Ep. 896 Iconic Women In Italian Wine Pt. 3 | On The Road Edition With Stevie Kim

Welcome to iconic women in Italian wine on the Italian wine podcast. This recording was taken from a seminar that took place during Vin Italy twenty twenty two. Listen in to this unprecedented unique session that included two competing wine writers and seven renowned wine producers sharing a stage to tell their stories. This was a meeting of hearts, minds, and wines, a showcase of the communication skills of women who were able to pool their resources and put aside differences to come together for the greater good of the entire Italian wine sector. So let's just brief briefly while you're tasting the wines, talk about these two lovely wines. The interesting thing is that they're from the same vintage. I I think we see a lot of energy and harmony from both of them. I don't wanna give too much away. I think you all have your own tasting notes, but maybe Monica, you have a word or two to say. Absolutely. First, I just wanna say how beautifully everything is showing especially that last flight, it was absolutely fantastic. And now we go into this other flight. And here we get in both wines, a more robust taste profile with darker fruits, a lot more earthiness, you know, more volcanic nuances in once. In one of the wines and definitely a lot more intensity overall. So this is kind of a very special flight of these two wines, and they're both unit united not only by the fact that they share the same vintage, in this case, both warm vent it's a warm vintage. I can tell you that. But these are powerful bold, muscular wines that really show a strong footprint. Well, I mean, I would agree that they're powerful, they're bold, but I also think again that harmony and that sense of equilibrium that I was I was mentioning is there. And and yes, you see these. It's like everything is amped up in the same level. There's a concentration of flavor. There's a concentration of structure. There's a concentration of acidity. And and when you put all pieces all together, they all fit making them really fascinating to taste today and and showing very well. I guess I would do the review. Maybe. Yes. So okay. So first of all, again, I'm gonna give you a little clue. Who thinks? Who thinks who thinks that the first wine is an Amaroni from Meralisa? Anyone? No. Okay. Who thinks the first wine is an Alianico from Elan apucci? Okay, bravo. And who thinks the second line is an Amroni from out from their Alisa. Very good. You are very good students. Okay. We'll have two trees. We'll have two two thousand pearls. Yeah. It's the two thousand four of Alianico doubletree. Tikulo from Elena Fuji. And two thousand tell called I'm Maroney Delavo Palachella Classic reserva Sierra Montee from Alagrini. Monica, do you want to lead here? Yes. So, I'm happy that everybody got a chance to taste those two wines. We now get to speak with the winemakers, Elena, dear Elena, and Marilisa. You both share amazing stories bringing your regions to the forefront of Italian wine and communicating them. You faced special challenges in trying to explain basilicaca and Valproicella respectively. What are some of the key points to stress when you travel abroad and what has been your experience promoting wines from lesser known regions? How about we start with Marissa, please? So, thank you very much, Monica, for this question. And, I think that we have to go a little bit, back because, it's, forty hours, but, I'm traveling on the road. Promoting my Pratella wines. And, I remember at the beginning of my travel number, La Pratella was not, you know, that was, really appreciated because, But Pratiana was, at the beginning of the eighties was, known for inexpensive wine and the legal Pratiana. And then Amarona was a very niche wine. And so, not the money high end consumer. Really appreciate. Well, Pericello. So for me, it was a big challenge. And, I travel a lot, and I start in the United states where I learn a lot because I learn that, it's important to make good wines, but it's also important to be able to communicate. And I remember the first time I went to America, my important at that time, don't allow me didn't allow me to go out, to sell wine until I made the I wrote down everything about the company, about the one production of the Valpolitical area, about the grape variety, about the different unification process. So It was a big challenge. And at the beginning, I remember that, sometime in San restaurant, when I was very proud to share my wine, some people said Oh, we don't want to have a very polite line in our line list. And you can imagine that I was very, very sad about this. And so, the storytelling was for me what uh-uh happening to promote to the mine. So so to put the wine, the verification process, and also the diversity that Italy has, including the assessment process that is one of the characteristic of the, really helped me to, make this area known because, even among the high end consumer, Vapulicella, and especially amerone was not a very well known wine. And, I realized that, the Balicella became successful when in two thousand and one, one of the wine that I produced was in the panel of the ten top wines from Italy, and it was during the wine experience. And I think that for women that are here, tonight, they were in the same panel. So talking about the amarone. This is a is a single vineyard amarone that come