Ep. 917 Luigi Gagliardini | Wine, Food & Travel With Marc Millon (5StarWines Series)

Welcome to the Italian wine podcast. This episode is brought to you by Vinitally International Academy, announcing the twenty fourth of our Italian wine Ambassador courses to be held in London, Austria, and Hong Kong, from the twenty seventh to the twenty ninth of July. Are you up for the challenge of this demanding force? Do you wanna be the next Italian wine ambassador? Learn more and apply now at viniti international dot com. Welcome to this special five star wines and wine without walls series on wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on Italian wine podcast. For the next weeks, we will be focusing on a dozen trophy winning wineries from the competitions that took place in verona at the start of Vin Italy in early April. The winning wines are without doubt some of the very best that Italy has to offer. What I'm most interested in discovering are the stories behind the bottles, learning about the wines themselves, of course, and also about the people who make them. Where they're from, what they eat, how they live, It's a fascinating journey that will take us all across Italy, and I hope you will join me. Welcome to wine, food, and travel with me, Mark Minon, on Italian wine podcast. Today, I'm delighted to shine a spotlight on the Terre Cortese Moncado winery in Le Marque, which is just won two very important awards at the prestigious five star wines event that took place in April just prior to Vinice two thousand twenty two. My guest today is Luigi Galliardini, director of sales and marketing at this important Marquigiana winery. Congratulations, Luigi. Terry Cortezi Moncater was awarded not only winery of the year, but also best white wine, a fantastic achievement. Thank you so much. It's, hello, everybody. It's been great to achieve these awards at such an important, competition. So we are delighted to be a part of this adventure together with you guys. Great. Well, the aim our conversation today is ready to to give you an opportunity to tell something of the story behind the bottle. So, first of all, can you please tell us where you are and describe the countryside so that our our listeners can gain a vivid picture of the beautiful. They mark a countryside. Alright. Okay. You have given me a very hard task because putting in towards the beauty of the landscape, and of the nature, and on the philosophy of the wine is the job of the ports, and I'm not a poet, obviously, but, I would try my best. Okay? Okay. But I'd like to introduce Moncaro first of all because it's important to note that, we are a call. We are a call ready. So we are not a privately owned company. We are, an ensemble of, farmers which come from the area and which was founded in nineteen sixty four here in Montecaroto. Montecaroto is one of the castles, around the city of East. And, what that gives the name to the famous Appalachian. The, it means in English, it's castles of Yese. So all the castles around the main city of Yese. Where Moncaru is located is one of those castles. It's a little town on the top of a hill, which was once an old medieval castles, which became a little small town with there are like two thousand people living there. And there are twenty, twenty five of these little towns around the area. And it's, you know, this, hillside kind of area with, Vignards around, as well as other kind of cultivations. And, well, it's, beautiful landscape, which goes from the sea towards the mountains, the appenies. And so it's very gentle coming from the ground from the sea towards the mountain, and we are just in the middle. On the hillsides. Well, actually, that's a really good, vivid image. These beautiful rolling hills topped by the Castelli daisy, and then the proximity of the Adriatic, see are the high mountains of the Appenines, the Apanini. So we've got a really, beautiful. And also an important thing you mentioned, Luigi, it's not intensive monoculture in Maemarke. Is it? You have this beautiful patchwork of of some vines, some fields of wheat, some some sunflowers, just a beautiful mix of countryside. Actually, I can't, say exactly the historical where this comes from. But we've been, you know, this was a valid state back in the days, back in the centuries, actually. And, it's been a very, how do you say that lots of cultivation lots of different cultivations and the very agricultural roots in this area. Much different test compared, for example, to Tuscany, where you have much less cultivation, more forest and more VLS of you know, basically, the rich people who are doing trades in Tuscany probably we're taking the foods from here where we were all farmers, making food for them in simple words. But I'm not sure how historically correct is this view, but, I I think I'm pretty close to it. Yeah. That's really interesting. I guess you're talking about the time when the Mitsadria was still in force and people cultivated a bit of everything because they were so had their own self sufficient small holdings. Exactly. And that's been, until very recently. And that's one of the reasons, why there are so many cops in in our case the emancipation of the farmers from the Mesa III law was, you know, coming, I mean, the cop is the reason why, they tried to emancipate from the Mesa III law, where you had to basically give away half of the cultivation to the land owner. And most of the times was was much more than the half of it. So in order to be more self sufficient, people started to gather together, get together, and decided to, do their own company for selling their own products and being more self sufficient and, you know, living