Ep. 794 Elena Fucci Pt. 2 | 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 scenes most interesting personnel talking about wines, the foods, as well as the incredible travel destinations. Chada Gatsi. Welcome to Italian wine podcast, and this is the on the road edition. We are in It's in Vasiligata with, of course, elena Frcci. So where is exactly? Because when we think of Barile, I think of pasta. No. It's a badyla. Yeah. Like, you know, exposed. It's just one word. Right? Badyla badyla. I'm thinking like, you know, Parma, whatever. But we're in basilicata. So tell us where we are. Yeah. Here we are in the partner of basilicata on the Monticata. The Monticoltres. I was working in a state, and Barilay is my town. It's a small town. On the on the Montewood. Okay. So and what is kind of the the famous, I would say, city close to, Barila? Close to Barila in the in this part, basilica to have two province, matera and potenza. Okay. Potenza is the north part, and now we are in the potenza province. A material is the, the sword, the parts of basilicata, and, is at their part. But is near MELFI, for example, and MELFI in the past is a city where when leave Federico secondary. They are most important in in in, so Italy. And, and, we have a castell in the, in the his house in the MELFI and, MELFI's most famous. But Relay is a very small town, have a very old region. It's a Greek origin and the albania origin in the Albania. Yes. So you have to you, your family has all been in region as well? Yeah. Yes. Because my my my family is born. My mommy and my dadi, born in Barile, and they have a, every people have all all the origin of from Albania. See, from Albania. Can we speak here a special language? Is that Arbrush? Is it like a dialect? Arbrescia is a lake. Like dialect, but it's another language. It's totally different. It's a language. Yes. It's a language. And it's a Greek and albana old. Oh, you're kidding. So do you do you speak that as well? Yeah. That's crazy. Yes. So I know that, you know, of course, we did a small pasta lesson with your your mom and dad today. And that is is that an so is that an Albania dish? See, yes, is a is a old albania dish, and the name is Thomas Matullia. Thomas Matullia. I kept on saying too much, but, tell us what what we we had made. Too much. Samantha is the and Matuilla is, with the bread, with the Okay. So we we made that today. So that's that's very, very interesting. So listen, Elena. I know that your grandfather passed last week. Yeah. Right? Yeah. And was he? How old was he? Ninety five year old. I've seen few producers before getting to you this week. They know him. They had met him, especially like John Franco, Fino, etcetera. And you spoke, of course, wonderfully about him. You had a special relationship with him. Right? Yes. Because I returned to work with him, because my mom and my dad, they are a teacher. And when I decided to study with equals to criminology and they've grown me, I returned to work with my father in, in the world. And, my my grandfather is a very funny person. So he work, in the world because where he's young, he's going in, in Caracason, and he work in Caracas and, after work, he returned in Italy, and he buy this property where his father working. It's a very to this house. Sorry. This house and the And the the vineyard. And the vineyard. Yeah. Working here for the big, property. So in a way, I mean, you've started the winery in two thousand, but it's really also your grandfather. Who gave you that possibility because he bought the land and he started also making some wine. Right? Small quantity of wine. He's making a small quantity of wine for the family, but it's a very good wine. In the past for the people, because the people, the people know this. What was his name? Janirozo. Janiroza. Yeah. But he was known as Ziroz. No. No. For us, it's not Norrozo because where I when we are children, I and my sister and my cousin is a very long name, Jennie Roso, for the children. And we, non Rosa is more simple. So, so you, you know, you have two siblings. Right? Two sisters. Yep. But they're not doing they're not in the wine business. No. I'm all this. My sister, my sister, Rossella, is a doctor and the And what about your other sister? The other sister is ten here. Younger, younger, and she studied a letter to all the literature in, in pizza. I wanted to ask you this label. Can you tell us what this label is all about? Yeah. The Titalo is our classic wine, and we produce twenty five, thirty thousand bottles with a six sector of vigna and, only a hundred percent. And, with, a six sector for our UC and UCGs, it's possible to produce sixty thousand bottles, so that we produce exactly alpha, and, because we can short select the grapes before and after the address, and we work only for the eye quality. In the last, six to seven years, we started with a new project with a special edition of Titolo and are the label, the different color. And we have the new entries, the rosette pink edition, the total pink edition. We produce only nine hundred bottles. After, we have, and for our humidification and aging in Afra. And, we produce, nine hundred bottles. And after superhero and reserve are, do CG, and we produce only four hundred bottles. For, for label. And, the last, project is the shag. Shag. It's completely different. Right? So you didn't call it Tutalow. Why? It's another project because in, two thousand sixteen. Full friend of my grandfather decided to cut on a very old Vigna, seventy year old, Davinia. And I and Andrea decided to working for the, Dysvina, because they for this impossible to work. They are very old. Mhmm. Ninety three, ninety four, ninety six six year old. And for day to day today is in not as possible to work in mena. I and Andrea working doing a four day. And with a grape, we produce another an otherwise check-in our language in our dialectar brush, inner brush, is a, palm grade, palm grade, and, is a a symbolic in Italy. In Italy is a