Ep 2369 Giulia Stocchetti interviews Eugenia Caggiano | Next Generation

Just an advice for the young women like me. My advice is not to wait until you feel like one hundred percent ready. So sometimes I think you have to go out of your comfort zone, and you simply need to take the leap even when it's scary because I know that it's scary. So the world industry needs new energy and also new languages and we as young women can truly make a difference with our vision and our passion. Ben Venuti, welcome to the next generation. With me, your host, Julia Stochettie. Join me as I take you on a journey to discover young stars of the Italian food and wine world. PRonte and Yamu. Hello, and welcome back to a new episode on the next generation on the Italian win podcast. Today, I'm so happy to be here with Eugenia Caggiano, a dynamic young woman entrepreneur in the world of wine who's running Sala del Espina winery that was founded like in the seventies in Tarazi, Erpini. It's such a treat to have you here, Eugenia, by the way, because I was chasing you for months, but finally, we made it. So thanks for being here and welcome to the show. Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for the invitation. It's truly a pleasure to be here today, to have the chance to share a bit of my story and the work we do at, Sala del Espina. So thank you so much. You're most welcome. Well, now that I have the chance to get to meet you and to know you, I'd really love to know your background, like, Can you tell us something about you? What were you doing before working at the winery? What did you study? Where did you go? I grew up in Tarazis, so Tarazis is in the heart of opinion. And I've always been surrounded by vineyards and thanks to my family, of course. I also had different experiences. So I study, for example, away from home and specialized in the management at the University of Sienna before coming back and starting this new adventure. So returning home was a conscious choice. Because I wanted to bring a fresh perspective of my family business. And since twenty eighteen, I've been managing the company. At the beginning, of course, I was onboarded by my parents, and now I'm taking care of its day to day operation with a focus on innovation and sustainability. So So, basically, you are the head of your winery. You're managing all that happening in the cellar, in winery. Yeah. Now I am the head of the company since twenty eighteen. So I'm the boss too. My god. And, you know, I mean, she's so young. Eugenie, it's like twenty five years old. Yeah. So and it's like twenty twenty five. You started in twenty eighteen. So how old were you when you started just directing the the whole thing? Been it? I was eighteen years old, so very, very young. I think like a teenager, but as I told you at the beginning, I was on boarded by my parents. So I get autonomy after maybe two years. So I was twenty years maybe. Yeah. Oh, wow. That's something unique. I mean, that's amazing. You're a young superstar in the wine world. And what inspired you to take over the family business? So I desired to embark on this journey because I felt a strong desire to create value in my local area. I think that there wasn't one specific moment where I understand that I want to do that, but maybe some series of signs. So the urge to return home and also the awareness of that we could tell the story of the wine in a new way and the need to do it without electricity. So when I start, I was, I think also driving by the desire to carry on something my parents deals with the passion, dedication, and I think also sacrifice. So I think different signs that embark me on this journey. So that was your own decision that was your own choice to continue your parents for, and that's very full. And they should be very proud of you. Yeah. I think yes. I can know. Are they still involved in the winery, or now they're just enjoying while you are taking care of the business? We work together, so we are a team. So what do they do? So it depends. We, of course, split the agreements. And for example, they are most focused on the visit of our customers in the winery. I, for example, Monet, more the commercial, the export, So we split a different agreement that we have to do in the company. So it depends. That's why it works because everyone has its own business to take care of. So you all work together for But, oh my god. You're on the toughest side, I guess, like the commercial side. Yeah. So also the export, you said. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So where do you export your wine? The thirty percent of our, production abroad in different European countries and also in, for example, in the States, in, different province of Canada. In Europe, we are in Netherlands, in Malta, in Albania. So different countries, now we are around ten countries where we export our product. That's beautiful. And you take care of all of it. Wow. And how many bottles you make in a year, more or less? We are a family business. So we are around maybe one hundred and fifty thousand bottles every year. But we had put a cap for our production, and we, of course, as a goal to preserve the quality. So we want to go over specific quantity, like, for example, two hundred and fifty thousand bottles for a year. So also in the future, we wanna be classified like a family company. So we wanna preserve the quality of every single bottle that we make. Well, it's nice to see that you really know what you want to do with your winery, in your life. I mean, everything is clear in your mind, and I'm sure you will have success. So the next question comes natural to me. What are the most rewarding moments, like the best parts of your job? The favorite things you're doing daily. I think one of the most rewarding moments is, seeing people moved while tasting our wines. I think it's especially meaningful when international visitors ride us after, for