a more, a better life, basically. And, actually, the government and the region had helped the farmers in achieving such great objective for their life. And the call has been a very important part of this. And, since the very beginning, the main objective of the call has been to be socially I mean, today, we everybody uses this word, you know, sustainability to be sustainable. Everybody's saying this, but, they call the sustainability in terms of economics, social, in terms of life in general, has been the main objective since its foundation. So, giving a better life to the farmers, until today where we are, you know, a competitive company in the global markets, but still the main foundation is sustainability of the of the life of the people. Okay. So the, the small farmers who wouldn't have otherwise been able to produce wines on the scale that we're talking about the quality as well. The co op the cooperative ideal of banding together, to produce something collectively is very, very important. I mean, each of these actually a very cooperative nation as a whole with, this philosophy. So that is, a very, very important. How many sochi do you have? How many cooperative members who are growing grapes? In general, to say, in Italy, we have, almost sixty percent of the total wine is made by gobs in Italy. In our case, we have about eight hundred members and the total of one thousand two hundred hectares, in three main areas because we do have three different wine sellers where we produce the wines. So one is here in Montecarot, which is the main the headquarters and the main main seller as well as another one in Camirano, which is by the sea. It's just below, I I mean, at the bottom of the condo mountain, which is this nice looking promontory, which goes on the reality. And then the third one is in, Aqualiva Puchena. It's near Vasco Lipucheno. So those one thousand two hundred hectares are, in in those three main areas and allow us to produce all the appellation, from the region. Let me tell you, if I may, that I'm so proud to be also a member of the cohort myself with the small vineyard of VELDQ, which is here. In Montecarotto. So, I mean, working for a club as to, you know, you must have a little bit more motivation which goes beyond the economic, how does a recognition of your work. It's a little bit more of being, you know, it might sound a little bit retarded to say, but it's you are really part of a big family and you're doing the good of the farmer. So that's the main objective of the call. Yeah. I can really understand that. And and what's so gratifying, I'm sure, is that through these cooperative values and through, the work of the farmers, you've been able to achieve this winer of the year award, but also white wine of the year for the verdicchio de Castel de daisy, Tell us about this wine, this award winning wine, this expression of verdicchio, which I think verdicchio is one of Italy's and the world's great, white grape varieties. And, yet, it's only found in they market. Exactly. It is. They have tried to cultivate the grape in other areas, in other regions, but, with very poor success, to say. So it's really, great, which is rooted here since SIM since many, many centuries, and it's fair to say that it's the most flexible kind of grape in Italy because you can do all kinds of wines very successfully with this grape from very fresh aromatic wines to more mature, to, sparkling wines. That's a very, strong tradition of sparkling wine making here with petechua grapes to, as well, sweet wines. You know, we had made a wine which was chosen, few years back to be drunken at the Nobel Prize dinner in stockholm. You know, they have this gathering of four thousand five hundred VIPs, let's say, and they had choose a sweet wine from all the wines provoked from all over the globe and the head children at Vredicchio. However, wow. That's incredible. Yeah. You can do all kinds of wines with Vredicchio. It's a very well structured grapes. As they say with big shoulders, and it it can do, you know, pretty much anything. And it also has a great aromas, if you treat it in a certain way. So getting back to the one which got this very nice award. Fondilla is the name of an area here. So it's kind of the crew, basically, and it's an area in the town of Rosora, which is one of the of the castles of GSE. And, it's pretty high. The hill itself, it's about, three fifty meters on the sea level. That allows grades to get lots, of acidity and lots of structure. Yet with the great, primary aromas of the verdice. So I think in this one, we were able to, make a product which was on one hand, a very structured, very persistent and on the other at the same time, very aromatic. So a wine which could sustain any kind of, pairing and, but as well, which you could drink without eating anything because it's like, by the swimming pool kind of wine as well. So, and I, and I, how will they say, eclectic kind of wine, and, yet very elegant. And persistent and mature. So from this small area, which we have been cultivating since since ever. And then, and, and we have on the label, the design of a bead picking up on a flower because, on on on the vineyard, there's an old farmer house and the old farmer which was running the vineyard had ridden a a poem on the on the war. Of the of the house. And it's the poem is an old tree looser poem about a bee which goes and pick flower by flower, and the poem goes something like, you know, life is, you know, happiness is a small thing like a bee that just pick the flower and goes. Oh, that's lovely. That's lovely. And, a very good description of, of this well structured verdika, because I think a lot of people also May over d q in the lighter style. The lighter style and traditionally and historically, you know, we had the the amphora bottle. That that would be in Tratery in London or New York or anywhere in the world, bringing Verdicchio's name to the fore, but not necessarily in that serious, full structured style of wine. Those lighter wines that are very nice still to enjoy by the coast perhaps with the seafood. 