Ep. 191 Monty Waldin interviews Erik Klein (Wine Export Consultant) | Monty Waldin's Let's Talk Wine Biz

Italian wine podcast. Chinching with Italian wine people. This podcast is brought to you by Native Grape Odyssey. Native Grape Odyssey is an educational project financed by the European Union to promote European wine in Canada, Japan, and Russia. Enjoy. It's from Europe. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast. My name is Monty Walden. My guest today is Eric Klein. Eric is a wine export consultant or facilitator That's right. In his native Slovakia. Yes. That's correct. Welcome. Thank you. Did you have a background in wine? No. Not exactly. I can say that maybe my grandpa in like Tokai region used to make, some wine for himself and for his friends, but, nothing nothing really. Nothing really serious. It was just kind of a material thing, and he loved it, but, it was not business. So Slovakia is a bit of what was the Czechoslovak Republic is near Hungary then. So DACA is just across the border. Exactly. It's a famous, famous ongoing trip wine. Hungary, Austria, Poland, and Ukraine as, as our neighbors. And, of course, Hungary is a very famous one producer and producing country. So how did you get into wine education? So it's been, more or less ten years for me. It all started back in two thousand seven when I met, Neil Anderson. Neil Lambson is a very, important person for Italian wine, especially when it comes to, export into which country. In mostly United States, Canada, Australia, some New Zealand, you know, English spoken countries. He started back in seventies when really no one was doing it yet, and he was a pioneer, and he has really become a legend. Really, I think Italian producers today should build a statue for Neil Lemson for what he has done in general all for retailing wine, abroad. So what is your role then? And how do you how do you help or facilitate wine producers who want to look to export markets? How do you how do you deal with them and then with the markets themselves? Okay. So basically back in two thousand seven two thousand and eight when I started with Neil Emson. I looked at the portfolio that, was available. I was about forty producers and some, some, own brands that Neil Emson started with some famous winemakers in Italy like Franco Bernabe and others. And these were wide open and free for, markets that, for me, would make sense to go to, like Slovakia, Czech Republic, so basically going back to my origin, and also Poland and some there's like Ukraine, and I even tried it in Russia and so on and so forth. Did it help the fact that those markets weren't fully developed for that kind of wine? Absolutely. So what was your sales pitch? So my sales pitch basically, back in the nineties, let's say let's go back, like, maybe a decade. Back in the nineties, when, after basically the the velvet revolution in Czechoslovakia, there were, obviously, there were many opportunities in in the wine world, but it was all very, chaotic. And so the velvet revolution was when there was the Czech Republic and the Slovakia is split. Yes. No longer Czechoslovakia they decided to go their own ways. Yes. Because obviously, when it comes to Czechoslovakia, as a wine country, there is a big history. Czechoslovakia has always produced wines, when we go back to Austro Hungarian empire and even even even before. It's it it always was a big thing on that territory. But of course, with the socialist regime, it was not possible. The quality was really, bad. It was horrible. To lots of corporatives turning out. Exactly. Build water basically. So when that ended, in the nineties, you've started to have first serious producers in Slovakia and Czech Republic, and also imports started to come in. It was very chaotic, as I said be before, it was very hectic. Really serious operations started from, let's say, end of the nineties and two thousand. And, basically, I came on the scene in two thousand and six, two thousand and seven. And, what I saw was a big opportunity for wines. Let's say, let's call them quality price, interesting quality price ratio. So that's what I focused on. That's what Neil Empson is really strong at. So, I took that portfolio, the available producers for, free producers for, for those and also his own brands, like, wines like Montantico, Bolini, and others not really famous in Europe, but huge in United States, and I started to, propose these wines in, in central and Eastern European markets. Were these wines for retail or were they for the entre? Rate? They were mostly for retail, but, they could also, as I said before, not really developed markets, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, those years. So you could target wine like Montantico, which is one of the best selling Supertuscans in the United States, like say below twelve dollars, you could also try on you could try also on trade in Horeca with, with those kind of wines. What do people like about the the wines? These Italian wines? Was it the flavor? Was it the kind of sexy Italian kind of Mediterranean thing? Well, you know, as, as the market opened and people started making more money. They started traveling more and more. And, you know, Italy is a huge, let's say, brand. It's it's a huge magnet. Italy is beautiful, culturally, gastronomy, and people started discovering wines, and they started bringing those wines to, to their country. Some of them even tried to, to market them, to import them, not always very successfully, as I said before, in the beginning, was quite thick, but then you've, started to have some serious players also in Slovakia and Czech Republic, like, let's say, Corner or Provino or inino, companies that started to have some, you know, interesting, portfolios of Italian wines. In the beginning, of course, maybe wines like, pinocarillo, and prosecco, primitivo, and maybe Canti adding them later on wines, like Bernero di montage, you know, but law, you know, as sophistication, in in those countries progressed as people traveled more and more and earned more and more money, they they they they they started experimenting and asking for more, you know, quality, and that kind of stuff. But I think when it comes to Italian wines, the most important thing what people look for is drinkability and also quality price ratio, and I think Italian wines have that. What about wine education? Is there any sort of formal wine education in Slovakiaakia for Italian wine, whereby people can get confident about what they're buying because Italian wine can be a bit of a mind filled with all those native grape varieties and all those confusing DOCs and DOCGs. Yes. Absolutely. So when it comes to education, looking on my mark, looking on markets that I go to with, my proposals. I think there is some difference between Poland, Czech Republic and, and Slovakia. I think Prague as a city, as a reality is very advanced in this, in this, question. Why is that though? I think it's because Prague is just, you know, one of the most beautiful, in my opinion. One of the most beautiful cities in the world, and it's very international, and you have a lot expats their Americans, Italians, even Russians nowadays. So there's a huge demand for quality and for, diversity. And, you