Ep. 365 Velenosi Vini

Italian wine podcast. Chinchin with Italian wine people. Hello. This is Yzzale in wine podcast. My name is Monty ordering. My guests today are Angela and Mariana Velinuzzi from the Velinuzzi winery in the Le Marque region on Italy's Adriatic coast. Welcome. Thank you. Okay. So let's, who is so Angela and Mariana, one of you is daughter, and one of you is the mother, which is which. So I'm the daughter. So I'm the second generation of Velinosa winery and my mother. And I will need the mama and hervelinosa first generation in Villinosi wine. So what are your, each of you will have a role in the winery, mother, and daughter? Mariana, what is your role? And then Angela, what is your role? So I'm in I'm the marketing manager. And I'm in charge of the off premise panels, especially in Italy. And the for me is the owner. And, I attend everything in the Villanosi wine, but about all of the sales and, for, the export and the Italy. Where is exactly is Velanuzzi, located in, Limmarke, which, province, and, Where are you? So our winery is located in Escalipi channel in the south of Lemapka region. So Lemapka is a beautiful, but still a quite undiscovered region of the center of Italy. And, it is an incredible region with a ten percent of, the regional territory that is protected. And, seventy percent of the territory is composed of eels and thirty percent of mountains. So we do not have flat areas except for the one hundred eighty kilometers of cost lines, with the twenty six touristic cities. We produce wine mainly in the south of the region. So in Escoliticiano, but we also producing the center of the region where there is Verdicchio and La Clyma. And three years ago, we also invested there in another region that is Abruzzo. So really close to Escoliticiano, actually. That's interesting what you're saying about Le Marqui. I mean, about how rural it is. It was, slow, slower than other Italian wine regions have become sort of industrialized, industrialized agriculture. So that's why it's preserved. It's beauty. And I'm sure, you feel very lucky to live there. So Obviously, we're in the, you're near the Adriatic sea. What influence does that make on the climate and on the way that you grow your grapes? Actually, we have an influence of the Adriatic sea and also of the Balkans, which are located on the opposite side of the Adriatic sea. This because we have really odd summers, that can be as hot as thirty five, forty degrees. But thanks to the Appenines, there are many rivers that cross the region and flow into the Adriatic sea, like a comb. And because of these rivers and the bulk and wind, the temper the temperature excursion between day and night is very high, almost fifteen degrees. And this temperature excursion gives our wines a good acidity and is combined with the minerality and the aromaticity given by the influence of the sea. And moreover during winter, the cold wind from the Balkans carries with it snow, and this is perfect for the, hydration of the vines. So what about your, the characteristics of the vineyards in terms of For example, soil, what are the what are the predominant soils in your vineyards? So we we mainly have a clay, sealed, and sand, but then it depends, on how close the vineyard is to the sea. So for example, Devigna, where we produce produce our rojo, that is our most awarded wine, a blend of Montecian and San Jose, is, really close to the sea. And there, we have, mainly, sand. So seventy percent of sand. While the vineyard, we have, we think, really close to the Appenines. They're mainly composed of clay, of clay and silk. How was the winery created? When was it when was it born and who founded it and and why? So, actually, it was my mother and my father. So my parents started the founded the company in nineteen eighty four. They started with the nine hectares and a very small seller. We didn't study, winemaking. So they didn't have experience and they didn't have money from the company, but it was like a dream, their dream. And after so many sacrifice, after thirty six years, we now produce two point five million bottles. And, we export our wines in, fifty two countries around the world. That's a that's a pretty, substantial. Are you the biggest one of the biggest wineries privately owned wineries in the Marque. We are one of the biggest family owned wineries. Yes. Yeah. That's I mean, does that does that give you an extra bit of responsibility you think? Is your you're not a corporate winery that you're a family winery. Why why is that important? For your for your values? It is important because one of our main value is the tradition of winemaking and the tradition of our territory. And, I think that, our mission is to preserve this tradition has a family that works with the wine. So just tell us a little bit more about some of the great varieties that you that you work with. We can start with, say the main white variety verdicchio. What makes that special? Actually, yes, the BQ is one of the most, actually, it's the most important, a great variety of LaMar region. The BQ is, really special because, it has a really, important product in the market region, and is, it has a really great longevity. So it's a win. You can drink a really young, but you can also keep a bottle for thirty, forty years, and it will, find new characteristics and a new seasonality. So it's probably one of the most, renewed and, awarded the wine of, Italy, not only of Lemake. What about, your main red varieties? You said you expanding down into the neighboring region of Abruzzo, which is well known as the Marquis for the multiple channels. Great. Do you have any multiple channels? Yes. Of course. Actually, we mainly produce a rossoppy channel, in La Marque region, but we expanded also in Abruzzo region where we produce Monteciano. So we do a version of Monteciano, DOCG, and we produce it, keeping the traditional method of winemaking. So we do, we age the wine in concrete and then in a big barrels. That is different from the tradition of the market that