from a vineyard that is located at four hundred and fifty meters So quite high in the peninsula. And, Clara explained about, very well about the microclimate. And, this vine, good soil, great ventilation, and also fantastic exposure. And the the vineyard is facing Easter. So my father always used to say that the the vineyard that face Easter are the one that have the most beneficial influence because they have the morning sun. So the temperature raise quite slowly. And so you have a good ripeness of the grapes. It was one of the first single vineyard that we produce. So we're producing this wine from nineteen sixty until nineteen eighty five. And then we stopped producing the single vineyard because the vines were affected by the Esca disease. So at one point, we took away all the, lines, and then we let the soil to, rest for ten years. And then we repainted and then we wait ten more hours until the, the vines that are up to the roots. And, the wine is, harvest. This is the two thousand and twelve vintage. It was harvested at the beginning of October. And then, we dried grapes, and we pressed the grapes in the middle of January. Middle of January, we are in the coldest month of the year. So it takes, ten, fifteen dollars, the fermentation to start, and then the fermentation lasts for two months. When the wine is at two third of the fermentation, we inoculate, selected east because can't because of the richness of the wine It is very difficult to develop the last part of the sugar fermentation. So, for the the the skin contact, lasts for almost two months. And then we immediately after the fir the fermentation, when we separate the skin from the juice, we could put the wine into barrels, And then we have the evolution of the this intense a rich wine in barrel for forty eight months. And one of the characteristic of the wine is this intensity but also, we never lose the focus on freshness. And in fact, we don't let the wine to have the malachi fermentation so the the wine can keep this, freshness. Thank you, Marilisa. Thank you very much. So I would pose the same question to to Elena, but Elena, specifically for you I would like to know, what do you what lessons can you offer to a young generation of female winemakers when it comes to communicating your territory? You have had such a special role specifically in this part. It's all monica. It's all. It's all. Thank you, Stevie. Thank you, Allison. And do you, Monica, for this, experience for me is, fantastic, to be here with this special woman wine for me is a dream. Okay? Thank you so much. And, my dreams in the world wine start in two thousand. To twenty two years ago. And, because my family, think, to sold the Vigna, my whole Vigna, in the Vazilikata, on the Monti volto, and the Monte volta is our rule. Can I stand, you know? And my father, my grandfather, my great grandfather had designs. But today, don't keep in the line. They sold the grapes for the producer or, consortium. My And, in two thousand, my family think to solve these, these vines. In, in the summer of two thousand, I finished y'all school, and I think to studying in January, genetics. Doctor this September, I'm changing the idea because I know my family with advice is sold in my house. The house wasn't born. And then I'm living with the with my family, and I'm changing my life. I decided to study medical terminology, agronomy, and, I stopped to making my line. What is start in two thousand, the people in the world. I started making a line I think, okay. I have six sector all together around the cellar, a single line, a single label. And, burn my my wine, my life. And, in the, then my experience in the world is the same, Marie Liza, because I travel a lot in the my life, I travel a lot for for explaining it for, for tomorrow for the other people in the world, my my region and my wine. And, usually, but when I describe my wine, I describe my wine in the mother to not modernist wine. Because it's my idea, and, butter, butter is, is my idea, because I'm I know I make up of my wine and, but, but, I have the right work and respect the the the variety and the where we are. The principal characteristic of ayanical artery, acidity minerality and tanning, Usually, where do people think a Sood Italy or where do people think a red wine in Sood Italy. They think a very hot weather, very strong red wine, but for the ultra red is not too strong because we are in the middle. We are on the mountain. Dultery is one thousand and three hundred meter, and we are six hundred meter on top. We have every winter of no, and the summer and spring are very fresh with eye excursion nineteen day. And in the first time, the people, in twenty ten years ago, fifteen years ago, the people in the work, they don't know this because they usually think, okay. Sudito is very hot wet or very strong red wine. But for the Alianico, we work for the high gasidity, the minerality. This is the the typically characteristic of the the Alianico. Here in the glass, you have, twenty, you know, twenty twelve for the the details. And, and, for me, is is funny because, is a ten years ago. And, ten years ago, I don't I don't imagine this in the in the in the in the wine world. I I don't I'm ten years ago, I don't know my life changing, complete in this in this ten years. And, for me, it's a pleasure and honor to to see you and sorry for my English. Because I start to work very young, and