Ep. 1357 Alessandro Torcoli | On The Road Edition With Stevie Kim

By now, you've all heard of Italian wine unplugged two point o. The latest book published by Mamma jumbo shrimp. It's more than just another wine book. The fully updated second edition was inspired by students of the Vinitally International Academy and painstakingly reviewed and revised by an expert panel of certified Italian wine ambassadors from across the globe. The book also includes an addition by professor to Yoshenza. Italy's leading vine geneticist. The benchmark producers feature is a particularly important aspect of this revised edition. The selection makes it easier for our readers to get their hands on a bottle of wine that truly represents a particular grape or region to pick up a copy, just head to amazon dot com, or visit us at mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Welcome to another episode of On the Road Edition, hosted by Stevie Kim. Each week, she 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 incredible travel destinations. Hello everybody. My name is T. V. Kim, and this is the Italian wine podcast on the road series. Today, we're in one of my favorite places of all time, Cortina, and we are here with Aleandro So first, tell me who you are for the people, for our audience. You're super famous, but maybe our audience who don't know you quite as of yet. Would you mind telling us who you are? Well, I'm a journalist. I'm an Italian journalist and publisher, and my magazine is the Chivelteader, the Italian one magazine, And, this is a family story, you know, I because my grandfather was in the business, was a wine journalist himself, and then I continued, and I decided to open up a little bit the perspective of our magazine going abroad and visiting all the wine regions, in the world and giving feedbacks to the Italian readers about those regions. And that's it. And secondarily, I'm a wine organizer in a way. I like to organize a couple of Like wine events. Like wine events. Yes. Yes. Specifically, one event. So we're we're kinda similar except you've been in the business for a very, very long time. And I recall when I I first started with wine. I I hadn't a clue and I still don't. And I remember you are one of my, guides to kinda navigate this Italian wine industry. So I know you, of course, your grandfather was penal Kyle. Yes. Would you mind telling us who he was and why he is such an iconic, figure for Italian wine? Sure. Well, Pinokai was the first, who gathered the Italian aligned sector and the producers that at the time, I mean, the late seventies didn't know each other. And, he used to recall the, the time when he, for the first time, in, you organized the meeting between the two I commend at Italian wine, Angelo, and Pierantinari. And they're still the two iconic men. They're they're still. Yes. Personalities. Yes. Yes. And they didn't know each other. Mhmm. And so that at the time, chivita de Verde? And when was that? That's so funny. Late seventies. And they hadn't met. They hadn't met before. Incredible. Yeah. At at a at a airport before leaving for a wine tour, a promotional tour in the US. And that was the first time that they met. And then, you know, Kyle started to organize these wine events, in New York, with Lucho Caputo, another iconic figure of the past. And, and then another cities and countries, And those were the first roadshow for the wine ever organized. So that's why for the Italian wine. Yes. And that's why now is still so popular in the community. So, Alessandra, how old are you now? Forty seven. Yes, sir. But do you when did you start, you know, working with wine? Yeah. I was a teen. You were a teenage IS. And with your grandfather? Yes. Yes. Of course. They had a past in, in advertising Okay. For a starting ship, and it was a marketing man. And instead, I decided that wine was very interesting for me as a subject. And I I wanted to understand it. In-depth. And so I started starting at the Somier Association and many DIs. Yes. And many other schools, and and and I decided that I I wanted to be a very specialistic wine writer. So be so your grandfather actually was not a wine expert then? No, it wasn't. Oh, I didn't I didn't realize that. So tell us about your wine journey. So you you work with your grandfather And then you are and with also the magazine, right? Civilta Delbera? Yeah. Yeah. I started there and I remained there, but I'm trying to to get the knowledge of wine in many ways. Studying at the associations, as I told you, and just starting reading many, many books about that, and attending master classes about this and that, Italian ones, but not only those. And, and on the road, then I I learn on the road. Then I I feel really, a part of this community. Yeah. You basically know every single Italian wine produces. Yes. And then in the last ten years also abroad, I've met many, many people in the main wine regions. So, of course, one of the things that you did, I I don't know how many for how many years you've been doing this. But is this event that you organize in Cortina? Mhmm. It's called Vino Veeep. Mhmm. Has it always been called Vino Vee? Yes. Yes. What was the name that my grandfather gave to the to the event, Vino Veeep, Vino VIP, that means all the important people in the wine sector should be here and share the knowledge and their, the