Ep. 785 Elena Fucci Pt. 1 | On The Road With Stevie Kim

This episode is brought to you by the Italy International Academy, the toughest Italian wine program. One thousand candidates have produced two hundred and sixty two Italian wine ambassadors to date. Next courses in Hong Kong Russia, New York, and Verona. Thank you, make the cut. Apply now at viniti international 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. Welcome to Time One podcast on the road edition. We've been spending the entire day with Elena of Elena Fucci, of course. And now we'll be tasting two wines. One is, of course, her signature wine. This is what she is all about, which is titola. First of all, why is it called titola? Titola is the name of this area where we live, where we have a seller, and we have where we have a Vigna. The incomplete is contrada, Solania Del Titolo, and Solania in my dialect is under the sun. Okay. Here we are in Maryland, six hundred meter high on top. The Monte will trace, I want thousand and three hundred meters, and we are highest in the Voltura. And we produce only one wine, Tethalo. So what why did you decide to produce only one wine? In two thousand when I started, I never asked single vineyard, a single grape. I'm from, basilicata, and basilicata, the people in the world, they don't know where is basilicata? What is Monteicata? What is ayanico del vultura? And they think, okay, It's important to have one vineyard, one grape, one wine, and it's possible for me to explain where my region, my my terroir, and, I start with only one label. This is the last Vintaj, two thousand nineteen. And is this wine already being sold in the mo available in the market? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's the last vintage, and, we started to sell now. Do I? When do you usually release your wine? Like, what what time of the year? Well, I start after the after the the guide. The journalist speak about the new vintage in preview and the after we we started to sun before Christmas usually. So the nineteen, is this your typical wine? Yeah. Typical to Tula? Usually, I described my wine in the modern, but not modernist wine. Right. You love to say that. Right? What is what does that mean? Modern, because it's my idea, Veronica, and not modernist because I work in respect the terraria and the variety, the typically center of, Alanyikodel Vultore, are, acidity, minerality, and Tannin. And, usually, the people who think of Sood Italy or think of red wine in Sood Italy, think of very hot weather, very strong red wine. But for the bhutore, it is not true because we are in the middle. We are on the mountain. And the the ayanico bhutore is a very elegant wine and, not more, not more alcohol and not more, exact ion, butter in the middle, and on the mountain, it's most important for me to work with the elegance acidity, minerality. And the typically characteristic are acidity because we are high. The minerality because the soil is a volcanic soil, and we are on the volcano. The volcanoes are all volcano themed. Yeah. And what about the soil? Are they all similar in terms of the soil composition? It's a it's a similar the soil in the oil. And this is a another motive because I decided making only one one wine because I don't have a many different soil in my vineyard. And the soil is a mini stratification, the mini eruption of Voltware, and So you showed me when we were walking in the vineyard, you showed me there was a pot, you know, there was a wool, and you can see all the different layers, the stratification of the soil types. Can you just basically tell our audience what the soil can you just give us a a bird's eye view of the of the soil? Yes. When you see the soil here in six hundred meter, I gone the volt today, you see the many, the many colors of gray, light, gray, and black. This color is a the many different, the many, different eruption of water, lava, ash, and lapilli. Lapilli is a little stone lava. Okay? And sometimes is a brown part. The brown part is the clay and represent when the volcano is dormant. It's a sleeping. And today, the clay is most important. Times because the clay, the the lava, actually, draining the water, the draining water, keep the minerality, nutrition facts, and the clay stop the water for the plants. The plants don't have another specific. Is a machina perfecta. That's usually I describe my my soil. So do you think there are similarities with wines coming from all other volcanic area? Like, I don't know, Aetna, for example. Are there similarities in terms of the soil structure? And then, of course, the wines that, you know, become from these soils. The soil is is, yes, it's similar. And the the the variety not are totally different, but usually, the the fier rouge on the on the volcanic wine, volcanic wine, is that are minerality and the minerality and the elegance because usually on the volcano, the weather is very cold. And the phenolic component, the phenolic motivation is perfect where the It's the same on the Aetna on Aetna is on the sea. Yes. And the the variety, the grape is totally different of ayanikodil Voltres. Let me ask you a question. Are there a white grape varieties able to thrive, to grow, in this area? Here in the past, we have, more Malvasia and Moscato. What kind of Moscato? Moscato, but for the sweet sweet wine, not for, yeah, or to maintain. But in the past, in the seven, nineteen, seventeen, in the in the ten years of the cat, the the vigna, the people here, and we don't have They they they they pulled the vines because they got money from the European Union. Right? Today is only only ayanico de Vultore. And we have the, influence, the company influence, Fiano, Greco, or But, today, we don't have a typical grape, of white white grape. Yeah. I was just wondering, you know, so there's right now, practically, how many how many producers are that of Alianca and Vultura. In the in the conceptual, today, we are sixteen. But twenty, twenty five, producer have a, a very important structure and that they export in the world, and the other are very very very small or they produce only grape, and after they put the grape, in the in the container. Mhmm. So they sell the grapes or or bulk