I start to study English four years ago. And for me, this is crazy to speak. Thank you. Thank you for your attention. Thank you. Thank you, Marilio. Thank you, Marilisa. And then I just have to say it's a real pleasure to do this comparison of the same vintage and we're talking north and south. So, a common theme. And I love, as, as Monica mentioned, the the freshness to this, but I also, it's so interesting to see how your line has aged, Donna, and also for you, Marlisa, to see the evolution as well. So, thank you both. We are going to move on to our third flight, and we have two lost wines. I won't have to give you a hint as to who the two producers are process of elimination. You know, the the interesting thing here is obviously we're talking Tuscany, and there's this really, this beam of black cherry and black currant fruit in our first wine, as well as these fine but structured tannins and kind of a a lonely earth character underneath. And then we we see that same pure fruit in our second line, but also a savory component that comes along with the the dark berries and the fig. There's some olive and there's some iron. Any any comments, Monica, from you? Yes. I mean, we are we are talking about two wines from two vintages that are five years apart, both relatively cool vintages, if you'd like. Maybe one with moments of heat and different times. But, it's also a different, palette when it comes to great bridal that will discuss that. But, these are two very important lines that, come from shared, DNA, if you will, because the two families that made them are, in fact, cousins. So, I mean, it's it's there's a shared winemaking knowledge and know how an expertise that is definitely broadcast across both, both glasses. They these are beautiful wines. I'm so every wine in this flight has been just amazing, and I've been so impressed to see all of the little differences from, you know, the tip south, south, the deep south of Italy to the, far north. And now we kind of go into this, you know, a softer zone of central Italy. And you can definitely taste the sunshine and the, toscaneda, the tuscan influences in both these glasses for sure. They're they're under the tuscan sun, I think. Yes. Definitely. Definitely. Great. So let's see. Who thinks our first one is Antonori. Okay? And who thinks our first one is from Priscilla, San guido. Okay. And both. Well, and her thing said they're dissing something else completely. Oh, my. Let's do it again. Okay. Who thinks the first line is from Ansonori? Okay. More hands. Who thinks the second line is from oh, sorry. Second line is Romantinori. And who thinks the second line is Romantinori? We'll do it this way. Very few. Okay. Anyhow, the voting process is over. The first one is the two thousand eighteen ten and the second line is the two thousand thirteen SASakaya. So to let our producers speak, so, Abriela Priscilla, the two of you carried the honor, the responsibility, of an important family wine legacy. And you have kind of a unique perspective that allows us to assess both the past of Italian wine but also the future. So in general, I would love to talk a little bit about the direct of Italian wine in your opinion. Specifically Albera, maybe we'll start with you. Something, if you would mention is, you know, we've seen a lot of growth in Italian wine over the years. And there's been a lot of success even during COVID. And how does Italy keep its momentum? How do you keep it exciting and competitive? You're taking a big legacy and you're moving forward with it in a very positive way. What kind of advice can you give to people in the wine industry? So thank you. Thank you, Alison, and and Monica from, from remote. I think everybody's getting, talking about the wine. So we'll just be very brief and and and coincides. Compliments for all the wines that have been tested until now. I think here, we have an example. If we talk about the direction of where Italian wines are, we have an example of with the last two wines of the history of the past fifty years where it has come from and of the diversity and uniqueness of the wines that can be made in Italy, which is exactly what the future of Italian wines can be. It's the terroir, the diversity, the uniqueness, uniqueness of the stories that we have here, There are not many other parts of the world that can have these assets. We have unique and special varieties. There are still to be discovered. There are so many. I mean, we see how we know that he's I mean, we know Italian wines. We know, but still every day, you get surprised by wonderful areas with local varieties even with foreign varieties planted that makes wine that really you put your nose in and you say it's Italy and it's some parts. I don't know, but it's it's got they've got this elegance. They've got this minerality. They've got the sun inside. That really, what can you ask more for future? We call a long past, which is not long because it's only fifty years, fifty sixty, which, ones that have, Well, there are other regions that have a longer history, but let's say the recognability that, of of Italian wines, from, other other areas other countries have come in the past fifty years. And If you think lots of areas, lots of appalachian, even a traditional one, we've had, peanuts that perhaps have been replanted once or twice thirty years more or less. So there's going to be lots of new things coming up. Important