Ep. 1482 Santo Neri | The Next Generation

Since twenty seventeen, the Italian One podcast has exploded and expects to hit six million listens by the end of July twenty twenty three. We're celebrating this success by recognizing those who have shared the journey with us and giving them the opportunity to contribute to the on success of the shows. By buying a paper copy of the Italian wine unplugged two point o or making a donation to help the ongoing running costs, members of the international Italian wine community will be given the chance to nominate future guests and even enter a price draw to have lunch with Stevie Kim and Professor Atigioshenza. To find out more, visit us at Italian wine podcast dot com. Welcome to the next generation. I'm Victoria Chacha, join me as we chat with young Italian wine people shaking up the wine scene. We're going to geek out on a grape or grape fam and then hear about all the wild wine things are destined enough to. From vineyard experiments to their favorite wine bars. Hello, everyone. Welcome to a Another episode of the next generation with me. Excited to have you back tuning in. Today, we are traveling to Sichia to Sicily, for our interview and for a little great discussion. Cited about both of them. For many different reasons, we'll give a new spoilers. So let's dive right into it. As you know, I am holding closely dearly to my heartbeat, Italian wine unplugged two point o book. With all the juicy details about the grape babies that you need to know. Today, we are going to be talking about one of at least hot white grape varieties from Sicily. Can you guess what it is? Karicante. Yes. Karicante. And a fun fact is the name actually references the great varieties tendency to produce high yields because the Italian verb Karicata translates to Can you guess? Too load. Isn't that fun? That's what I love about. Wine and food is if you are studying a language, it makes it very much a lot easier. Well, also if you drink a lot of the wine too. Also helps. Moving on. So although Katicomte was once grown throughout Sicily, it is now almost entirely confined to the high elevation vineyards of Mount Aetna from nine hundred meters to twelve hundred meters above sea level. And particularly fine wines and although superior examples come from the township of Milo located on the volcanoes eastern slope. Now, you will find Karigante in all parts of Aetna. We were just there on the VIN Italy Chitascolásiga in the fall. Gosh, that feels like yesterday. And it was gorgeous to see, the vineyard's fantastic. You must go. A little bit more on Karicante. It's very well suited for Mount Aetna, where old bush train vines are trained load of ground to capitalize on the warmth radiating off the dark volcanic soils. Karicante has thick skins, can be easily sunburned, so they have to stay low and covered. It's a late ripening varietal, and the harvest often occurs toward the end of September the beginning of October. So things happening with the climate. Who knows how long novels stay true. My makers often delay harvest and hope that the naturally high acidity levels of katigante will fall. Yeah. Katigante is a a zinger, like, it's it hits you without acidity, making it an awesome great bridal to produce wines at age. In the glass, Karicante's lemon yellow. It has a saline and mineral character with an abundance of lemony and citrus flavor. You can get notes of orange blossom chamomile, green apple, and even a bit of anise for a little bit of complexity. And with age, it does develop these flinty diesel like aromas, and you can also still get a little bit of clove and spice as as this wine ages. Of course, it's mostly dry and still wines. Although there are many mono varietal, caricante wines, you will also find, wines made with a small protect percentage of local great variety such as Manila, Inzolia, and Katarato Bianco. That's a little bit on your caricante. So let's move into our interview. We are here at Denicelli at Netti winery with Santonelli. How are you today? It's a very busy day, but it's a exciting and beautiful experience. We really like to come out in Italy. We have a new company that was founded in, two thousand eighteen by my father and my uncle because we have, one of the most exclusive, hotel, or Mount Aetna, Villanary Fester Hotel, a member of Smolax, the hotel of the world, And we are also the owner of, a winery, Casarrigo, in front of Villanaries, a sort of luxury for a house with the nine rooms surrounded by the bunions. From two thousand eighteen, we decided to buy some money arts in order to create a good company because we want to connect the travel with the the travel with the wine in a sort of premium word. So I feel really lucky because I actually got to visit Neddy. I was on the Jitascolastica with Vine Italy International. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. And, I mean, I was working, but, you know, when I sat down by the pool, not by the pool, but to eat lunch, I actually was just looking at a beautiful little video I took of a a fried, I don't know what to call it in in in a sicilian necessarily, but it was like full of pistachio cream. Okay. So something really nice memory because I love food. But anyways, beautiful, beautiful estates. So tell us more about you. You're super young. You're only twenty two. Right? Yes. Eight twenty two. So tell us a little bit what about what it was like growing up in, around wine and the estates in the hotel. Okay. I am the next generation of my family, and I studied economics, in, at Buckole University in Milan. And I really believe that our group of our companies will grow with this fantastic, beautiful territory. In fact, Aetna was reborn from, two thousand, two thousand one, thanks to most important, several most important new companies that were founded by, for example, under Franketti Martegraza. Today, our territory is one of the most important territory in the wine world. And for this reason, the, a family like us that that was born in Limogloss. It's a, outacton, outacton, family, want to invest in this territory, in the hospitality, want to, increase the number of the rooms. We want to create, a new level in the one world. We want