Ep. 2000 2000th Episode Milestone Top Pick | Special Episode

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at italian wine podcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Hello, everybody. My name is Stevie Kim, and I am honored to be the founder of the Italian Mind Podcast. Today is an incredibly exciting moment for us because we are celebrating our two thousand episode. Yep. That's what I said. We launched our very first episode way back in twenty seventeen with Monte Walden as our sole host. Fast forward to today and the podcast has grown into a daily show with different hosts each day. Sometimes we even have extra episodes averaging ten to eleven episodes a week. It's no surprise then. We've produced over two thousand episodes in just seven years. I say over two thousand only because some earlier episodes were not numbered. The Smallstone is very special for us at the Italian Wine podcast. To celebrate, our podcast team has chosen their favorite episode from the past seven years to share with you today on replay. Thank you so much for your support, and we hope you will continue to follow us and help spread the gospel about Italian wine, and of course Italian wine. People. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our special throwback episode number two thousand. Welcome to another episode of On the Road Edition hosted by Stevie Kim. Each week, she travels to incredible wine destinations interviewing some the Italian wine scene's most interesting personalities, talking about wines, the foods, as well as the incredible travel destinations. Okay. So we are back for the second year in a row, Anteprima Monteferco with the president of the consortium of Monteferco. But this year, it's not called A. A. So what what is that all about? Well, he Montefaca. It's a Montefaca. In the Italian language, r is two. So it's like move to a place. Though, I go to MonteFanco. So our MonteFanco is too MonteFanco, and it's a way to simplify the speech of the people. Where are you going? I'm MonteFanco. That is the answer. And It's not anymore in Anteprima, because, you know, in the past was Anteprima Sanarantino. We was talking in the message just of one product, but is Monifacal just one wine? What do you learn in the recent past TV? Much. There's now. There's, Roso de Montevaca. That is the older white? Trebiano, spolletino. There is a lot of stuff. So, see, our Montevaca today is come to see the rainbow that Montevaca is able to show from his balcony and Today, we are on the balcony of the municipal office. So the view from here, we are very lucky because it's not allowed to everybody to be here. So just for official speech, the view So what is this sir what this balcony? What is it Cool. First of all, this is the municipal office. This is the mayor office. So Okay. So this is like the town hall. Exactly. This is the town hall. So with all the public service inside, And we are in front of the square. On this side, we have the theater. Over there, there is, our headquarters. So consortium headquarter. And with all of us the main main a Yes. It's our main square. Yeah. It's it's not the town. It's a village. It's very small. How many how many inhabitants? Totally multifagu is five thousand people, but I think that in inside the CV wall, there is only somewhere around the people that used to live inside. The most of them come only in somber time. You see, it's it's it's it's closed. It's while this real is true. It's beautiful to have a fashion that is unbelievable. I am mesmerized. It's beautiful. Oh, well. But from here, it's funny because it is first time I come with this anteprima on the balcony and read all the words that start with the a because the other things we did, is let play the people with the a letter. So a like anteprima, Right. He, like agriculture, agriculture, indigenous, authentico, real, Artigiani, Artisan, Armonya, Harmony, Panama, Panama, so So all letter, amore, love. So all letter that start with this. So So this this is going to be the new campaign, like a permanent campaign. It's going to be Yeah. That's his, Montefaca. Yes. It's also give the opportunity to hold our guests. Best, to find the word that describe Monte Fargo. Mhmm. Starting with the a, because a, is the first letter on, to use. So it's where we start. Is the beginning of the speech, and the speech is the beginning, of the link between people. We talk each other because we have a language, and we have language because we have letters. And all the help of it start with the a letter. Are these your guests? No. Different I don't think these are your guests. Yeah. We have also guests with fake pass. Everybody's gonna be part of the party. Yeah. This is not your fake guest. No. Okay. Yeah. Let's see. I think they just look like terrorists. That's those are theories. Yeah. Those are theories. So listen, tell me a little bit about the program this year. Well, What what does it first of all, how many people do you invite? Well, numbers numb numbers of journalists rise up a lot. Last year, we improved about forty percent this year, an additional thirty percent compared to previous year. We have a between hundred and