Ep. 666 Océane Jun Li | Voices

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. I'm Rebecca Lawrence, and this is voices. In this set of interviews, I will be focusing on issues of inclusion diversity and allyship through intimate conversations with wine industry professionals from all over the globe. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating to Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps us cover equipment, production and publication costs, and remember to subscribe and rate our show wherever you tune in. Hi, guys. I'm Joy livingston, and I am the producer of the Italian wine podcast. Thank you for listening. We are the only wine podcast that has been doing a daily show since the pandemic began. This is a labor of love and we are committed to bringing you free content every day. Of course, this takes time and effort not to mention the cost of equipment production and editing, we would be grateful for your donations, suggestions, requests, and ideas. For more information on how to get in touch, go to italian wine podcast dot com. Now back to the show. Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. This is the voices series with me Rebecca Lawrence. This week, I'm thrilled to be joined by wine professional Ocean Jun Lee. Welcome to the podcast Ocean. Thank you. Let's meet too. So I like to start most of these conversations asking my guests to introduce themselves to our listeners. Maybe you can tell us a little bit about who you are and how you came to be in the world of wine. Hello, everybody. My name is so and Lee. I'm from Paris, France. I'm a one importer and the exporter. They entered one word because when I was in university in Paris, We had one testing class. At that time, we taste a lot of wine, and I found it. It's very interesting and it is amazing. Literally. So when I started my own company, I chose to be in the wine industry. Wow. So you're based in France, I believe you're in Paris. A country where there is a very strong wine culture. And I feel like there is a lot of competition between France and Italy. So how did you fall in love with Italian wine? Cam can be traced back to two thousand and eight. I traveled to Italy, and, I drank a bottle of polycella at one. I didn't know much about one at that time, but the one was very fruity and floral. The SDT was not too high. It gave me a big pleasure at the moment. So I fell in love with the ones. Literally, I watched an Italian movie. I don't remember the movie's name. I just remember there was a scene you reach a handsome and a Charmyman made a a good dinner for his father. And then he took out a bottle of red wine, which he happened, to be a polysilicon. He talked eloquently about the one and for the machine. Why I was watching this movie? I was drooling and, I wish I could drink this bottle right away. This is another reason Why I love Italian one? That's a perfect story for the Italian wine podcast because, obviously, we are based in verona just outside the Balpolicella region. So it always fills my heart with joy to discover that people have come to Italian wine because of our Polycella. So you were recently in Verona here taking the Ven Italy International Academy certification course. I wondered if I could ask why you chose to participate in Via And how was your experience? For me, the VA program is a very authoritative and professional while communicating with the express. We also come into my lead, why industry partners are also want to learn more about Italian one. That's why I come. I mean, it is definitely the best place to immerse yourself in Italian wine. And this year, you were part of the agile program. So you took the theory online and then had these intense days of master classes. Was there anything about the course that maybe surprised you or that you were particularly pleased to have tasted and experienced? Yes, sir. Sure. Of course. The service here, Olinx is very authentic for me. The connection is just the right. And, the high end of my new layout the teacher talks generously from the manually out to the one selection. I'm more careful and the this perfect. And also, the one producer came to master class in person. This method is very good. The issues discussed with them in the class are very noble and the testing of sport, will be memorable for everybody, I think. I agree. I think having added that additional master class where you get to experience some of the wines of Italy by directly being presented to by the consortio or by the producers, has really taken the the Via Verona program to the next level. So now you are part of this massive global community of Italian wine lovers, one of the biggest things about Via is the community? Did it surprise you to be able to connect to to so many people from all over the world? Mhmm. Yes. It's, surprised me and it's very interesting. I enjoyed Hey, guys. This is a brief intermission to give a shout out to our new sponsor, Federal Wine. The largest wine store in Italy since nineteen twenty. We are delighted to have them on board and thank them for their generous support and our new t shirts. Find out more on Italian wine podcast dot com. Now back to the show. So I want to talk a little bit about, obviously, what you are doing in wine because you have your own company. You are the president of Rose Belier International and importer based in France. So how did you start the company? Where did the idea come from? You're just, like, I talked at the beginning because the friends is very popular, reputated, for the one products. So around me, there is a lot of people who did one and, many people elects the one. So, you know, with the time I decide to start with my my company here. Obviously, it's been a very difficult time in wine in the last couple of years. Were there changes that you made? Did you adapt when you were presented by the challenges of the COVID period? Yeah. During the AP Demic, the logistics course at the time, have greatly increased. So, the purchasing power of customers, had dropped a lot. Everybody, we faced, great challenges like, other companies. However, for me, a larger part of the customers are relatively loyal. And, our company has also done some promotional methods. Such as gifts and, installments. It is true. More award, the French government has also provided lots of subsidies to enterprises and, employees So it is very helpful for a tool. Since we have you on the podcast today and you are based in France and obviously are very experienced in in the wine scene there, I wondered if you could talk a little bit about the Italian wine scene in France. Do you see many Italian wines? Is this something that is beginning to emerge or, is there still very much this focus on on French wines and drinking local? Yeah. For the local people, the French, people, they are very proud of, their own one. It's sure that, that invite is always, welcome in France, your friends. The people like it because it's, got different styles, testing and also we have much choice the the French one. Because, as you know, in French, we have, turn operation, and several, famous, grips, sipash. And in Italy, we we got more than two thousand groups to choice and more than, about twenty applications. So it's a joy to discover it for for everybody. I think, who loves the one. And French food culture and wine culture are very much connected in the same way that Italian food and wine culture is. Do you have a particular Italian food and wine pairing? Obviously, I know you're a fan of Valpolicella But is there something in particular a wine with a particular dish that you particularly enjoy? Yeah. For me, I like amaroni, the one amaroni, and the some barolo is, for me, it's different. It's very, stronger and, very, a much complex city, in the taste. It's a it's so much different than France want. That's why I'll I like it. I completely agree. So if you were, say, enjoying a borolo, what kind of dish would you would you put with it? What kind of food would you be enjoying with your borolo, Amarone? I like to, make sure this one is the stack, the stack, beef stack, beef stack, and some some, you know, meats with the soils, strong soils. Oh, you're making me hungry. So I often ask my guests towards the end of the podcast. Obviously, you've been here in Verona, you've taken via, you have a very well established company, but what is next for you and your relationship with Italian wine. Yeah. In the next step, for Italian, I want to explore more, Italian wineries and events, maybe I I can visit and taste it more. And, also, I want to learn more about Italianva. So, here, here, by your courses from VIA program maybe next year. We would love to have you come to Italy. Osean, thank you so much for joining me on the Italian wine podcast today. Where can our listeners find you, online or on social media? Sure. You can find our company's name Rose Baylor from Facebook or by our company's web page, w w w dot roosevelt dot com, or make a search on our company's name, roosevelt International, from Google. Antine is, easy to find. So I recommend all of our listeners to go and search Rose Belaya out, see what amazing work Oceana is doing. Thank you everyone for listening. Don't forget to follow us on social media subscribe and donate on the website to make sure we can keep these great conversations flowing. OCEan, thank you so much. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, email ifm, 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 costs. Until next time, chi ching.