usually we use as stainless steel tanks and bar weeks. So why is why concrete or cement tanks good and why you why are you making your red in that particular way? Yes. It's interesting because it was the tradition of the region. So as I told you before, our mission is to preserve the tradition of our territory. So we decided to change the method of the of the production because we wanted to go back to the tradition of the Abruzzo region. So normally, concrete is a really interesting material for aging wines. I mean, what's good about the cement tax is they, the wine can relax. It doesn't have these high changes in temperature, when they're aging. So it probably keeps the wine a little bit calmer than it might always might otherwise be. In terms of, in terms of farming, in terms of, the Viticulture. Are there any are there any real problems that you have to deal with with the great varieties you work with or are there any special ways of farming that you use in the market? Actually, in terms of farming, we decided to convert our winery to organic production. This was the main the the main changing for the company in the last thirty years. So we are now converting hundred percent of the company to organic production and we are already environmental sustainable in terms of production and in terms of philosophy. This is the most important changing. But, actually, we we work mainly with, which are graves, actually quite easy to work with. Even if they have a different personalities and different characteristics, so we have to, consider these differences and make the wine express itself. So this is quite difficult, but, we do not have other problems in farming. You mentioned, Pekorino. Tell us a little bit about that grape variety, because it's quite a trendy grape variety. Yes. It's a trendy grape variety right now. Our winery decided that to focus on Peccarino, Peccarino is an indigenous grape variety that was, rediscovered, thirty years ago, that is located at four hundred meters above sea level. You probably have heard the of this small village because it was destroyed by the earthquake of four years ago. However, so, Pequarino, before it was just used, to blend with other white wines, while when it was rediscovered the thirty years ago, there were many companies, that decided to produce single grape wines with the pecorino. So now we we produce four different versions of pecorino because we believe that, is one of the most important grape variety of the center of Italy because of his its expressions and its characteristics. And Peccarino, as well as Verticchio, has a really good longevity. So if kept in good conditions is a wine, we can keep in a bottle for thirty years easily. You may obviously make a lot of wine. What are your main markets, export, particularly? What are your main export markets? Our main export markets are, Canada, United States, Germany, Asia, especially China is a major, emerging country as well, and then Europe in general. Okay. And what is your biggest, is it is the USA, is that your biggest export market still or not? Yes. It is. And who would you I mean, who just out of interest? Who's your, who do you work with in the States in terms of logistics importers and things like that? Our import in the United States is that via imports an international importer. So we work just with him for our market line. Mhmm. And the UK, you know, the kingdom? United Kingdom, we have, several small importers such as continental. And what have you got lined up in the future as a family? Obviously, are you gonna expand any further or are you gonna just stay with what you've got? I mean, how many how many in terms of your production, what is your production overall roughly, in terms of wine output every year? We produce two point five million bottles, and we have, more than twenty five, typologies of, labels. Of course, we want to expand even farther. But we want to do it in the right way. So three years ago, we decided to invest in Abruzzo, as I told you before, in a new winery, in the Abruzzo region. So we will now work on that winery. And after that, for sure, we will look for another, another path. Okay. Got my final final two questions. And they're the same question wrapped in one. You're on a desert island, and you can only take one white wine and one red wine with you. Which will it be? I would take, has Fred Wine, La Camoro, and has a white wine, probably, Pecorino, Barricato. So, Barric. For people that don't know, what is Lacrima de Mora? And why why is it special. So it's, Latrimadimoro is an indigenous grape variety of the region of Le Marque. It's a really small production. So, all the producers together can produce, only one million bottles. So it's a really small production we have in the market region, and it's unique because, it has a sense of roses and the violets, really intense. So it's really parfumed with the ample bouquet And, we always used to say that, it is feminine to the nose, but masculine to the mouth because still has a good pendant, and it's this spicy aftertaste. Yeah. It's a wonderful grape. It's a sort of aromatic. A light red, which is, I think, very, very versatile and, a very intriguing, a very unique wine suit. I just wanna say thanks to you, to both of you for coming in today, Angela and Mariano Beli. A very well run, large winery, fascinating to hear that you're going organic on such a big scale. And it's nice to hear that you are working. So happily with, the indigenous grapes of your very, very beautiful region. So we wish you every success, for the rest of the season and, keep up the good work. Thank you. Thank you, Marty. Thank you. It. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italianline podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time, chi chi Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast with me Monty. All in my guest today are Angela and Mariana. Hey. Yeah. You know what I'm a professional there is. Right? Hello. This is nothing. My name is Monte Gordon. My guests today are welcome. Okay.