sixty hundred eighty journalists from all over the world. That is not easy to handle in two days. As you can see, all demands are running as crazy as they can to to afford to hold the delivery. Hundred and sixty. Hundred and sixty. So, yes. So and how many of them are foreigners, like international press? I believe, Steve, at least the the fifty percent or even more. Oh, ciao. Or even more. So it's a huge number. In terms of news, this year you saw, we have, the bicycle. So the electric mountain bike be riding the bike. So they come over there, they pick the bike. And then they're going to the wineries. They go to the wineries. Yes. They hug. They go from winery to winery. It's quite far. Right? It seems, but it's not. Mhmm. Because when you are, biking in the beauty, you don't feel that the time is passed. So, you spend half an hour and looks to you five minutes. You before to depart, you was thinking that, oh, it will be so hard and tough. And at the end, it's not. It's super easy. And now things happen. I had experienced yesterday of some French journalists that keep the bike. They come back so enthusiasts that looks baby, and give the feeling to the friends that they get back to the emotion that they used to have when they was child. I believe is a is an award. So who how many bytes? Twenty. Alright. But we look more to the quality instead the quantity. Yeah. Because not I mean, it's not everyone will go on bike? Yeah. But we look especially to the quality of the bike. So, we got very high quality, very famous brand. We can see we got the Ferati of the bikes. Mhmm. Because we wanted our guests enjoy Montefaca, and the neighborhoods, with professional staff. So this is the first time you're using electric bikes to, do the winery visits? Oh, yes. It is. Yes. It is because they just arrived. We run, a lot will be ready for such day. Because as you know, it's not easy today. Find professional, mountain electric mountain bike, ready to go. So but we really dream for it. We make it happen. And the beauty is that, the dream we had to make it happen today is the dream of the people that are enjoying, such amusement because it's not it's not only writing or talking or describing, looking from your point of view, but it's also really enjoy what you are going to describe in your video, in your article, in anything else. So I'm Monte Farfetch. How long is the program I want the fact that it's technically technically today is the nineteen and the twenty Which is today and tomorrow. Today and tomorrow. Nineteen twenty one is open also to also all the people on trade. So restaurants, retailers, and noteka, they're allowed for taste too. It's also true that as everybody know, and you know, our guests, our journalists get coming to visit, Montefaca. They used to arrive two days earlier, and they used to depart two days later. But it's okay. So it is technically one week, but the spot is nineteen and twenty. Are you enjoying this podcast? Don't forget to visit our YouTube channel, mama jumbo shrimp for fascinating videos covering Stevie Kim and her travels across Italy and beyond, meeting winemakers, eating local foods, and taking in the scenery. Now, back to the show. So let's talk about a little bit about the tasting. Okay. So the tasting is, you're doing the two twenty nineteen vintage? That is, right. So first of all, we evaluate the two thousand nineteen vintage. Mhmm. How many stores this vintage is going to have? And tomorrow we will discover it. Today, you know, spoiler. Mhmm. But let me say that it's a good vintage. Such better than eighteen? I think so. Mhmm. But this is my personal opinion. The final result is not up to me, but there's producer that judge, there's journalist that judge, there's consumer that judge, and the medium of all of them, give the stars. So I have, have a good feeling. And they're going to announce that today or tomorrow? Tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow. Tomorrow. I know they will say today, this year, let's say nineteen is eight stars. Right. And this year, last vintage, how many stars? It was four. Okay. It was four. Mhmm. But also we put close by the stars also numbers in hundred points. So it's nine hundred points, ninety one nine hundred points, because five stars have every meaning. Four stars have a meaning, but it's much more meaningful, say, ninety one, ninety two, ninety three. So close by to the stars, there's also numbers that score how good or bad it is of vintage. But there is also an additional difference compared to previous year. Since last year, been allowed all the wines two thousand nineteen to be presented, all the producers. But this year, about, forty fifty, producers. So we may have more wines per producer. From this year, only the wine that been bottled. Uh-huh. Before entrepreneurs, they are regularly bottled. Mhmm. Can be part of the Anteprima two thousand nineteen. Because last year, there were also terrible battles. Exactly. So this is the hugest change we applied this year and really did the difference. So we tried to prove that we can be even more professional than ever we ever been with us. Okay. Alright. So today's the program. Today