Ep. 2479 Francesco and Santiago Marone Cinzano of Col d'Orcia winery in Montalcino | On The Road Edition with Stevie Kim
On The Road Edition
Episode Summary
<think> I need to create a concise content analysis of the provided podcast transcript about Col d'Orcia winery in Montalcino. The analysis should follow a specific format with sections for Key Themes, Summary, Key Takeaways, Notable Quotes, and Follow-up Questions. I'll need to keep it under 800 words total, with specific word limits for each section. First, let me understand the main content of the podcast transcript: This is an interview with Francesco and Santiago Marone Cinzano of Col d'Orcia winery in Montalcino, hosted by Stevie Kim. The discussion covers: - The geographic location of Col d'Orcia, situated on the banks of the Orcia River in the Val d'Orcia (a UNESCO heritage site) - The history of the estate, which dates back to the 13th century - The size of the estate (520 hectares total, 150 hectares of vineyards) - Their production (about 700,000 bottles annually, 13 labels) - Their organic/biodynamic farming practices - Their position as the third largest vineyard owner in Montalcino but not in the top ten for bottle production due to lower yields - Their flagship wines (Poggiovento and Olmaia) - Challenges facing Brunello di Montalcino, including changing consumer preferences among younger generations - The "Glorious Five" tasting event featuring historic vintages - Food pairings with Brunello Now, I'll analyze this content to identify key themes, create a summary, extract key takeaways, select notable quotes, and formulate follow-up questions. **Key Themes** (max 5 points): 1. Heritage and tradition of Brunello di Montalcino production at Col d'Orcia 2. Sustainable and organic/biodynamic farming practices 3. Challenges facing Brunello in appealing to younger consumers 4. The unique terroir of the Val d'Orcia UNESCO site 5. The balance between tradition and innovation in winemaking **Summary** (max 200 words): The podcast features an interview with Francesco and Santiago Marone Cinzano of Col d'Orcia winery in Montalcino. The estate, located on the banks of the Orcia River in the UNESCO-protected Val d'Orcia, spans 520 hectares with 150 hectares of vineyards. As the third largest vineyard owner in Montalcino but not in the top ten for production volume (700,000 bottles annually), they emphasize estate-grown organic grapes with lower yields. They practice biodynamic farming without formal certification. The winery maintains a significant library of over 50,000 bottles of historic vintages. Key challenges discussed include Brunello's aging consumer base and the need to appeal to younger generations who often perceive traditional Italian wines as "not cool" compared to natural wines or obscure regions. The hosts highlight their flagship wines Poggiovento (a traditional Brunello) and Olmaia (a Cabernet Sauvignon), and discuss food pairings that showcase Brunello's versatility. They position themselves as innovators within tradition, seeking to maintain quality while adapting to changing market dynamics. **Key Takeaways** (max 6 points): - Col d'Orcia is the third largest vineyard owner in Montalcino but produces relatively modest quantities (700,000 bottles) due to organic/biodynamic practices with lower yields - The estate is located in the UNESCO-protected Val d'Orcia natural park, with all grapes grown within this protected area - They maintain an extensive library of over 50,000 bottles of historic Brunello vintages - A major challenge is appealing to younger consumers who often view Brunello as "prestigious but not cool" compared to natural wines or obscure regions - Their flagship wines are Poggiovento (traditional Brunello) and Olmaia (Cabernet Sauvignon) - They emphasize food pairing as central to their philosophy, with Brunello designed to be enjoyed with Mediterranean cuisine **Notable Quotes** (max 3): - "We're the farm of the Santangelo hill, and this hill has been farmed for many, many centuries." - "We've been riding it for the last fifty years... it's like being on a wild horse without a saddle, as I said, and running in the wind" - "Brunello tends to have a very aging consumer pool... part of it, we can tie to the price. Not necessarily has to be drank by young people, but I want it to be inspirational for young people." **Follow-up Questions** (max 3): 1. How specifically is Col d'Orcia adapting its marketing and winemaking to appeal to younger consumers while maintaining traditional Brunello quality? 2. What are the practical differences between their organic practices and full biodynamic certification, and why have they chosen not to pursue formal biodynamic certification? 3. How does the unique terroir of the Val d'Orcia UNESCO site specifically influence the flavor profile of their Brunello compared to other Montalcino producers? Now I'll check the word count to ensure it's under 800 words total. </think> **Content Analysis** **Key Themes (max 5 points)** 1. Heritage and tradition of Brunello di Montalcino production at Col d'Orcia 2. Sustainable and organic/biodynamic farming practices in a UNESCO-protected area 3. Challenges in appealing to younger consumers who perceive Brunello as "not cool" 4. The significance of terroir and geographic location in Val d'Orcia 5. Balancing tradition with innovation in winemaking philosophy **Summary (max 200 words)** The podcast features an interview with Francesco and Santiago Marone Cinzano of Col d'Orcia winery in Montalcino. The estate, located on the banks of the Orcia River within the UNESCO-protected Val d'Orcia natural park, spans 520 hectares with 150 hectares of vineyards. As the third largest vineyard owner in Montalcino