Ep. 2234 McKenna Cassidy interviews Emanuele Trono | Next Generation

If you have a company and, you want to reach on a base from one to ten. You want to reach ten in communication. You have to show your face. If you communicate from a company point of view, you don't wanna put a face or something, you will maybe reach, okay, five a ten basis. But if you wanna reach more, if you wanna grow also your business, thanks to social media, you have to show your face and to talk with people. That's what our social are born for. Welcome to the Italian Mind Podcast. This is the next generation with me, Mackenzie. For the next episode, I invite you to explore with me what young adults are up to in the Italian wine scene. Let's feast on our discussion of Italian wine and culture. Grab a glass with us. Changing. Welcome everyone to the Italian wine podcast. Welcome, Emmanuel Edrano, my guest today. Hello. Hello. Thank you so much, Mckenna. Pleasure to be here. Thank you for being with us. Blisters. As you all know, I'm Mckenna, on the next generation segment of the Italian wine podcast. And today we're blessed with the company of Emmanuel. And he's gonna share with us about his story as enoblogger as a digital wine master and as these many projects that have linked him both from growing up in Piedmont, to now making wine in Tuscany, to now evangelizing how to market wines digitally all over Italy and around the world as well. So we're super grateful and excited for this conversation. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure also for me. It's a joy. So you grew up in Piedmont and you're in Torino now. So close to home, I imagine. And it's very, very cool because now people know you as enoblogger, you have over a hundred thousand followers on Instagram, and it's a very cool following because people have taken such interest in the topics that you discuss, not only involving art with wine and food and culture, but bringing all those details together to make meaning for people to write stories about their wine and their projects. So as a wine storyteller, you started off in business and management at the University of Torino. You had a master's degree in Italian wine culture at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Polenzo, then you started to make kind of a professional career of making wine language clear and engaging. So this is so unique. We know a lot of Italian wine influencers as it called, but I think the way you've written a business plan to be able to execute this, I'm just so excited to hear about this today. So I'll hand the floor over to you for a moment. Would you please share about kind of your age if you would please share your background and how you first kind of met wine and got into these projects? Yeah. Absolutely. First of all, it was a great presentation. Absolutely. So thank you so much. We're trying to talk you up. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Okay. So now I'm thirty two years old. I'm gonna turn thirty three in, like, one month. My patient about wine started while I was studying at the the University of economics because I was also working in a bar serving wine, but, you know, it was the first time that I was there pouring some glasses and, I decided that I want to know something more. So I I decided to take the first course, about wine and there I fall completely in love. So then I I did the so many courses and then the master in Italian wine culture. It was two thousand and sixteen. So almost nine years ago. And social media in the world of wine, it was exactly at the beginning. So my thought was, okay, now I have to start the master. I will have, one year focus in the world of wine. Nobody of my family is in the world of wine. So for me, it was something completely new, and it was a real passion. And so I decided to to start to develop what I was doing during the courses through Instagram. And, I've always been passionate, you know, about also the Italian lifestyle as you were saying, heart, and everything that is beautiful, and that Italy has to offer to the world. And so I started to, you know, taking picture, posting, talking also in a technical way about the wine. So everything for me was something that can give something good for the people. And, people started to like the content. And, then after one year of posting, like, two times a day every day. So a lot of a lot of effort. The first company started to ask me if, I was available to attend an event or to visit the winery, and so everything started to to grow. Okay. Wonderful. So it kind of started from what you were learning in your master's program. It sounds like, and that was gastronomic sciences. So included wine, but it didn't include food as well and then the history of those items, or what was it about? No. It was focused on wine because I did the one year of master. And, so every day, we were focusing wine between alter and tomology marketing and wine, everything, but focus on wine. And it you kind of spam it on the your own curriculum by bridging it into the social media, which is really special. I remember reading about you how this kind of master's degree steered you into learning how to make wine what was that like? And I know later we'll talk about the wine you're making now, but what was that moment like? Yeah. It it was very important also because during the master, we had the opportunity to go on the field, so in the vineyard. And, with all the professor, we were doing Of course, the part on the on the books and everything and the theory, but then we also go in the field to understand the, you know, how to prune the vine and everything. So the idea also of, one day making my own wine. It was something that was right there. It doesn't be all too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Of course, in the first moment, I understood that I had, you know, to know more about wine. So during the year after starting from two thousand and seventeen, I gave the opportunity to travel till today, I'm still doing it and to visit a lot of wineries, a lot of countries. And this for me is the most important thing because I have the opportunity to talk with a lot of, you know, and