views. This is a like, for us, it's like Davis for the Italian Davis, you know, in the us for example, they are gonna have like put in wine or for finance, in Italy, Sonobio, on the Commollett. And we want you to do some, something similar for Italy to let the Italian wine people meet So how many days? How many years? For how many years have you been organizing VINaví? Personally? Yes. It's like my first edition was zero nine. Oh. O nine. So it's like For thirteen years. Thirteen years. When did it start? I started in nineteen ninety seven. Oh my goodness. Yes. Yes. It's biannual, biannual. So it's every two years in Christina. Right. Very great. And now we are alternate with the, Fortidian army. Okay. Tell us the kind of the format of Vinoville. What does it entail? Because yesterday, there was kind of a movies. You had to talk show and then there's a trekking this morning. Actually, you're all dressed to go. Well, we have two pillars in the, you know, Vipo, which are the talk show, where people talk, of course, we, we choose two, three, four speakers that introduce some topics that we're interested in. And then when we have time, there's a debate, or or just a, a talk with a spokesman, and the second pillar is ground tasting. It's a big tasting with, with the wires of all the wine producers that are invited. That's been a week to this year. We have fifth, fifty nine. Usually are fifty five, fifty six, and a more, a small number. Producer because we organized that tasting in spectacular places that here in Cortina that usually are not very big. So, and we used to go at the refugee fall area. That is, a hut on the mountain, two, two, two thousand meters, and it's quite a it's not that small, but not more than fifty five producers can can go there. And this year, we'll go to the club house at the golf club in Cortina, another small place in, in the boot. So, beautiful places, but small. And is that also open to, wine lovers? Or Yes. The gone Is that a ticketed event? Yes. With, yes, the gun testing is ticketed. The, the rest is for the, for our hosts, basically. And around this two pillars of the event, we organize different things for each edition. This year, you mentioned the movie. But, other times we had wine conversation with Pierre Ari, aria, one of the important people. We had, many different things. It depends. Are you enjoying this podcast? There's so much more high quality wine content available from mama jumbo shrimp. Check out our new wine study maps. Our books on Italian wine including Italian wine unplugged, the jumbo shrimp guy to Italian wine, Sanjay, Lambrusco, and other stories, and much much more. On our website, mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Now back to the show. And tell us a little bit about the movie. Okay. Like, why? And It's a weird thing because the movie has nothing to do with wine, of course. Is a, a famous Italian movie, of the seventies, but the producer of this comedy, it was the father of an important Italian producer that is, an Ostratovino Vipa, and the the, the winery is a rocka del Macci, and the producer is sergeant Zingarelli, and his father was a movie producer, and this was this, greatest success. And his father's name was. Italo. Italo Zingarelli. Yeah. Yes. Very funny. This, the the movie that we had yesterday night was the most, successful in Italian cinemas ever. And what is what is the, the title of the movie? Okay. With Bud Spencer in Terrenceville. It's, it's not a spaghetti movie Yes. Because a spaghetti western because, Sergio, it was a spaghetti western man. But what is is a comedy based on those modal in the spaghetti western. So it's, a nice thing. So, Aleisandra, you know, you've been organizing these events for about thirteen years now. And during the pandemic, of course, like, many of us, we had to adapt. Yep. What were the greatest challenges during the pandemic? And, what did you do about it? Oh, well, I I tried to analysis some jobs that we had already. We're doing, like, the podcast, like yours or the So you have a podcast too. What is it called? Okay. So it's an Italian. It's an Italian. Yes. Yes. Conversations with Italian producers. Okay. Yes. About their lifestyle. So for our friends out there, they know that I am a great advocate of podcasts, of course. So it's called Maestri, the video with Alessandra turquoise. Check that out. Thank you. And the podcast, the videos, IAGTV, you know, this, the smallest boom, movies for the Instagram or the social. And, we tried to reorganize something that we had at the magazine. So it was, two years to, to, to think and rethink. What we were doing. And the the biggest challenge was to keep the contact with, our clients, the producers, the wine community, in general, because we couldn't meet and, you know, and why meeting is essential but we we could not. So we we tried to to call, video call, and so you it was a lot of, you know, this, you know, the virtual meetings and events. Yeah. We we use that. Yes. I didn't like that that much. I think it was really fattigating to stay all day long on the video. Yeah. It's the zoom fatigue. The zoom fatigue. Yeah. I I suffered a lot. Yeah. So now, what is your outlook? You know, because In in reality, we're still, cohabitating with COVID still. Right? It's not over. The game is not over. So, like, what what are your plans