but not in the top ten for production volume (approximately 700,000 bottles annually), they emphasize estate-grown organic grapes with lower yields due to biodynamic practices (though not formally certified). The winery maintains an extensive library of over 50,000 bottles of historic vintages. Key challenges discussed include Brunello's aging consumer base and the need to appeal to younger generations who often perceive traditional Italian wines as "prestigious but not cool" compared to natural wines or obscure regions. The hosts highlight their flagship wines Poggiovento (a traditional Brunello) and Olmaia (a Cabernet Sauvignon), emphasizing food pairing as central to their philosophy. They position themselves as innovators within tradition, seeking to maintain quality while adapting to changing market dynamics, with Francesco describing their journey with Brunello as "a galloping horse without a saddle" that has never slowed down over fifty years. **Key Takeaways (max 6 points)** - Col d'Orcia is the third largest vineyard owner in Montalcino but produces relatively modest quantities due to organic/biodynamic practices with lower yields - The estate is located entirely within the UNESCO-protected Val d'Orcia natural park, with all grapes grown in this protected area - They maintain one of Montalcino's largest historic vintage collections with over 50,000 bottles - A major challenge is appealing to younger consumers who view Brunello as "prestigious but boring" compared to natural wines or obscure regions - Their philosophy emphasizes food pairing as central to Brunello's purpose: "wines to be enjoyed at the dinner table" - They position themselves as "affordable, high quality Brunello" that's "not the kind of bottle you'll have to think three times before ordering" **Notable Quotes (max 3)** - "We've been riding it for the last fifty years... it's like being on a wild horse without a saddle, and running in the wind, and that's how I feel Brunello has, and Col d'Orcia has been for us." - "Whoever brings the Brunello, it tends to be that they brought the boring bottle. You definitely brought something that is prestigious, historical has value, but it's not cool." - "We're not certified biodynamic. We don't have a Demeter certification at the moment, but we do use biodynamics as a tool." **Follow-up Questions (max 3)** 1. What specific strategies is Col d'Orcia implementing to make Brunello appealing to younger consumers beyond just creating "cool" labels? 2. How does the unique terroir of the Val d'Orcia UNESCO site specifically influence the flavor profile of their Brunello compared to other Montalcino producers? 3. Given their emphasis on food pairing, what innovative approaches are they taking to educate consumers about Brunello's versatility with diverse cuisines beyond traditional Italian pairings?
About This Episode
Speaker 1 and Speaker 3 discuss their success in producing wines from grapes in a natural park in Italy. They use their own grapes and their own vines, with their own vines being grown in a different way. They also discuss their challenges and the importance of developing their own wines and finding the right way to bring consumers to their generation. The price of their wine depends on the temperature and the quantity of bottles produced, and the price of Brand Montacino is reasonably accessible, but the quantity of bottles produced is reasonably large.
Transcript
So give us a little bit of the geographic location. Well, what's cool about our position is the fact that because we're right on the banks of the Artha River, above being fortunate enough to be in the on being able to produce Bruno, we're in the heart of Valdorca, which means in Escrowed heritage site, they protect the natural park in Italy. So all the wines we make are made from grapes grown in a natural park. Welcome to another episode of on the road edition, hosted by Stevie Kim. Each week, Stevie travels to incredible wine destinations interviewing some of the Italian wine scene's most interesting personalities, talking about wines, the foods as well as the travel destinations. My name is Stevie Kim. Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. This is the on the road edition, and look look at us. Look look at our surrounding. We are in this amazing place called col Dolcha with, of course, Ernest Hemingway Lookalike, count Franchesco Marone ginsano and baby ginsano Santiago. So welcome and we will be talking to them about Kaldurcha, and everything that surrounds Kaldurcha. So welcome. Thank you. Welcome to Scondocha City. I'm really happy to have you. Yes. So what what about Kaldurcha? Why is it called Kaldurcha? It overlooks the river. It's it's a noisys, So the river is called Olcha. Or the Orcha River. Yeah. That one of the river rivers, that sets the boundaries of the Montachino territory and the the property the borders with the river on the bottom side and on the upper side with the village of Santangelo at the top of the hill. So we are the farm of the Santangelo hill, and this hill has been farmed for many, many centuries. How many centuries, many, many centuries Americans, though, there's a lot of centuries. The first news go back to the thirteenth century, and, at that stage, the hill is, is, a larger farm, which is owned by the most powerful family in San at the Torome. So you come to believe that, it was, in the hands of the, tempera monks. And when they were disbanded, it, ended up in the hands of, the most powerful banking family of, of Sienna, thirteenth century, fourteenth century. So give us a little bit of the geographic location. But what's cool about our position is the fact that because we're right on the banks of the Archa River, above