to increase the number of both. We want to became a sort of, a sort of people that, put that, come outside and represent our territory in several sector. Yes. No. It's it's really important because just mentioned is, of course, there's Aetna and that's a really new, not new area, but in the sense of popularity and bringing you know, really taking these indigenous grapes, like enarado Moscalese, in Caricante, and really bringing them to the forefront of the wine world. And it's so different everywhere you go in Aetna. Tell me a little bit more about you and in in the winery. Where do you what's your favorite part about working in the wine world? So I don't have probably one favorite part, but I really like to send the wine to travel a lot. For example, in, the next week, I will go to Singapore, Hong Kong, because we have a new agreement with free, several importers in these new states. And we start a partnership in Asia. We, close an important agreement, for example, in Italy, with one of the most important district of fine and premium wines. I hope the tough trip in Italy, we can close. We are working today. About, possible partnership in all entire USA. And in order to arrive in this particular market, that very, that they love a lot to Italian wine in particular, sicilian wine, We are working a lot. I, like to travel a lot to know new culture, to discover new people, to meet new people in order to became more rich and to redound in my, in my companies, in my lingua glossa with the new ideas in order to contribute to enrich our territory, our culture, and to create a new generation of people that can contribute to increase the business to increase, all activities in our territory. 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 food, and taking in the scenery. Now, back to the show. So you said, a lot of wonderful things just now, but I have two questions before I forget. So firstly, you said that you're going to be going to Asia, which is really incredible because I've chatted with some students part of our Via program, and, you know, from China, Taiwan, etcetera. And it's really wonderful to hear that you're growing in that market because, you know, for a while, it's been just Bruno and in Barolo. Did that relationship start because you had tourism coming from that part of the world, or was it more the opposite where you were reaching for, getting your wines east? I believe both. I believe in, sort of, I believe that I meet new people in this, country, and I became more rich. I increased my skills on the other side. People from this, country went down to Sicily in our hotel can contribute to us to, correct, for example, some several mistake to give us a very different range of advices in order to contribute to our growth. On that note, I'm gonna kinda turn the conversation away from the business side because as we know you are twenty two, and you're very intelligent and you know a lot of it's, you know, no very much. Yes. Because as somebody who's I mean, not to talk poorly about myself. My business is not my forte. I'm a good talker. That's why I have the podcast. But what was it like? I I mean okay. What was it like growing up in Aetna, in in in that area? As a young person, And what changes have you seen? I believe that, not only younger generation, but the entire people of Etonaria will, in a very slow way, probably, but will, they understood during the last years, how our territory was reached? How our, how our territory was placed fantastic in order to create wine, to for example, for tourist decrease also, and we are growing. And some people, understand probably slowly. I don't know why for several reasons, but they understand the potentiality of our territory. And thanks to this situation, I believe that our territory can, can grow in a very fast away. It can became one of the most important territory for wine in Italy. And so Why do you think that people your age should be drinking the wines from Aetna? With, I answer to this question with three words, because it's, Aetna de la bourgogne, the Mediterranean. And for this reason, I believe that, our wines, but in general, Ettina wines needs to be discovered by consumers and, can inspire some consumers and some, sommelier. So on that note, though, being that you know, we're talking about people you're each and and typically and I agree. Yes. Anna is the the burgundy of of Italy in that sense. But if you hear the word burgundy, you think what expense to? But there's, of course, different kinds of wines that come from Aetna that are more approachable. So from your experience, let's say, for example, you were from, I don't know, New Jersey. I'm from New Jersey. And you were looking at Aetna wines and you're like, oh, what's what what about your wines in the wines of Aetna? What about them make them approachable to you as a young person? Because it's a unique wine. It's full of several, features. For example, the wine is a minerale and it's a particular fetus. They're probably only on ethanol wines you can find in this way. The red one, some red wines are not, hasn't a very important structure, like barolo, like other wines, but a very pleasure wines. You can say, you can, for example, in the wines, but in several wines, you can, smell the red fruit, the stone of Monetna. That gives to this wine, that give it to these wines, some particular features, some particular, features that, really, create new discoveries for the consumer that, discover that test these wines. Okay. And just to wrap up our conversation, if you of Your wines were going to go out with friends or on a date. Which one would you choose to share? Of my wines, I choose Barriana two thousand two hundred eleven. It's a new grand cru that, our product by these old vineyards. Uh-huh. And, it will be launched on the market in two thousand twenty four. And for this reason, I suggest to try, from one year when it will be launched and then arrive. High Hope, also in USA. Wonderful. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Santo. Thank you. As always, a big drops here for hanging out with me today. Remember you can catch me every Sunday on the Italian wine podcast, available anywhere, you get your pots.