our logistic agronomists and so the master continues. Yeah. Of course. It it never really adds. Exactly. It's just a new inquiry. Exactly. And curiosity is the fuel. Yeah. That's awesome. So let's dive into that a little bit more. How would you describe your digital wine master courses? And what does that mean to someone who's interested in learning more about what you're willing to teach them? Yeah. Absolutely. Well, with Stefan and my colleague that you also probably know italian mindset, when we decided to start our wine project, we had also the opportunity that we want to give something back to the audience that we're you know, always looking at our stories and making beautiful trips, tasting good wines. So we wanted to give something back to them. And so thanks to all the connection that we had with the people in the wineries, we had the opportunity and this idea to create the digital wine that was a course of a fifteen lesson where we arrived at third edition now. And, when we were talking with, with all the people that we met, in the wineries about this idea, they were all out. This is very good. And we don't want to be has him personal to take the courses. Yeah. We did something also, but for us, it was important that the people that want to join the course have the opportunity to talk direct to the people that are everyday in the winery So this was the idea behind. And, when we were starting, and, we talked with the people, and, everyone from the wineries, from the important winery say, yeah. I mean, I wanna join this project because I think that, you know, young people, young generation, need to have the opportunity. Because in our mind, there was also the opportunity that the people that were attending the digital wine master, and maybe the opportunity to do some internship with, you know, in Dubai. And this was something that happened. So so far as it was, the most important thing. Yeah. That's very special. So it sounds like in a way you were for the first time codifying, like, putting in writing what it took to do what you had done or what it would take writing it down. I had a professor in my philosophy class, you said. You don't ever have a real idea unless you write it down. Unless you, like, manifest it, put it on paper. And in this case, it's it's very interesting to be able to teach something is a very ancient indicator of having true knowledge. And so to be able to create and establish a course from this, that clearly establishes fruitful relationships moving forward, I mean Yeah. I That's we had sign of success too. Absolutely. And the most important things and also, why we decided to do that, it was because a lot of people through social media were asking us, I'm patient. It's about wine. How can become a job And so we decided to give the opportunity to have, the most important people in the wine industry that can teach them and it was everything live then recorded. But if you want, you can, you know, follow the lessons live and you can ask directly to Gabrielle, Gorelli, master of wine, roberto Bruno, from Fonta, that travel, like, three hundred days in a year, all around the world for wine. So, you know, for us, the most important thing, okay, the theory, you have to study, but then, you know, the practice is something that very good. Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. So these masters are teaching about wine itself, about Viticulture, how wine is made, etcetera, and then you're layering in how to do the social media about those topics. Exactly. Is that Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So one can turn to this course to both learn about wine and learn about how to market. Exactly. Why? This is daily. Wow. Absolutely. Yeah. This is amazing. And this project started, how many years ago now? Started three years ago? Are you a student? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. It's something that we are very, very happy. How many students have you had? Are you able to disclose? Well, in, in total, probably around one hundred and fifty, one hundred and sixty through the the different courses. Yeah. Oh, awesome. And you have many, like, very influential people in the wine scene. You just named a few, but also, like, Lene Bucheli of Yonuscanti, Jacamo, Giovanni. Yeah. As you mentioned, and Yeah. How did you begin these mentorships? And where did that start for you? Well, it was something strange also for us because, you know, we are people that we don't want to say, oh, we are very good in what we are doing well. We are humble. And so we thought that our project could have something interesting. But we go to them and we ask, okay, we have this in our mind. Would you like to join and we add one hundred percent of yes? So it was something very, very cool for us. And it was something that also gave us the understanding that, you know, the people, the important people in the world of wine were looking at us and saying, yeah, we trust what you are doing. So you're in. And so it was very good. And, you know, the the connection that we added was something that we create when we met those people during the visits. So the visit in the winery and, maybe press tours So, for us, was was very, very nice to have this kind of people. Sure. That's really validating. And clearly, they saw you were on the cutting edge of the future and believed in the project. So Yeah. Here we go. Year four. Yeah. Onwards. Thank you for sharing that and then well. Hey, Drew. Speaking of kind of these platforms, where you're able to share your voice and perspective along with the money partners and Stefano as well. You frequently speak at events, whether it's like the Mirano wine festival, to the European Parliament, to the essay school of management. So these, I'm sure people reach out to you seeking your advice, but who do you find to be your most interested listener. Who cancels their plans to come listen to? I think I have an idea, but I'm curious, you know, like, some of your your most intent listeners, who have they been? Well, of course, it depends on the event. For example, like at this economics, school, they were like entrepreneurs or a manager from different