Ep. 1820 Giulia Cecchi | Masterclass US Wine Market With Juliana Colangelo

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pots. Welcome to Mastercost US Market with me, Juliana Colangelo. This show has been designed to demystify the US market for Italian wineries through interviews of experts in sales and distribution, social media, communications, and so much more. We will quiz each of our esteemed guests at the end of each episode to solidify the lessons that we've learned. To sharpen your pencils, get out your notebooks, and join us each week to learn more about the US market. Hello. Welcome to Masterclass US wine market. Today, I'm thrilled to welcome Juliet Checky to the Italian wine podcast. Julia is a brand ambassador for Famia Checky and Castelo Munanto, her family's winery in the heart of Kianci. Julia moved to New York in twenty sixteen, working initially for a fine food distributor and as regional sales director for Volio afterwards. Now she's working back with her family's winery back in, Tuscany. Welcome to the show, Juliet. It's so great to have you here. Oh, thank you. And hello, everyone. It's a it's a true honor to be part of it. So thank you so much. Of course. Of course. So Julia, today, we're gonna talk a little bit more about the experience of coming to the US and working the US market, actually, as an Italian winery, owner and family member, and then going back to Italy and what that experience was like. But before we dive in today's discussion, tell us a little bit about your background on how you came to work for your family's business. Sure. I grew up in Canti Glasgow. So my beginning with the wine war and wine really started, when I was born. I grew up between two families and two wineries as, my father is the fourth generations at, familiar Cheki, with the historical estate, Villa Chiena in Chantecrasico. And my mom is, the third generation of, castor de Muncanto, but in another era of the appalachian. I really started growing up with the the two sides of the family, and I always say that Sanjay is in my vein. My first harvest when I was four years old. So everything started back when I was very young. Four years old. Wow. That's amazing. Kindergarten. I was in the kindergarten. It was a beautiful night in the garden. Right? Yeah. Sounds pretty nice. Then I grew up there in, Canti Glasgow for anteo High School. I really fall in love with the air of Jenti Glasgow during high school. It was a while time, while approach for Julia. I was riding a motocross bike, in the vineyards together with my father and that and my brother, and those were really the moments where I connected with this terrar and this territory. And then I decided to move to Milan to do the first jump out of a Canti Glasgow and I moved to Milan studying, economics, and management, which was the first step for me out from home, but still connected to home as I was able to come back in Canti Glasgow every every couple weeks. Right. Of course. After university and as a gift for the bachelor. I decided to go to Africa for one month. I was in Tanzania for volunteer project in the middle of nowhere, ten hours by bus, and that was a way to be connected to a different part of the word. And then after that experience, I came back and decided to go to the opposite of the word and moved to New York for three months with the goal to find a job in that city. And one day, during those three months, I went to a bar and met for the first time an investor of the company that I worked for two years and a half, which was Solek's fine food, fine food distributor that was connected to the major restaurants and the major chefs in New York City. I called those period as backpacking truffles I mean, because it was really I was the Italian truffle specialist that was my thought. Wow. What a job for climbing New York? And I have to just say, I mean, and it gets incredibly brave too to go to New York without a job and and make it work and make it happen. Like, you did it. Congratulations. It was the passions of wanting to learn a different part of our industry, which was was so fascinating by the kitchens and learning the chefs techniques and and asking them so many questions that really help to increase my passions about food and wine and the combinations of of the two. Italian wine podcast, part of the momo jumbo shrimp family. Okay. So you were walking around New York with a backpack full of truffles here a couple of years. Sounds amazing. Working with top shops. That's incredible. And then what happened after that? After two years, I decided to come back to the wineries for a few months. I needed to feel reconnected to this tour and, see the wineries with the different eyes or after a professional experience, I wanted to see the wineries with more attention. And after a few months, I didn't wanna lose the connections that I built in New York. So I decided to move back to New York and joined one of the three importers of the families, which was Volio imports. At that time, Volio was really a startup importer, and it was the Northeast regional directors cover income markets in the northeast. So not only New York, but also the New Jersey or Massachusetts as well. Great. Well, we're gonna dive into a little bit more about that experience working with Valio and what that meant for your family's business and then the wineries really getting to know the US market by actually living here. So, you know, our three key takeaways for today's master class and we're really excited to talk to you about our number one, what are the benefits of working and living in the US market for an Italian winery specifically. Some of the similarities and differences in terms of just be living and worked in Italy and in the US, and you work specifically here. In your case, And then finally, you know, we know how important that relationship is for the winery and the importer. So talking about some key reminders for Italian wineries to keep in mind, when working with their US importers. So for starters, give us a little more background on Volio. You mentioned it was somewhat of a startup when you joined, but talk to us a little bit about Volio as a company and a little bit more about what being the regional sales director meant and what you were doing