is that we have a vision that is centered in the quality with the idea of pulling out uniqueness, personality, and distinctive stories that are linked. To what there is also behind because one is not only what is in the bottle, but is also whatever we manage to explain and take and take around. Great. Thank you, Adriara. Because I think everybody pretty much has has what knows what Tiana is, but it's eighty percent twenty percent Cabernet sauvignon Cabernet. It grows into our state of Tignanello, which is between Florence and Siena in center of county classical. The first vintage was nineteen seventy one and it was a bit of a turning point, at least in our in our, winery, to give us also the courage to show what Italian wines can be. And, a very close story to the one of Priscilla's Monica said it's, again, it's family DNA, and there it goes. Okay. Alright. We're going to hear from our last producer, Priscilla. A specific question for you. Italian wine has always been, you know, very often linked to families and multiple generations of the same family making it. How do you see how can Italian wine family safeguard against the pressures of outside investors, banks, venture capitalists, an increasingly competitive market? How can Italy keep its magic? Thank you. Thank you, Allison. Thank you, everybody. Thank you for including me in this panel. Like Monica said in in the introduction, I am part of a family, I'm part of a team. And when they asked me to be one of the seven iconic women. I wasn't very sure that I would really make part of this group, but I guess that I can represent an iconic wine. So I'm happy to no. Come on. I'm happy to be here and and discuss it together with you and tell tell you a bit about the story of our family and, how we, exactly deal with these things that Alison outlined in her question. It's not easy because all the issues that, she mentions are actually, a real, issue for the for the family businesses. And you need to have a very strong sense of pride for the family, enterprise for the family project. Really strong sense for the family values. And, we have this, great responsibility to carry forward for the next generations what we have received from our predecessors And the idea is to do this in in an even with with the idea is to pass on something that we got in a better shape than how we received it. So we are kind of seeing ourselves as the guardians of something that we have to take care of. For the ones that are coming after us. And, of course, these broader family values also have to be combined with a certain financial project behind it because financial financial goals have to support the family goals, having a long term view. We are maybe not interested in making a short term cash, but nonetheless. Of course, we need to have a sustainable, sustainable virtuous circle around what we are doing. I guess that, trying to involve the family, the family members, in some way in the family activities is a good idea to keep everybody interested. We are quite lucky in our case because, as you might know, is not just about wine. We have a larger state where we do several activities. So we have a possibility of involving different family members in different aspects. We have, horses. We have a nature reserve. So, in my generation, for example, we are five cousins, first cousins, four boys and myself. And, some of them are more interested in wine. Others are more interested in nature and horses and others are just happy to make part of this group and altogether we we try to do our best to carry forward this, great legacy. Of course, it's very important that we also, in in case of need, one shouldn't be ashamed to say that one can get some nice advice. There are some companies who do exactly that, especially in generation transition. You can get some consultancy on how to deal with this, family generation change issues And very important also for Timta San Guido is to make part of this group of producers called the primo Famia Vini, the PFE, which is all about this kind of problems and being able to share our our issues and our know how and our problems with others that have similar situations. It's very, very comforting and also very interesting for us. So this is, it's very important. Thank you. So just, two words about, Sasekhaya that we're serving today. It's a two thousand and thirteen vintage. We chose this vintage because we wanted to show a little bit of age. Sasekei with a bit of evolution. We chose the magnum format because it's a way how the wine can be aging at its best. It's a vintage that was very good and regular in the Bulgaria area, but maybe a bit less talked about because it came in between two quite challenging vintages for completely different reasons. Twenty twelve was very warm. Twenty fourteen was very cold and rainy, and twenty thirteen was a little bit stuck in between. So maybe it's a vintage that was not very much talked about, but we thought it would be nice to shared with you today. And, we think it it for us, it's, very much representing our style of production. So we are happy to share it with you today. Thank you. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Himalaya FM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. So until next time. Chichi. Hi, guys. I'm Joy Living, 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. 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