fields. And the most important thing that they were interested in, for example, it was how you can create a personal brand that then develop business. And, in my opinion, was I was I saw also from from from the other events where I talk, it was that, okay, social media is something that everyone use But from a business point of view, especially on the personal brand side, there is a lot to do. Because one of the thing that, I've said to those people and I absolutely think is that if you have a company, and, you want to reach on a base from one to ten. You want to reach ten in communication. You have to show your face. If you communicate from a company point of view, you don't wanna put a face or something, you will maybe reach, okay, five on a ten basis. But if you wanna reach more, if you wanna grow also your business, thanks to social media, you have to show your face and to talk with people. That's what our social are born for. That's fascinating. Do you find a barrier of people concerned about showing their face. They're uncomfortable with filming themselves. What's that conversation like? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. People always think, oh, I'm not good at it. You know, my face is not good enough, but it's something that, you know, the more you do, the more you became good. If I look at my first videos, of course, probably now, I would say, oh my god, what I what I was posting. But, you know, this was the base to arrive to communicate in a certain way after years, you know, day by day. This is something that has to be done in my opinion. And do you recommend, don't give away all your secrets now, but do you recommend, like, simplicity in communication, or is it kind of pick a watermark and it's present in every post? Like, how do you help people? I I absolutely, I absolutely, a fan of simplicity. I'm recording now. For example, during these days, a new format that I I wanna share on TikTok and also on Instagram, and I will start absolutely from scratch in the world of wine. So easy, easy videos to any to thirty second on the basis in the world of wine. Probably, also some people will tell you, Omar. You are on the surface. I wanna be on the surface. If you want to study, I want that you be passionate about wine. Then if you wanna go deep, Let's go. There are a lot of opportunities for you, you know, courses, other masters and everything. But for me, social media in this first moment, you have to be able to interface. If you wanna be catching with people. Yep. That makes sense. If you go too deep and heavy deep and real, you can Then if you have some question, I can go deep with you because maybe you are more fascinating about something in Arba. If you want to reach more people, you you have to be on the surface. And it's cool because you've identified that as your mission in the post you're making, and so it's up to each individual. If they're to participate online to not only be consistent, be simple, but choose. And if they're, like, choose your mission and follow that narrow path, it's probably gonna create the clearest message for whoever watching it sounds like. Thank you for sharing that. That's, like, super awesome. Let's pivot. I feel excited to hear about prima Dolmous and then your wine, veer twos. I think you're on the twenty twenty vintage now or twenty twenty one. It's already twenty twenty one. Yep. We're done. Perfect. So first, backing up. We're here in Tuscany. It's an I GT prima domus, and the wine is called Virtus. It's eighty percent SanJave, followed by fifteen percent Marlowe and five percent cabernet. And the grapes are aged separately for eighteen and twelve months, respectively, in French oak and then blended back together. Your vineyard is in Castelnuvo, Veradena, which is, like, twenty two minutes outside Sienna to the east, I believe. Yeah. Awesome. And then about, like, fifty minutes from Montalcino. Is that correct? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Beautiful. It's awesome to me that you chose here instead of maybe, piemonte or elsewhere. What was the journey like for you about finding Kastel de Mobile better than you. And, like, what led you there? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. First of all, we have to say that I'm good, Montez, and Stefan is from Tuscant. So it it was Oh. Our choice, but he won't I should have Stephanie on this call as well. This is awesome. I gotta meet him too. Okay. This makes sense. Good for stuff, though. He's no doubt. Absolutely. And he's also an analogist. He studies analogist. So he's the he's the guy that is, you know, behind the scene, making the one, you know, managing everything, having about it, I'm much more on the commercial side, marketing side. So this is how we divide on the project. Well, it was two thousand and twenty. So we all remember that here, you know, because of the covid and all that crazy period that we had. Me and Stefan both have this, in our mind from the beginning to, in the future, make our own wine. We became very close, very friend, and we decided to do it together because we thought, okay, this can be a very beautiful journey to spend together. And, you know, during all the trips, we thought that, Castanova Verdenga, it it was an interesting place where we could do the wine that we had in our mind. So we start, you know, to look for vineyards and everything. We ran to it. We found these three d reactors of Sangevazon at Loews, and so we started, we started our work journey there. Of course, you know, making wine is not has making a story on Instagram. So the time is a little bit longer. Oh, so the first bottle came out in December twenty three, and it was the two thousand and twenty. We came out with six thousand bottles. So of course, we didn't verify all the potential of the vineyards, but we have to understand, you know, how the public and, and the market, response. It was very good because the six thousand bottle went sold out in ten months. So, yeah, we we had a very, very, Congratulations. Thank you so much. You sold it all in Europe for the first year and then abroad? Or are you? Europe and also United States. Okay. Wonderful. Yeah. We also started