in your role. When I first joined Volio was two thousand nineteen, Jolio, at a time scale now, based in, Denver, Colorado, the owner, Charles Lazzara, really saw the visions of bringing consumer closer to the vineyard experience, and that was the mantra, the idea, and the visions of Volo. And, he's still passionate about San Jose and this unique Verieto. So we had a great connections right when we first met. And when I decided to join Volo, the company was less than ten people. I was the only one in the northeast. And then there were three other regional sales director around the country and then a small team in the operations and the marketing based in Colorado. So a true start up I know he's probably starts up. But also somewhat sounds like serendipitous to find a partner like Volio that has such a passion for San Jovese, like you and your family's wineries do. Correct. Correct. That was really the connections that we had, which is, lazada. And also, I joined, because right in two thousand nineteen, we started collaborating with Volio with the Famila Cheke estates. Which were not importer in the US before. The familiar Czechia States are four states two in Canti Glasso, Vila Cerna, and Vila Rosa. And, one inumbria with in Montefalco. When you joined Volio working for them in New York, you also had started somewhat recently had started the relationship of working with them as your importer for those wines. Correct? Correct. Yes. It was the beginning of launching the new wineries new in the market in the US, except due exceptions, but really launching together with a new partner, Volier, who was a fresh and new beginning for these estates. Got it. And your role, Julia, were you focused only on Fimea, check you? Or were you also working just the whole portfolio for Voleo? Tell us just a little bit more about what your role entails. It was, at the beginning, it was the overall portfolio covering the ten markets in the northeast. And that was a true learning experience for me because I was able to not only, learn about my family wineries, but also other affiliations, across Italy because Volio is mostly focused in Italian and family wineries. So it was a combinations of the entire portfolio volume. Got it. Okay. That's what I thought. That makes sense. How many suppliers in the portfolio? I know it grew. The company grew as you were working there, but how many wineries when you started were you working with? Volu grew both in terms of suppliers, but and in terms of the team. Now the team is, almost twenty people, and grew also in terms of suppliers, from suppliers, from the major regions and all regions from, Italy, from PMont to release Sicily. And connecting Tuscany as well. Today, you know, you left Bolaio at the end of twenty twenty three. So when you left Bola, how many suppliers did they have? They have more than thirty five suppliers. Oh, wow. So that grew quite a bit. That's amazing. So Julia talked to us a little bit about, you know, you picked up and moved to New York in a bold move with without a job, worked for a fine food, importer and distributor, and then came back to Italy, and then back to New York to work for Volio. So you you had some experiences going back and forth, what was it like, you know, living in New York, and and what were some of the most challenging, but also rewarding parts of of the experience that you had? Well, New York was, I considered New York, kind of a second home. For for me. It was in I still a city with incredible energy that you may found just walking around the streets and, with the different smells that you can find in in the different part of the city. So it's really an inspiring city from the wine world, but also so many other industries. But, of course, entering the wine world for me and in New York was challenging as well as incredible rewarding. I enter the one word in a different country than Italy, because I really wanted to find Julia first before and believing completely in this project and and divisions of my family, but I believe that any new generations needs to bring something new. Otherwise, it's not a new generations. So I wanted to test myself in a market as New York where I was away from home but still connected with home. Right. And still in a a related industry about working for you know, a a different industry working in the in the food space as well. I'd imagine that definitely, that bringing the connections with the shops, understanding of, you know, the who are a primary customer, right, for for the wine industry as well. So getting that that experience that I imagine was really valuable. Correct. A hundred percent. It was important to learn and be inspired by all of them and understand how the Sommeliers, we're sharing new inputs and new visions and learn from them more importantly, not only elite, but also other regions, across the world. Right. Right. Absolutely. So now that you're, you know, back in Italy, working with your family again, what would you say are some of the key learnings that you took away from both experiences of, you know, working in New York? There are so many learning experience that I had in these experience. Definitely, one of the most important one is to have a clear and constant communications with your partners and with the new friends that you build this industry and the one word is so incredibly rewarding because you start, connection on the day to day work, but then you really build true friends and a lifelong friendship. So clear communications, persistency, and really share your values are the most important part that I learned on the day to day work in both with suppliers, with distributors, with sommeliers, and then really the final, clients in, restaurants. Yeah. And when you say clear communication, I mean, absolutely. And how do you think communication is most effectively established for a winery and a supplier. Obviously, Italy to New York. It's not like you can be jumping on a plane every single week for meetings, but what do you think are the most effective ways that wineries can communicate with the market and with their importer. First of all, the wineries needs to do kind of an internal analysis of their visions and their dreams where they would like to see the wines where it will