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. Sure. I mean, it's just it just depends on how you want to make the wine. As I said, the the verdice is very flexible. So you can have it as a lighter style for just, you know, a hot sunny day in the summer, vitamin c, with some fish, or you can have a more mature kind of, a fireplace, meaty, evening, while you're in the taste of your antenna. So it's, It's very flexible. I think that's the power of the wine. Of course, there is this, kind of, fame of the wine, of the amphora model, which is paired to this kind of a little bit more light and chief kind of wine, but, that comes from the seventies when it started to be, global success. But, yeah, I think it's changing very much now the perception of the wine because, you know, as and this award is I mean, the proof. That's, so I think we'd be very happy about this. And, and yeah, well, I think, that it can just get better and better. And I hope that this will help people push the people to come and visit our area because it's beautiful so that people will fall in love even more and then buying more again and, you know, in this virtuous kind of circle of happiness. Well, I think I think you're right. I think it will, the Lamar is still very undiscovered in many ways. Not by British people, actually. You know, very often, you have these articles and, magazine from Inblende know about, recently. Also, the guardian I think wrote about the honorary or even about Urbino, actually. So it's, well known in in your country, but, but yeah, well, still very authentic and not crowded. As that tell you. I'm very sorry. Absolutely. Absolutely. Now you mentioned two other estates, centers of production in, in the corner and in the area of Escalipi Channel. Producing to notably, two red wines that are quite different, but from similar grape varieties. Can you tell us a little bit about and. Alright. I will. Yeah. For, a listener who's not familiar with Italian Greek Verizon. It might be a little bit confusing, but, we try to explain because, is an ablation that takes the name by this beautiful month and over the Adriatic sea, which is called Conero. But the wine is made with multiple channel grapes, not to be confused with multiple channel that also DOC appylation or with multiple channel detente skinny where they use Sangevese grape varieties. So this is Roso, it's a Conero is a mountain, and the grape variety is montepo channel, and it's actually the most northern parts where the montepo channel grapes grow. So it's always you know, at the border, of the, of the area of cultivation of deep breaks. So it's also the most challenging and possibly also the area where you can get the best results as well, maybe. I don't have to say it myself, but, you know, when you have greatest challenges, you have also possibly greatest results. So the area is very particular because it's very near to the sea So it gets diseases, but at the same time it's protected by the corner of the mountain. So it gets the minerality of the sea and the maturation of the, given by the sun. And together, you get very, fully flavored grape, which needs lots of care for becoming a very high end kind of, red wine. On the other hand, in Ascorbi Biciano, not only have one type of channel grapes, but also you have sangiovese grapes. And, the mix of the two give birth to the appellation called Roso Picchino, DOC. So which have this, which has this little different hint from the Roosevelt given by the Sanjay. Great. It's a little bit more pruned kind of wine. So it can be, also an easier wine. It depends in this case on how you, what kind of results you want to achieve. You can have a little bit more kind of easier red wine or as well a very high end complex, and mature and fully flavored red wine. So you have more flexibility, but at the same time, maybe even more complexity in the high end wines. So you have two different areas and two different results, but both are grades, areas for the cultivation of these, grades, which are very peculiar for these areas of heat because central business, you know, central area, and Montebuqiang is more on the coasts on the Adriatic coast. Well, it's, these are wonderful expressions of the of the grape varieties, but you've also talked about, the geography of Le Marque and this mix of sea and hills and mountains. And the wines are a reflection of that and also the gastronomy. I love the fact that in the Marquay, you can enjoy really wonderful, fabulous feast of seafood, the burudetto, for example, or, going into the mountains and having a more robust cuisine and foods that really match well with these wines. Tell us a little bit about what you as somebody from Le Marque likes to eat, what are some of the typical foods that are so important? Let me tell you that here in market, there is a very, very I mean, I'm from here. So sorry to say that, but, you know, I have to sell my own territory. I'm gonna I had to really say that the gastronomy is very good. It's very authentic, and it's very cheap as well. Because, you get to eat often in the small restaurants where there are still, you know, old actually, women cooking, and, it's very traditional, and it's very authentic, and it's very tasty. But on the other hand, you know that in Scenicalia, which is on the coast, in the ray of, I think, one or two kilometers, we have two Michelin Star restaurants. There we have one three star three Michelin Star restaurant and another two star mission, restaurant. So, you do have the high end restaurants. How do you say the two at the very high end as well as the, you know, more authentic down to her, Houston. So and it's very it varies a lot because, as you said, we have fish. We have meat because it depends on where and where you are. By the sea, you have wonderful, dishes, with, for example, as you mentioned, the Broadetto and on the in this side, you more have, like, pork, as well as, as well as, cow weeds, as well as, you know, even, they people do. It's very typical to have small animal that jump their rabbit. So Oh, Cornelio. Conillo in Portqueta. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. It's very, very typical, to make Cornillo in Portqueta. So describe that for us, and so people can get a flavor of wonderful dish. That comes from, you know, porchetta is basically pork with finish and, a bunch of other stuff that you stuffed the pork with, and then you cook in the oil. We do that kind of recipe, but with the rabbit. And as in any other region, those kind of meal and dishes that come from the needs of being able to have something to buy in the old times when people were very poor. Nothing. And rabbits had, you know, were very good, calorie suppliers as, you know, they multiply very easily. They're easy to to have at home, and they are a good source of, proteins. And so they were much easier to have than the pork. So, basically, for people what they did, instead of having pork, let's say, Okay. Let's yeah. Let's have rabbit. And over the centuries, they prefetchinated the recipe and and today's a very, delicious kind of dish to eat in the, actually, in the most traditional kind of restaurants. You don't find it everywhere. And it's more like in in in land, rather than by the coast. And, there are many other different, kind of special dishes that you don't find anywhere else in in terms also, talking about the suites. You know, we have, in Easter, we make this, cheesecake, which is very particular. People go crazy when they taste it. What's that called? It's a different man. It's made in eastern, for example, during Kearney all in February, we do the Chicha which is a sweet, made with flour and honey. And, I mean, there's a bunch of different kind of dishes that you don't have anywhere else. Something that is similar to other dishes in Italy is, of course, the famous bean cheese gracie, which is a lasagna made a little different, you know, lasagna is made with the fragusos with one kind of meat on it. In here, they put as you know, also in this case comes from the scarcity of the old times. They made the sauce with all different kind of meats, anything, like even the parts which you would never eat of the of the pork or of of the chicken. So they just mix everything together and make it very, very tasty sauce, and they don't put as much cheese as they put in the, lasagna, and they make this thick kind of, lasagna very tasty and very crunchy. It's a wonderful dish. One of my favorite section. I guess every family would have their own recipe for. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And at the same time, every family you thinks is the best. Of course. As I do, you know? But, yeah, well, that's a very that's very used kind of foods and it's, the complexity of the of the areas kind of interesting. You know, the fact that you had the Casteni Diaz for example, it's a very small area. But each each castle, each town had its own culture, and it, and it was like a state of itself. So different recipes and different people, different towns, different wines, and lots of complexity. I think that's the great attraction of visiting an area, likely, Modern, where you have it's not just a difference between the sea and the mountains, but you also have ranging from the north to the south, and that's reflected in the cuisine too because we're up nearly at we're up by Emilia Romania and moving down towards Abruso right to the border of Abruso. So it's quite a long region in long and large because you can go, you know, if you're you can go sailing in the summer, you can go skiing in the winter. So, and in the middle, we have the hills where you can just relax in your villa by the pool. With a four digit glass in your hands. Well, you've really painted a wonderful and vivid picture of Le Marque for our listeners and also of the wines of which I'm really looking forward to. Sampling. I think you've made us all want to get on a plane and travel till they moderate tomorrow. You're definitely almost welcome. We do have a restaurant here, Paje, the winery as well, where we make, where, you know, the the managers make very great, fish dishes. And we on in a wonderful landscape where you can see all the hills towards this, until to see there, until the Adriatic Sea. So it's it's a great place. The reference is called era, e r a r d. Okay. Okay. Well, that's wonderful to know because I think, for me, the best way to really experience wines when I'm visiting wineries is to be able to sample them along with the local foods. So that's a great opportunity for anybody visiting. Yeah. It is. It sits, it's a wonderful place to be, and, I really invite you everybody to to come and visit. Well, Luigi, thank you so much for sharing sharing your region, sharing your wines with us. It's been a great pleasure meeting you, great pleasure talking to you, and I hope to see you soon. Chao. 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