with United States. And the important thing, it was that a lot of important, Michelin Star restaurant in Italy started to buy our wines, like, for example, Craco and Milano. And so we work on the communication from this point of view. Of course, for us, communication and marketing is absolutely important. So also the the visual idea behind, you know, the label. It's very important. So just the name prima Domos because for us, it will like to put the first rock in this project. And the name of the wine that is, it means courage. So for us, two young guys that's decided to start this project, we need a lot of courage and also the, I mean, Erva goddess on the on the label. It means, you have to follow your past, your dreams, and you have to work hard to you know, to to reach the goal. So this this is the idea. This is very awesome. Thank you. What do you think about the wine attracted like a luxury consumer? It's not hundreds of dollars. It's reasonably priced. It's delicious. It's a fabulous like, very thoughtfully made blend, but was that your target consumer from the start? Was those type of on premise restaurants, or or how did that consumer come about? Well, our idea, it was, of course, that if we had some important and, recognizable person on a high target that decided to, you know, taste our wine and hopefully how it happened. Like data, it could help us, you know, to be interesting also for other people. But our idea, it was not, you know, and I target because our wine, it's around thirty euros on the market. So it's something that is manageable almost by everyone. Our idea, it was that, also, you know, young people had the opportunity to taste it. And the first part of the lunch that we did in December twenty twenty three, we did only using the newsletters and communicating to the people that were following us And, yeah, like in one month, we sold one thousand bottle just to the people that were following us. Oh, wow. Okay. So because we we wanted to see how was the response of, you know, of the true facts that were following us. So we decided to just start in this way, and then we moved to the Oracle side. Okay. So because you already had this foundation, you were able to strongly communicate and launch the product using the strengths you already had in place Also, for those who are listening to the podcast today, the marketing images for Primodomus are rad. They're so fun. And then Melanie and Stefan are, like, pouring wine all over the place. They're very high resolution, but creative images that almost have this like playfulness and you can almost see the movement in the images as well. I highly recommend checking them out on the site there. Unique and inspiring, and it's it's actually hard to find some unique art in this way these days. And, like, this really stuck out. So congrats to that. It's it's really sharp. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. You have a ton of fans of this wine around the world. I follow your post when it's on the menus and I was looking up the wine and Penn's Nella and sons in New York has a son who's your same name, your same birthday. And also loves the wine. So even though it's not their emmanuelle, they still are supportive of your wine. Exactly. This is awesome. I wanna ask if there's anything else that you would like to add and share, for the listeners today. Well, what I want to share is that, you know, that the world of wine gave me a lot. And, I think that we're giving something back to it, but we want to do even more. So we have a a lot of cool things coming in the next years. And, I can wait to to let you know everything, unfortunately, now I can't. But, our brain is always working, and, we want to be more in touch also offline with the people that are following us. We are enjoying a lot going to the fairs. In fact, that we will be in a wine Paris in Prova and in Italy, we will have the opportunity, you know, to, to create network. And, the most important thing also for the people that maybe wanted to work deeply in this world is that you have to make a connection. You have to go outside, okay, social media can be the first step, but then, you know, go offline and create real connection. This is something that, has an incredible value. Cheers to that. Thank you for sharing that. I feel like I've learned so much on this podcast not only about creating a consistent and clear message, but sticking with it over a period of time because of what you had committed to in twenty sixteen. You were then able to learn different topics, feel inspired by them, expand on them though through social media and now you're teaching others and building a network in the real world that's become wildly impactful. Not only that can be consumed visually but consumed like with the wine as well that you make. And so it's just becoming this, like, atmosphere around your project, which is very special. And the fact that I think what I've also learned is that the vision for future, probably ten, twenty, even thirty years down the road, you have some idea of maybe what you might want to see having taken place in your project. So it's been, like, pretty inspiring for me to hear this. And I think a lot of other members in the next generation would find this interesting too that social media is not just a black hole of doom scrolling. There's actually like a ton of authentic connection that can be created through it, but the mindfulness of a wider project is key to achieving that. So absolutely totally agree. Awesome. You have to write it down. Press it down and then I go. You're gonna write it down. Take that idea, make it real. Exactly. Exactly. Please thank Stefano as well. I lament that he wasn't on the call today, but maybe we'll do a rerun. But it's so, so good meeting you and and your expertise. We really appreciate your time on the Italian wine podcast. So thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me and it was a pleasure to to share something with you. Cheers. Thank you so much. Just to you. Thanks so much for being here with me today. Remember to catch our episodes weekly on the Italian wine podcast, available everywhere you get your pods. Salud Day.