reborn, symbolical reborn. And exactly, this wine is, reborn for this old vigna. And we with our old vigna with this grape, we produce a wine for the younger generation. For the young people, it's a little bit smart. Yeah. So, and how many bottles are you doing? Okay. Oh, four four hundred four hundred and Yeah. So four hundred and nine hundred seems to be your magic number. You know what? Yeah. Right. How did you come up with this logo? The logo is my my my name, e and f foot. So the e, the the horizontal line. Line is e, and which line is f. Uh-huh. Okay. Then you have this, like, thing going on the wings. What what is that? Because we we with my grandfather, with my father, Sorry, in two thousand when I start to, we think, a label and after we think a logo. And, only e and therefore for my father, not as good. It was it was too simple. Yes. And with the pen, He write, a hills, two hills. Oh, two hills. And are the terrace, the the vines, the terrace, you see the terrace of the uh-huh, in the hills. Okay. So, during COVID, how did you live COVID? Like, two thousand and you're a small winery. And I believe your wines are not, sold in supermarkets. So I know the ones who had access to GDOs in Italy and elsewhere, they've actually done very, very well during COVID because people drank wine like crazy. Right? That was twenty twenty one, I do believe the premium lines like yourself perform better than the year before. But how did COVID affect, your commercial success? But also how did you cope with COVID in general. Yeah. In two thousand twenty, changing, completely the approach with the the the the client because, Oh, I presented the new Vintaj and the new project. Or, for example, Anfra or or, Rosato, I present on on internet on Zoom or on internet. Is that different? So you did you did, online tastings with yours. And after the order directly. Uh-huh. Why? That's that's that's, international clients or Italian clients? We start in this, we start with this work for the Italian client because, we have a very more order for the private client, not restaurant from COVID from Yeah. Well, and we start with Italy after after two, three months, they, export, importer. They call me, and they think, Helena, it's possible for you to explain the wine, in the by the private client because they had the wine. Better the the the day he has a very long because we start with, Zoom, with, direct, direct, direct, a histogram or, in the morning, nine o'clock, and I'm finishing the night because in the USA, it's different. This different time. Yes. And, yeah, it's a very hard work, work, but, strange, different, strange, but, for me, for me, it's very, very funny because for me, it's possible to know the final client. Right. And usually, this is not as possible because, they are in the other part of the world and, so how many how many visitors do you have? Like, how how and how does it work? They go on your website and they Yeah. Reserve online. How long does a visit last? Because you have a very skinny, small structure. Who's organizing all the, the tours and the wine tasting and all of that the tour, the two start with the tour in the Vigna after the new seller and after the old seller and finishing the with the testing in the testing room. And, during a one hour and a half two hour. And, it's possible to only with a reservation. It is important. Yes. What are some of the big wines, more famous wines that you can think of? To say. If you like that wine, you should try Ayanyiko del Vulkura. I think Aetna Russo, Aetna, I think I they were very smart because they said if you like Pino noir, you know, from burgundy, you should try Aetna. I know they're different, but if you like that kind of style, then you should try. I love Nipiola grapes. Right. I love For example, I'm very I'm, best friend of, Barolo, and my husband is best friend of Barbara Esco, for example. Mhmm. And, and the Gallianico in in basilicata and in the in the Campania for me is more difficult to share because the usually where I'm, in the rest front in Italy, or you know, I don't drink Calianic or I don't drink my wine. I don't drink Calianic or when I I'm in the in the in the USA in Canada, in the other parts of the world, where is the on the on the wine list, the the the wine in basilique. But from basilicata, I shared the from Rosie always. And, It's more difficult for me, to have one, model of a yanukkah, because I work in the, you know, I work for for the one modern, master, not modernist. And for me, it's, is most most most difficult, to think Ayanyika only for the tradition or traditional wine because, I think the the in the last fifty, fifty, ten years increase in the in the production and the medium quality is a is a high level. But I think probably probably this this this the population in the in the basilicata and in Campania, they have, they they think They think more at the traditional methods, I think, today is the moment that you drink, is it, is impossible to wait twenty ten twenty, twenty five years before drink wine. It's important to produce a wine, to produce a wine in the in the in the mo modernist, mood, but it's important to to drink the wine is impossible today. I think this is my personal opinion. What is the what would you recommend in terms of food with your different ones? Yes. I think The Tittleot classic is better for the, the lamb, the, the bakalam. Bakalam. Yes. Here is most famous with the with the pepper. So not not spicy. Not spicy. You know? We we we dressing under the sun, these peppers in, in the August. Mhmm. And after in the in the winter, we fry in the olive oil, this wheat peppers and these are like chips. It's a like like chips. Okay. I'm a little surprised about, Bakala. I'm going to try that. Okay. That's a wrap. And that's Italian wine. Podcast on the road edition with Elana Fucci in Barila, not Barila, from in Vasiliicata. Cheers. 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. 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