be, like, the aspirational goal and really the the philosophy of the states and representing them with a clear message within the team at the winery and then communicate it with their partners, not only in the US, but really across the board. I think the first step and the first analysis that is fundamental for these clear communications with the partners around the work. So first, really understanding as Well, winery, what you're trying to communicate first. It seems like step one is figure out your story, your vision, and and then what you wanna communicate externally. Correct? Correct. Yes. An analysis and, a message that has to be internal and then external with your friends and the whole levels of partners across the world. Got it. Of course. And you talked to us now, do you know that you're back home? You know, you're you're part of the new generation and taking over in leadership and your family's wineries, what do you think this new generation in general in Italy? There's a lot of people coming into these next generation roles. What do you think that means for the Italian wine category as a whole? Well, there's an incredible momentum right now across several populations both in Tuscany and umbria and I think very stimulating for all of us and all our generations we're becoming friends more than colleagues, which I think it's the beauty of it. But it's not only in the wine world, in the winery scenario, but there are also a new generations in all levels. Like, new, some of these new importers, new, new consumers as well. So the dream to learn more and be constantly in context with, in a very simple way with the different levels of our industry from so many days to our friends in the wineries as well. Right. And how do you think I mean, that's it's incredible to kinda hear that, you know, that that camaraderie, that energy, that's really exciting. How do you think that can be translated? You know, you lived in New York and the US? How do you think that energy can kind of translate to the US market for the Italian category? Well, there are several ways. The first one is that this energy is able to be shared now, with instant and simple communications. Social network is the first step and now are becoming the basics for these communications, but really connect new generation, new people and consumers who wants to learn or at least be exposed to the white word to starting to be connected directly with with us and with the next generations as as the winery level. So more and more people are traveling and visiting us at the wineries. So it helps to start not only one transactions, but along lasting, relationships with the different level with some delays and clients as well. So, it helps to have shorter bridge in a way between buyer consumers and and wineries. Definitely. And I think, you know, Italy's always been such a popular destination for Americans and I think it feels like even more so today. So that great opportunity there. But it sounds like travel is key and being in the market on both sides, getting, you know, your partners in the US over to Italy and then, you know, vice versa, making sure you're you're also spending time here in the market in the US to really understand your partners. Correct. Correct. Definitely. And it's a crescendo. So it's the beginning, and then step by step, we build friendships, which is the most important part. Of course. Of course. That's the best part of this industry. Correct. Yeah. Well, Julia, we're coming to the end. So we're gonna do our rapid fire quiz that we do at the end of every episode where we ask our guests three questions, in order to really help our listeners understand the US market. So if you can do your best though to answer these in one or two sentences, that would be wonderful. So question number one, what is your number one tip after living in New York for many years for mastering the US wide market? Visit it. Visit the US because to really understand this market, you really need to feel the energy walking around the street and, really be stimulated by the incredible exposures that the US can offer. So definitely go visit it. Maybe don't visit it right now in February. It's currently snowing, but Still beautiful anyway. Yes. I need to pull on a different way. Okay. Question number two, what is something you might have told your younger professional self about, working in a wine industry? Look at the big picture. Sometimes I focus my attention to small or real events, aspect instead of thinking about the bigger pictures and the long term project. So, but still focusing a lot of energy on this minimal aspect. So I would say to myself, look at the big picture. I like that. Definitely. Put everything in perspective. And finally, what's your favorite travel hack, you know, when doing market work and traveling for work, you've obviously go back and forth from US to Italy quite a bit. So tell us some of your favorite tips. When I travel for works, I, always bring with me maps. Maps are really, a way to connect the people in front of me to a little bit of the Tahira where I come from in Canti Glassico or Marima or in umbray Montefalco. So maps are fundamental to bring the consumers closer to us and to the beautiful Tuscon vineyards. I love that. That's it. That's a new one. I haven't heard that one before. Matt. Great. Fantastic. Well, Julia, thank you so much for joining us today on Masterclass US wide market on the time of one podcast. How can our listeners connect with you and follow along with everything, you know, that you're doing? Definitely, my LinkedIn profile. As well as Instagram, social network, and are the new way. So, Instagram is definitely a way to connect with me. And hopefully, some of the listeners will come to visit directly at the wineries in Tuscany and umbria. So to meet in person. Always the best to meet in person, of course. Alright. Well, thank you again, Julia, for being here with us today. Thank you for the opportunity. And it was incredibly important for me and very exciting. So that's it. Thank you for joining me today. Stay tuned each week for new episodes of Master Class US wine market with me, Juliana Colangelo. And remember if you enjoyed today's show, hit the like and follow buttons wherever you get your podcasts.