now? How are you going to go forward? What is your vision for? I try I try to to organize what our specialities, our main events like this Mhmm. Or simply the best that is another tasting that we organize in Milano. Our city, we are based in Milano. And, all the things that we had already done but with a special attention, that's my attitude toward this. So, Ali, I want to ask you a personal question. Right? So, what are your personal ambitions but just in general, you know, people have such great great things coming from you because in a way, as if you were, you know, you had to take Pino's place in a way, but you as what are what are your personal goals? What would you like to? I know you're of course different from your grandfather. Now I realize what are your personal goals within the next I would say five years. Well, first is to maintain the success of Shilt albera. That is not easy because, is a magazine, a print magazine. Yeah. And people after internet, right? People get free content all the time. All the time. So my in my goal is to keep very strong attention on my magazine and to have subscriptions because they people find something interesting to pay that is at big challenge today. And and so there's a lot of work that didn't exist twenty years ago because you have to really to offer something special, from, an editorial point of view. But, secondarily, I'm I just want to to do my job, honestly, with a professional attitude and to be recognized as a serious one expert and very, an authoritative one spares. That's my goal and it's different from Pino's goal because he he didn't want to to be, to be considered the next victim. So, Vino Vip. We're back to Cortina now. So you're plan you're still planning to do Avino Vee the next next year. We'll go Next year. Yeah. We'll go to a month. What they've emailed me. How are they different? Cortina and for the demand. They have something very strong in common. There there are two, two places where the, most influential and important people in Italy meet for summer and very exclusive places. So and also the atmosphere, even if you are on once on the mountains, the other time on the sea, the atmosphere is not that different because you know, it's, like, old important places where you, you find the villas and the houses of very important industrial people. So the atmosphere is, has something here, but, of course, and the the temperature is different, but the format is the same with a talk show and with the ground tasting. And some tastings are other meetings around. So just one last question before a week ago, because I know you have to your trekking very, very soon. The hiking. You know, we have a serious problem with the the neck, the future generation because if you know why the younger generation, they're not keen about wine. So how do you what do you suggest? What are your ideas in terms of stimulating, educating, the wine consumption of the next generation? Have you got any secret. Well, I've got I've got three three children for How old are they? They are twelve, fourteen, and sixteen. Okay. Good. So they're just starting to look at one of my job. So I I have the, you know, a laboratory at home. And, so you just give them wine. I share the wine a little bit. I see. Sometimes to the older one. And I look at them at their attitude and towards my my job and and why. And I see, if you talk about wine in a a bit pop way, you know, to head, of course, to talk about wine, what what is behind wine, looking at the labels, you know, the the packaging now is very important. And they get curious with, from details, like, like, labels or a short story that I tell while sharing, food at the at the table. And, and I see that they are are interested. And my my daughter, who is sixteen, sometimes, taste a little bit of wine. They and she appreciates, more whites than red, of course. Like, everybody. I think it's the Who starts. Yeah. It starts with the white, light, white, maybe a little sweet, but I I see that they are not away from wine. They they are not against wine. Mhmm. Just sometimes the, the storytelling of wine today in, in Italy, at least, is, still, too exclusive, and, like, people wanting to keep secrets and their secrets. Of course, this is not the way to involve and engage people, especially young people. But I see that also when I, when I have the, friends of my children, at home, and they get to know the time in this, industry, They're very curious. Oh, wow. Wine. So you you travel. You go to the wine regions. So that's, something positive. And so my, my thought is that we don't have to spoil this. They have the curiosity, but there is something in the way that that stop it, maybe because of the price, maybe because of the way that we tell wine. Because I don't know what I have to study that, but wine is for almost everybody, something interesting. So we just to have not to spoil it. Okay. And that's it. That's this is final wrap. Okay? Thank you. Thank you for joining us on another installment of On The Road Edition, hosted by Stev Kim. Join her again next week for more interesting content in the Italian Warren scene. You can also find us at Italian wine podcast dot com or wherever you get your pods. You can also check out our YouTube channel, mama jumbo shrimp to watch these interviews and the footage captured of each location.