wine. Right? Okay. Alright. So, of course, how you how many wines do you produce? You produce Ticolo, but there are different you have different labels. Right? You did a Rosay recently. You did one in amphora. Right? I produce only titalo, twenty five, thirty thousand bottles. And after I have, many different color in the label, small special edition, and, for example, Titolo is a twenty five, thirty thousand bottle. Rosato is nine hundred bottle. Rizair weighs four hundred bottles, and, very small. And what about the m four zero one? Is nine hundred bottles. But I just saw you. I just saw today that you had ordered additional and for us. Yeah. So this means you will be increasing Yeah. And for once. Because I think is a very, a very, a very good, very good method of, of verification because I started with the first experiment in the two, twenty seventeen. And, now, I decided to, to buy a, other three amphora, and, with a four ounce price possible to produce, four thousand four thousand quattro mila, four thousand bottles. Yeah. Three thousand six hundred at least. Yeah. Nearly four thousand. Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And, the amphora is a Italian clay and, near Florence in Pruneta. And, the material of, argilla is a little bit more porous. Then the ones from, I don't know, Georgia or Yeah. The credit or We are, kilometer zero. The very quick claim, the crossigenation, have a concentration in the wine. And, the, the timing is a a little bit a little bit big loose, but the minerality is, is for me, wow. Let's taste another one. Alright. So we have now a reserve, a very small quantity, which you produce four hundred bottles. Haya, where do you where do you even distribute these bottles? Because, I mean, obviously, you're only producing four hundred bottles. Where where do they end up? Who gets has access to this bottle. It's possible to testing this wine in the cellar, and, it's important to, for us that you come in in basilicata, and you visit our cellar, and you're testing the special edition because it's more difficult to have this special edition in the restaurant in the nottega and the and the the the very small, very small quantity of restaurant and the nottega have this wine, and they are very lucky here because only four hundred bottle is a very small small quantity. And the So what tell us the difference? What is the difference between the regular aging three years in the food, in the big world, five hundred liter. Don't know, and one year in the bottle before to start, to market. And where is Titalo? One year in the bottle and one year in the bottle before to start. And, for me. But is it always Tono? I can't remember. No. Tono and and the Barrick. Barrick? Whereas, this is just tono. Just tono. Okay. Yeah. When I start, I work with my grandfather, but in the in the venue, no, not in the cellar. And, for me is the most important to to changing my idea of, because, the Titolo, okay, today is a classic wine. But I don't know. I work well with my grape, and I don't know. I have, the, the must with my grief because in the past, my family, I don't have the the anthology in my family to to to confront this in my work today. And, is that I'm lucky because when I start, I I work, with my idea is is I'm lucky for this because usually in the big family where the tradition is, in the last century and in the century before, is very difficult to to have an an idea. And I'm working with my idea, but So you've been working very, very hard to establish yourself. And I think you did a fantastic job. You've really put the on the map of Italian wine, and I think I think it's fantastic. Can you just remind us so you have Tiktilo and then you have the Rosai superior. Is, aging, is it the difference is in the aging. It's, aging, two year, the superiority in the in the barrel, in the in the to no, five hundred liter, and one year in the bottle before to start tomorrow. But he's a four hundred bottles. What would you like to do? What is the next step in terms of wine production for Elena Fruci? What is your vision in in terms of production line? My my, my step, not easy to increase the the number of bottle in the quantity. So you you have the capacity because with the with the land that you own, the vineyard line. You can produce up to sixty thousand, but you're actually producing less than half. Right? So so, but you still want to maintain thirty thousand bottles in total. Right? So what is your vision? Work more for the communication of Vultura and Vasili Carta? Because, in the twenty year, we work. I am the the other producer. We work very well because the medium quality in this, in this, region is very, it's very high today. But the the way that is the way we start now and the way is this to explain, in the world of Vasile catalani because it is important that people come in basilicata. Even myself, I hadn't come to basilicata in many, many years. So I hope I hope that is true. And that is a wrap for now. We've tasted two wines. Of course. The vintage is two thousand and nineteen. Right? And then, of course, the reservoir. Very special indeed. It is the same one except it's superior riserba. And the vintage was two thousand seventeen. Okay. Very good. And by the way, I was listening to Elena Fucci's podcast interview, which Shawen. It was a clubhouse edition. We had published it in in August. If you missed that, please check it out. It's it's really a great fun interview as well. So that should also give you a better idea about elena Fuji. Okay. And that's it from basilicata Chinchin. 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 wine 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. Hi, guys. I'm Joy Livingston, and I am the producer of the Italian wine podcast. Thank you for listening. We are the only wine podcast that has been doing a daily show since the pandemic began. This is a labor of love and we are committed to bringing you free content every day. Of course, this takes time and effort not to mention the cost of equipment, production, and editing. We would be grateful for your donations, suggestions quests and ideas. For more information on how to get in touch, go to Italian wine podcast dot com.