being fortunate enough to be in the of Montalcino being able to produce Brunelo, we're in the heart of Val Dor which means UNESCO heritage site. They protect the natural park in Italy. So all the wines we make are made from grapes, grown in a natural park. So, okay, I have a challenge for you. In ninety seconds, Okay. Give me a very super skinny history of how you became to be the principal of Cortorcha. In last century, in the nineteen seventy three, when Montacino was one of the porous municipalities of Italy and was losing inhabitants all the time. My father purchased this property. He celebrated his birthday here. He threw his birthday party here, so the whole family had to come in. And so we started, learning to love this place. And then what I call this, galloping horse without a saddle that we have been riding. It's called brunello. We've been riding it for the last fifty years. And, at various stages, over, over the years, I thought, well, we, we have reached the top now this this hospital will slow down, and it has never slowed down. It's it keeps going, and I feel like, being on a wild horse without a saddle, as I said, and running in the wind, and, that's how I feel Brunelo has, and condortia has been for us. Okay. So give me some facts. Give me some numbers. Right? Yeah. How big is this a state? How many bottles do you produce? How many labels do you have? Which countries do you export to, etcetera, etcetera? So, total size of the Coldarcia farm is five hundred twenty hectares. Hundred of fifty hectares are planted with vineyard. Are you the largest? So, actually, we're the third largest vineyard owner in Montal chino. However, if you look at the number of bottles produced, we're not even in the top ten. And that's because we exclusively use estate grown grapes, and since we're biodynamic yields are quite lower. So big farm, but relatively small bottle production of these hundred fifty hecter of vineyard, one hundred, or sangiovese, and total production today is around seven hundred thousand bottles. Okay. How many labels? Thirteen labels in total. So you said biodynamic, but I I thought you were officially organic. Well, we are. We're certified organic. We're not certified, biodynamic. We don't have a demeter certification at the moment, but we do use biodynamics as a tool. So five hundred, five hundred one preparations as discussed when we were in the vineyard, we don't necessarily use them every year in every single plot of vineyard, but the most high quality plots see biodynamic treatments every season. So is it fair to say you are in fact the largest organic wine producer in Tuscany? Or is that So continuous vineyard certified organic, we are the largest in Tuscany. Okay. So now there's so much history here. Okay. What are the five things that our audience need to know about caldolce? As, Santago just said, that we use only our own grapes, only our own vineyards. We like the traditional style of, brunello rotational style of brunello means that we produce wines to be enjoyed at the dinner table, in pairing with food. And that's an important element for me because it's the pleasure that, food and wine together give you, that, is part of, in my view of the secret of longevity that, for Mediterranean people. We were the first single vineyard in Montachino, the first single vineyard to be awarded the the the price as best red wine of Italy. With the nineteen ninety seven Brunel Montacino Pajal Vento. Mhmm. So it's also to be enjoyed these days with the old vintages because we have the largest collection of old vintages of Brunelbro. How how large is large? Your library of More than fifty thousand bottles of old wind. So that's significant. That's significant. So we always invite people to come and visit here because we can say so many words and we can try and explain what collages are about, but it's only by visiting here and touching with hand that you really understand the holistic approach. You understand our obsession with nature. So tell me, I know, you're not the only son. You have two siblings. Two siblings. I'm a middle child. But what are your siblings doing? So my older brother studied a few different things. He studied astrophysics first, then eventually developed a passion for gastronomy. About a year and a half ago, moved back to Montalcino. He's already opened a brewery He's using our barley to make malt. He has four different beer labels right now. And my sister, the youngest sibling. She lives in Holland. She works for NGOs. Studied criminal forensics. So she's She's not in the family business. Not at the moment. No. Right. So listen, I know that you didn't always live here. Right? I was born in Switzerland, but then in nineteen ninety five, I was one. We moved to Chile, and I mean, that really, really formed me because until I was twelve, I lived in Chile. We spent extensive time in the countryside in this very isolated area of Chile. Middle of nowhere. Right? But making wine. Making wine, making wine in the same way we do here. Within the farm, bringing back a lot of learnings because the approach in Latin America towards, Pachamama towards mother earth is, is very different from, the approach we have here. So I have one question. It's the same question to both of you. First, dad, what are your biggest challenges now for Bruno today? I think Brunelo needs to continue being the innovator. That's why I'm so happy that, the new chairman of the consortium of Brunelo is a young person in his thirteenth. How do you see? He's thirty five or Oh, that's very young. Now, we need, twenty first century concept. We need, to look at at the future. Okay. So what about you? Same quest
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