know, when we speak about diversity, Italy comes to mind almost immediately with all these autochtenous, indigenous, grape varietals that we have. So Prague is really wide open. Has been wide open for Italian wines for a decade at least, and I think there's still opportunities. What are the what are the emerge market trends though, is it? Are locals interested in variety labeled wines? You mentioned brunello, maybe Prumetivo, that kind of thing, or do they do they get the idea of a blend, say Canticlacico or Swave? Well, I think one if we focus on retail only, it's, as I said before, it's probably only about those four, five, maybe six six types of minds. Mostly reds because, I don't know if I mentioned this before, a Slovakia and Czech Republic. Not many people know, but, it's actually, both of these countries are actually serious wine producers. And on the good vintage, on a good year, these wines are even delicious, especially whites, of course, but on a good year also reds. So there's a big demand for for reds, for importing red wines, a a little bit less so, for for whites. So what are the main grape varieties and local grape varieties that people drink about? That's a very good question. So, basically, when we speak about, white wines, it's, varietals like, which means or, which are international varietals, but, going to the, and, the territory, the Slovac and Czech territory, there is, Velt cleaner GRiner. There is Sylvaneur. Riesling is very popular. Both riesling, Renano. So riesling The proper one. The proper one. Yes. Let's call it that. And also riesling, italia, the welsh riesling. Oh, now they Gresher vina, they're very popular. So there's quite a few actually. So you've got quite a mix of, aromatic, fully aromatic, or lightly aromatic local white varieties. Where do where would the Italian versions of that set? Which varieties would you think could be could be fruitful? Okay. So as I said before, when it comes to, you mentioned white? Yep. Okay. So white wines from Italy, it's been a hard battle basically because, people want warming red, isn't it? You know what it is in Lovakia and Czech Republic people are obsessed with acidity, like, really almost sick. You know, it's, and since they like really acidic wines, they really like acidic wines, and they like aromatic wines. I'm not saying aromatic varietal but they really want those flavors like crispy and and really, fresh. Sometimes even exaggerated flavors. So if you're an English wine producer, you should listen to this because if all else fails name, then you know, you gotta mark it down there. But it's been changing. Okay? It's been changing. And, so I said before, prosseco, pinot grigio, and, soave, even even if soave wines has been have been damaged in the past in the nineties with these, let's call them first cowboys that started in their first wine operations, import operations in Slovakia, and they would bring huge quantities of Italian wines also in, in Slovakia. One thing is to, you know, share wines with your friends and maybe sell a few cases, but, another story is setting up business and and selling these wines and palettes and palettes of of of wines and, doing it with a little bit of strategy. So you would have you would have these palettes of wines maybe stocked in not very proper way for years, and then they would be in difficulty these guys, and they would need to sell it really quick to get rid of these wines. And so they would damage. And soave was one of those wines that was really damaged in the nineties, but, okay, that's that's in the past, and it's been it it's it has recovered quite nicely. And so saw wines, I think those, really well made saw other wines. So let's say, in the classical, saw the classical area, they really, I think, have a good chance to to come back. Also, I think Vermont could be the big thing in in, in Slovakia because Vermentino can be fresh, also acidic as they like, but it's also It's somebody to fuller flavors have somebody to it. So What about Vericchio? Vericchio is, you know, that's a very good question. And I, when I thought about, you know, things that I would say to you today here, Verdicchio and also, Campania, white varietals, like, Greco, and and Fiano, and and in Falangina. These are still very, very much unknown grapes, and I think the potential is there. It's just, we have to, you know, people need to travel a bit more to those areas. What about tastings in locally for people? Like, why evenings and things like that. Is that do people do like attending that kind of event? Yes. But it's it's it's it's been happening for, for quite some time, especially in, Czech Republic. And, when I say Czech Republic, it's eighty percent of Czech Republic, you know, it's happening and and and, let's call it, wine world is, is concentrated in prague. Prague is almost everything. Then you have some, you have cities like Bernal and maybe, but it's mostly about prague. And also as far as wine education focusing on Italy, Warsaw has been doing a very good job in Poland. There's, at least two, three very good, quality magazines and, very good so many schools. So they have been, they have world as a journalist, and so they've been they've been doing a very good job. But atislava Slovakia is still behind, so I see a good opportunity there. Things are changing. It's been improving, but, you know, you ask me about Verdicchio and it's a very good case. Very Dicchio should be on the market. You can probably find maybe one, two labels, but not more than that. So So, basically, what you're saying is there's a market for somebody like you. There's room there's room for room for growth Absolutely. And education and knowledge. Absolutely. And education, it's all about education. Education education education. I would stress this so much, and it all starts with these, millennials, with the young generation that is very excited about, learning, new methods and, discovering new, new wines, new labels. It starts with the Slovakian producers. Of course, it starts with the Slovakiaakian wine world. They really go deeper into it, but as then then they go to their clients and they explain all these, little differences. And these clients then become more sophisticated themselves, and they start going also, you know, outside of that little She's alright. World and asking for more more Italian wines, more French wines, more Spanish wines. It's not not only about Italian wines, of course, but this is this is to our advantage it, you know, as people get more sophisticated, as people try new things, and it tastes new wines, they they open. And when they open, that's that's when it happens. Great. So I wanna say thanks to my guest today, Eric Klein, who is the Vinnidley International Ambassadorator for Slack. He also a wine importer. We share a success with your educational. Thank you so much. Hang on with your educational initiatives and also with your wine import business. Yes. Absolutely. Nice to meet you, Eric. Thank you so much. This podcast has been brought you by Native Grape Odyssey, discovering the true essence of high quality wine from Europe. Find out more on native grape odyssey dot e u. Enjoy. It's from Europe. Follow Italian wine podcast on Facebook and Instagram.