and tomorrow, the the press, the journalists, they get to taste the wines, many as I saw that, actually in the back. See. They can taste, by choice. They can order the wines, but there's also blind tasting. Yes. So why? Why are you doing It's because any single journalist have a different approach to the wine and to a territory. And there's people that want to know what they're drinking and they want to drink the wine in a specific order that they have in their mind. Other people, they that they don't want to know what they're drinking. They just want to have, a general opinion and discover what they got, only at the end of their tasting. Uh-huh. So we have a huge as you saw, we have a huge bunch of sommelier, that are ready as soldiers, to supply to hold such kind of questions. So what do you wanna drink? How do you wanna drink? How do you want to develop your job? We're not here to doing our job. We are here to support your job. So how do you wanna handle your tasting, your situation? So when you do these tastings and you have your guests whether they're press or trade, you know, experts, wine critics, they rate the wines. Then do you give each producers the feedback? How does it work? Of course, every single producer is well informed about the press folder, let's say, in such way. So our press office work, to collect all the information, all the articles that are going to be released, and, of course, all such information are shared as anything else. Between all the partners of the territory. That is not only a consortium member, but we're talking about all the producers. So all of them deserve it independently if they are a consortium members or not because they're a producer. And anyway, in a way or in another, they support the consortium and they support the delivery. Okay. Alright. So then tomorrow, you do the you make the announcements of the results. See. Right? Of the scores. See? From this vintage nineteen. See. And then you also have like a party. Right? Oh, yes. That's just a difference. We introduced you since last year. Yeah. A lot. So is it going to be similar to last Yeah? Exactly. More or less the same. We changed the menu. We tried. What's the menu this year? Oh, wow. Because, you know, this year, we want to give a little bit more, flavor of what MonteFA represents in terms of also Gastronomy. So tell give me the menu for tomorrow. Well, I don't tell you the menu, but I tell you the change. Okay. What what I did last year is ask to hold the restaurant sooner in town because we have more than fifteen restaurants around in the city wall. That is a huge number. I said, guys, that is also your moment. You are a co actor. So we we we are all of us as members of the movie, and you have to be part of such event. So I involved them. Last year, all of them, they tried to make a dish, but they tried to be creative. So Fancy. Fancy. You know, I say, I wanna show myself, and And thanks to last year, they where they saw that it was a party, where it was a feast, there there there wasn't the official situation where you have a standing in a place, sitting in another. People had freedom. So they this year, they grabbed the idea. And so we are going back to real food. Not not because last year was fake, but when I say real food, traditional, easy, we no evolution just like Stanford. Exactly. The same dish that the grandma used to cook. I know that is but it's what I used to have since when I was young. Who care? Mhmm. It's for us. It's something we have always had, but for everybody else that is not from this area. It's in use and it's gorgeous. It's beautifully true. It's real. It's historical. Is everything? So the menu will be a would be real. Yeah. It will be slightly different. Right? Maybe Much easier. Very tasty. Very real. Very careful. Very tasty. That that is the right morris. They're very, very difficult. So looking forward to that. Okay. Music cocktails because at certain point, we have to also stop with the wine. Yeah. There's a moment or But there will be wine. Well, of course. Yes. But you you're also We cannot read without the one. You're also offering cocktails. Cocktail music, we play each other. What kind of music? Oh, that guys, he's no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, live music. So we have a group that sing. Well, we can ask if you have favorite song, we may ask. And I'm sure that the guys, they are Italian, so they can sing everything. And then we play, you know, before we was playing football at we call Cachio Balilla, full ball. So it's funny. Last year, I remember there was, Alessandro, You know, it's always serious precise with the jacket. But then he was, like, he was very serious about it as well. Yeah. So he was playing with us. So also, the old producer that are always with the jacket, they feel themselves calm for the women's action situation. So it's funny. It's different. Okay. It's enjoyable. So listen. You're going to give us a little tour, right, of the city. Okay. Why not? Alright. Let's go. Let's go. Okay. Thank you for joining us on another install of On The Road Edition, hosted by Stevie 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.