example, our winery visits telling us they've, that truly unique experience because we at Saladin, we do a lot of work around the wine tourism So knowing that I'm leading the company in the right direction and promoting our land in an authentic and meaningful way, I think is incredibly fulfilling for me. So I think that Nice. And with so many pros, I think there are also some cons maybe. So what are the most challenging moments? I think in general, as a young woman, also in a male dominated industry, sometimes I felt the need to earn the respect more than others. So I think this is the most and the worst things. It's an art question to answer. You nailed it. You made the point. So how do you overcome those moments? I believe that passion and competence is speak louder than anything else. So What if I ask you about your hobbies? You're a hardworking woman, but you also should have some hobbies. Right? What do you like to do in your spare time? I love fashion, my big passion, and of course I enjoy traveling, and also watching TV series, often they are recommended by friends. So another office that I discover is I really like collecting the flesh invaders. Do you know what our flesh invaders? Oh, actually, if you can please tell me something about that. I will be happy to hear. They are like small heart pieces. That are created by operation street artists, and you can spot them the most major cities. So when I travel in, I think it's a fun way to explore the cities because When you find one of them, you can capture them using an app. And of course, they give you some points. That's amazing. It's the first time that I hear about these things Wow. Yeah. I discovered this new hobby, and sometimes I think get me crazy because I walk around and try to find these flash invaders around the cities. We will talk about that later. After the interview, I will ask you some info about how to get the app to do that and how it does work. Of course, I have no idea. I suggest you to find some flashing betters around. Where did you find out about this? Such another things. I was in Paris, maybe one or two years ago because in Paris, there is the largest quantity of flash invaders because the street artists were from Paris. When I was in Paris, I saw them around and I search on Google, what are this kind of small monster, I think. And I discovered these new street artists because I like a lot, the street artists, and then now is my new hobby. And in Italy, have you found some of them. They are only in Rome. So it became my goal to find them on in Rome. I don't know if this is the only Italian city bus. Yeah. Maybe the major where you can find in Italy. So do you sell your wines to Rome also. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We sell that in Rome. You go to Rome. You sell wine. You look for this tiny little pieces of art that are here in there. Well, I think you should go to Rome maybe a little more often to make sure to get them all. Yeah. Maybe. And where did you find your favorite one so far? In what city? I think in Paris because they are very, very beautiful. And I had two questions about this. Like, if you catch one, can someone steal from you or once you get it, it is yours? And it stays with you like forever. No. Everyone can catch a flashing meters. So, the app is only a way to collect them in a portfolio. Okay? Everyone can collect the same invaders. Okay. Okay. So I don't have to steal yours. No. Okay. That's nice. Have you ever thought about using one of them on a wine label, maybe, or dedicate a wine to this hobby of yours? I never heard about it. I never seen an invaders dedicated to the wine industry, but I hope to find one of them dedicated to wine industry. So Oh, wow. Or maybe you should be the one to create it first. That would be nice. And so I see that you're traveling quite a lot because, you know, I have to admit that I was looking for some info about Eugenia on social media and online. And I saw that you're traveling so often. What's your favorite place to go? Okay. Yeah. I've been traveling quite a lot lately. And I think my favorite place so far is Paris. Yeah. Because I love the atmosphere, the heart, and also the culture of Paris. I think it's truly a magical city. And of course, for my hobby, it's the place where you can find the largest number of fresh invaders. Do you speak French? No. I would love to speak French, you know, but so far I can just say champagne burgundy baguette. That's all my French. Maybe you're better than me for sure, but Yeah. And how often do you go to Paris in a year? More or less? Ones for a year, for work for promoting the wine. So Nice. And how many wines do you make? How many different kind of wines you make? So in general, our portfolio is composed by eight labels, but we make different variety. For the red wines, we are specialized for the ion if the gray for the white wines we make three different grape. The fiano, giovelino, rio de tufo, and, falangina. So we are specializing in these grapes. Fantastic. These are the indigenous varieties. So you make terrer expressive wines. I should try some of your wines. Now you made me curious and Thursday. Let's say, what if I come to Tawrzy, Twilpina, and I want to sight seeing and I mean, enjoy the food and the people. What should I do? What do you recommend people to do when they come to visit? So if someone visit Chaburazi for the first time, I suggest starting with a work through the historical center. We in Tarazi have also a castle, a medieval castle. And of course, you have to visit the winery, of course, with us. Of course, that was the first thing on my list. And then, like, for a typical dinner, you can't miss a dish at our restaurant because we had also the salad bistro. So you can't miss this. Hold on. You own a winery and a restaurant. In the restaurant too. Yeah. The Salabistro. And what's the most famous dish of your restaurant? At Salabistro, we