Episode 1549

Ep. 1549 Gianfelice D’Alfonso | Slow Wine 2023

Slow Wine 2023

September 7, 2023

50,47777778

Gianfelice D’Alfonso

Episode Summary

Content Analysis Key Themes and Main Ideas 1. The importance of rediscovering and promoting lesser-known native Italian grape varieties. 2. The specific case of Uva di Troia from Puglia and its unique regional characteristics. 3. The role of benchmark producers in making diverse Italian wines accessible to international markets. 4. The significant aging potential of certain Italian native wines, exemplified by Uva di Troia. 5. The integration of historical research and modern winemaking to preserve and enhance ancient grape varieties. Summary This episode of the Italian Wine Podcast, recorded at the Slow Wine fair in Bologna, features an interview with John Felicje from Alfonso del Sordo winery in Corato, Puglia. The discussion centers on Uva di Troia, an ancient native grape chosen as a ""benchmark producer"" for the Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0 book due to its availability outside Italy, serving students and international wine lovers. Felicje explains that Alfonso del Sordo has focused on rediscovering this ""unsung"" grape since 2001, partnering with the University of Troia and enologists. He details the grape's debated origins, its strong ties to their specific region in Puglia, and their cultivation of small, old vineyards, including a 70-year-old plot contributing to their reserve wine. The reserve Uva di Troia is aged for four years, and Felicje highlights its impressive tannin, color, and remarkable aging capacity, noting that vintages from 2001 and 2003 are still showing beautifully after more than two decades. He recommends pairing the reserve Uva di Troia with rich, well-balanced foods like beef or roasted beef. Takeaways - The Italian Wine Podcast promotes exploration of lesser-known Italian native grapes. - Uva di Troia is an ancient grape from Puglia with distinct regional characteristics, championed by wineries like Alfonso del Sordo. - Wineries are actively engaged in rediscovering and promoting ""unsung"" Italian grape varieties. - Uva di Troia wines, particularly reserve bottlings, demonstrate significant aging potential, lasting over 20 years. - ""Benchmark producers"" facilitate the global accessibility of specific Italian wines, aiding both students and consumers. - Uva di Troia is characterized by its good tannin and color, making it suitable for aging and pairing with substantial dishes. Notable Quotes - ""Uva di Troia is our focus for our production because we are one of the few wineries that tried to rediscover these unsung grapes."

About This Episode

Speaker 2 from the Italian wine podcast talks about the success of their podcast, Uva Detroit, and their focus on the Italian wine industry. They also discuss their experience with their own wine and their plans to expand their podcast. Speaker 3 explains that their podcast is a combination of vertical testing and fine wine development. They also mention their plans to expand their podcast and encourage listeners to donate through Italian wine podcast dot com.

Transcript

Since two thousand and seventeen, the Italian wine podcast has exploded. Recently hitting six million listens support us by buying a copy of Italian wine unplugged two point o or making a small donation. In return, we'll give you the chance to nominate a guest and even win lunch with Steven Kim and professor Atilio Shenza. Find out more at Italian One podcast dot com. Welcome to this special series dedicated to slow wine held in bologna in March twenty twenty three. During the fair, we conducted several interviews with some very exciting producers. We were able to pull out some of the more interesting elements of Italian wine within the slow wine movement, tune in each week on Italian wine podcast. Hello. It's Cynthia Chaplin here again from slow wine in Bologna. And today, I have with me John Felicje from Alfonso del sordo in Korea, and we're gonna be talking about Uva de Droya because the cantina was chosen to be one of our benchmark producers for the new edition of Italian wine unplugged two point o. And in this book, we selected benchmark producers who are available to be found outside of Italy for our Italian wine academy students who are studying and also for Italian wine lovers who want to try some of the lesser known grapes, that are a little bit less famous outside of Italy. So let's talk about Uva Detroit. Yes. Uva Detroit is, our focus for our production because we are one of the few wandery that, tried to rediscover these unsung grapes. And we start in, two thousand one with our research with University of Troya with mister Regimolo. That's a well known analogies that help us to rediscover and to promote this kind of work. It's a very ancient grape. How long has Uber Detroit been in Korea? Home since long time because it's, many stories about, that some of them tell that the auditoria comes from Spain and the other from the east part of the Adriatic Sea. So, Troy, you know, Troy Troy. Yes. That's why it's a long, long story, but, it was present in our area. In order to pull you because it's very characteristics for our area different from the south of pull you. Very different. Yes. And for that reason, we were very interested in it. So how many hectares of EVA Detroit have you got? We have about, five vectors. One So very small. Yes. Because one of this is a really the Hansen grapes, dancing binds. 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 Vazzy Lambrusco and other stories, and much, much more. On our website, mama jumbo shrimp dot com. Now back to the show. How old? Yes. It's about seventy years old. Wow. And it's the original, vineyards in our, one week. So from that vineyard, we take the best grapes to transfer in wine from our reserve. Okay. And so with your reserve, you're aging it longer, obviously. It's about four here. And, it's one here in the hopes, in to know, and after in bottles, Right. And, this is the process, but it's a really interesting one. Well, an Uva Detroit has a lot of tan and a lot of good color. So the potential to age it even longer is better. Have you been trying some of your older wines? Really. Really. How are they aging? Yeah. Because we have also the two thousand and one, the first vintage that we produce, only in Venezuela, because in the past, it was blended with other grapes like Montecuciano and Sanjay. But we start as I told before from two thousand one. And, we usually make the testing, vertical testing. Also, two thousand one, two thousand three are really good to test. So they're standing the test of time over twenty years old. Yeah. Really aging. So, well, and as I said, it's lovely to have a benchmark producer where we know we can find this wine outside of Italy. So when I've got my American clients and my British clients, I'm and my Chinese clients, what should they be eating when they're drinking Uva Detroit? Oh, really. Food is perfect because with this kind of, Reslva, you need, important food, well balanced like, beef or roasted beef. Good. Oh, well, thank you so much for joining us. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, EmailIFM, 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 until next time.