very important about diversity and the second act that the Italian wine is clean. Because we have the master number of organic company in a of the rest of the world, and the the the hurt is clean. Because the reciduum in Italy is the last of the word. And it's to us that very, very important for to speak the word because I think that in the era, of post of post virus, the people will want clean product, sustainability product, and Italian is in the first position for to celebrate the sustainability in the why? Well, I can't, agree more. So, We were supposed to to to grill today on my barbecue. But it's raining here in New York. So when I'm able to come to the long a, I will cook you a meal. And when you come to New York, you can come to Brooklyn and, Big big fire, big sticks, Texas style. Oops. Oscar. Oscar. Thank you so much for your time. We'll see you soon in the long eight. Drink a glass of wine. Thank you to