combine the traditional dish is an ingredients from the European area with some innovative ingredients. So I suggest you to find, our also histogram page. They are very something typical from the restaurant from our area. So we are something traditional and innovative. Okay. Sounds so interesting. And is the chef and the people working there young as you are? Yeah. Our chef is so young. Wow. Fantastic. You can have that our restaurants, fresh perspective of our European roots. He's from Erpini or he's from somewhere else? He's from Milan, but he lives in Erpini since different years. I don't remember. Irpini guy now. Yeah. Now it's from Milpina. The good contamination with Milan vision. Fantastic. And the restaurant, the is open all year long. Or it's just a seasonal. We are open all day all the year, so you can visit us when you want. Thank you so much. And you are managing the restaurant too. Yeah. I'm most more focused on the onenery. Maria, I helped my parents terminate the restaurant too. More in during the weekend where everyone comes in Tarazi for visit the onenery, do experience around the wine where the restaurant is close to the winery or yeah. It's very close. It's very close to the winery. So sometimes we combine the visit in winery and then the lunch at the restaurant Fantastic. And is Armenia, popular touristic destination? Or for now, there are just few people who know about this hidden gem in the south of Italy. No. We are popular. And, I think during this year, we are increasing our quantity of tourists that comes in Tarazi for Discover. This new words and this new variety. I think we are increasing tourism. So most people comes. Most people are from Italy or they come from abroad? Both. Depends, of course, by the season, but both. So from Campania, from the other Italian region, from road. So So it's an international destination. Yeah. I mean, you were talking about the region as something special, something unique, really enjoyable in terms of nature, wine, food, hiking, things to do. So sounds really fascinating. And I really hope I'll be able to visit because I live near Verona. I live in Swave, but I've never been to Urpina. When you tell me it's a good time to come over, I will make sure to be able to visit. Okay. I was waiting here. Fantastic. And if you ever come to Veronica, please just let me know so we can catch up. Yeah. Of course. Every year I come to Veronica, of course. Okay. So next time, just let me know. We find a way to Yeah. Because we were both working immediately these years. Couldn't even find a minute to have a glass of wine together. But on my list of twenty twenty six is visiting you, either in Enerpina, that would be much, much better, or, admittedly, would be fine too. By the way, before we wrap up the episode, I was wondering, do you have any brothers or sisters working with you or your only child? Yeah. I've got a brother and, he's younger than me. He works and the winner in the company with me, but at the same time, he studies. So And you think he is going to work with you in the future? At the winery? Yeah. I think, yes. He's very proud of what my parents created during these years. And I think, yes, was your mom or your dad creating the winery? Not together. They run into the business together and they start this journey together. So A true labor of love. Yeah. Fantastic. Okay. So I wish I could stay here longer talking to you, but you know I have to respect certain amount of time for the episodes. So I have three rapid questions for you that actually just became four because I got another one. But, Evugenia, if you have to go for an aperitivo. You call for a sparkling wine or for a spritz. Okay. Mhmm. I think sparkling wine. I'm based. Fantastic. Yay. A hundred percent agree. Okay. Next one. London or Paris. Okay. Art question. So I love both, but maybe Paris. Yeah. I knew it for your And I wasn't mean because I was about to add or so or I didn't. You will see, I've been good. Then if you have to choose one of your wine, Okay. And one of your dishes at the restaurant. Okay. What would they be? Okay. The wine. So I think I have a wine named after me. So Wow. I think. Fantastic. Where the dish? Depends. I don't know. It depends, my mood. Okay. For your mood now, just one dish, you can also say the name in Italian is fine. Okay. So I think some risotto. We made the risotto and not today, risotto is for me. So I think risotto. Alright. Grazimmee, Virginia. If there's anything else you'd like to add before we closed episode. Otherwise, I guess it's all good. I just want to say that I think we need to believe in the power of wine as culture and also as a means of connect And sometime as a part of our identity, because supporting a small producer who are maybe often the ones putting the most hard in every bottles is a field actor that goes far beyond purchasing a product. So I think it's like an invest. It's a way to invest in our future of our land and traditions. So I think that and sometimes just an advice for the young women like me. My advice is not to wait until you feel like one hundred percent ready. So sometimes I think you have to go out of your comfort zone and you simply need to take the leap even when it's scary because I know that it's scary. So the wine industry needs new energy and also new languages. We as young women can truly make a difference with our vision and our passion. So Wow. I'm impressed. I mean, I would call it like youthful wisdom. I mean, I mean, I'm speechless, wow, for your advice, and it should be an inspiration for everyone out there for every single woman. Thank you too for the invitation. I will you in your opinion. Okay? Thank you so much. I wish you all the best. I'll see you in your opinion, I guess. Yeah. Thank you very much. Bye bye. Bye bye. Gracie for being with me today and listening to the next generation on the Italian mind podcast. A la prosima changing.