Ep. 1524 Vania Pistolozzi | Wine, Food & Travel With Marc Millon

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 wine food and travel. With me, Mark Billen, on Italian wine podcast. Listen in as we journey to some of Italy's most beautiful places in the company of those who know them best. The families who grow grapes and make fabulous wines. Through their stories, we'll learn not just about their wines, but also about their ways of life, the local and regional foods and specialities that pair naturally with their wines. And the most beautiful places to visit. We have a wonderful journey of discovery ahead of us, and I hope you will join me. Welcome to wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on Italian wine podcast. Today, we continue our special subseries that highlights the winners of the prestigious five star wines and wines without walls competition that took place earlier this year. Just before Vin Italy, more than two thousand two hundred wines were tasted by an international jury of wine professionals, Italian winemakers, Somenier's journalists and Italian wine ambassadors. We're celebrating today the wine producers whose wines achieved the highest scores and which won special awards. So I'm delighted to welcome my guest, Vania Pistolotti of Milazzo Vini, we're located in Kemco Bello Delicata in Southeast, Sicily. Milazzo Vini won the wines without walls award for the best organic sweet wine for its Terre Thardivey two thousand seventeen. Many congratulations, Vania, to you and to the whole team, and thank you very much for being my guest today. How are you? Fine. Thank you. Thanks to you, Mark, for the invitation. We are really proud to be here with you and to have the possibility to tell you something more about our warrnery, the team, the type of city culture that we have in mind from, at least now, right now, quite, more than forty years of hard work here in Campo Bello Delicata. Okay, Vania. Well, let's begin by for our listeners really taking us to Campo Bello Delicata. Explain where you are, where Campo Bello Delicata is what the area is like You're not far from Agrigento, the famous valley of the temples. Is that correct? Yes. That's correct. We are far, point forty, kilometers from, Agrigento. Camper Malo delikata is a small village in the health side of, Agrigento province. We are at an altitude of four hundred meters, twenty kilometer from the sea sign. We face the Mediterranean coast. So we are really in the, so very south of Sicily facing Africa, facing especially, Tunisian lands, and Libya coast. And, comparable to the delicat, we are mid, the one or is based, on the mid of comparable delicat and Ravenusa. Those small villages have really, a long history. Even before they're arriving in Greeks, here in the area of Agogento, so very millennial history. The thing that is really interesting is the fact that there is, a very strong connection with history of agriculture here in Sicily. You have to know that, the province of Agigento have been created from the Greeks and is one of the symbolic cities of the Greek expansion and the creation of what was called migration. The point binder called it the most beautiful city of mortar. And Agrigento, and the Temple Valley, counter six Temple, and that are still visible even right now. And what is especially is that in the we have testify in the, historical writing that there is an extraordinary, you know, valuable reminder of how to fund legacy. This lens carry related to the culture of VIP like cultivation. For example, yodular sequel states that there were vineyards of exceptional size and beauty. And most of the land was covered with olive trees and the abundant production of which was the fastener to the Carthaginian trade. And the Greek, especially, define this area to the most valuable production of wine. So this is really a strong and incredible heritage that we have, in this area. We're going back two and a half thousand years, Vania. Yeah. It's an incredible history of continuous Viticulture over that time. I'm imagining you at four hundred meters, so that's quite high. Is that position helping to keep things a little cooler in this very hot summer? Yeah. We may have the perfect climbing characteristic on Hillside. So we normally benefits of the influence of the typical Mediterranean climate. This means with male summers and not rich women winters. And a call center light breeze that favor the day night temperature range and the very good duration to in the plan. This is, a very incredible key point that even if we can say that in especially in the last fifteen years, we have verified the modification of the climate and how the climate changes, an impact even in this incredible corner of Sicily. Yes. Yes. Now, Vania, wine without walls is a section of five star wines dedicated to wines produced organically biodynamically or by low intervention and national methods. You know, also, is one of the pioneers in organic and sustainable Viticulture in Sicily. Tell us a little bit about the way you farm. Why that has always been important to Milazzolini. I can say that organic Viticulture is really a commitment that has more with the warning. We have always been organic. From the mid of seventies, which is the birth of the of the winery, and with a more scientific approach from the mid of eighties. So What we can say about our ideas, organic, which culture is really quite a culture of being organic. What we have heard in terms of nourishment during the years, as The idea that we have to protect the environment to create bust condition where the vineyards can grow enormally with nature, but we also have to invest in terms of agronomic reserves in terms of, you know, technology and the seller to protect what we produce in the vineyards and to guarantee that the fruit, the grape, still can be vinificated with most simple rules, but very careful roots. To exalt the organolithic pottery morn that we are able to give life, in the vineyards. So it's really that Karen, the vineyard being carried over into the cellar to really try to express as much of these native grape varieties as you can. You were explaining to me that the estate is actually located over eight contrade, and you've got a lot of different crews within that. So It's a very complex area where the soil, the microclimates change from one area to the other different altitudes. And this means that you can produce a full range of lines from sparkling white, Rosato, and red. And also that your harvest time is really quite extensive. Sometimes from the end of July extending to the middle of October. Yeah. Complexity is part of our DNA. This is really a special place. The name of the one is a Zendagricola, Milazzo, Taro de la Verona. And Taro de la Verona is the name of the terroir, Octia, ensemble of the vineyards. And you're right? We have six contrades, six main areas in a five kilometer square around the the the seller. So everything is very concentrated. What is the incredible is the fact that we have incredible different set of soils available in the vineyards. We have a very, an enormous, pathological variability. We move from the slope to the sand where we find white, lunar, like Kiker soils to clay limestone soils with the presence of draining gelatin. And we have also black clay organic deep coal sauce. This is due to the fact that the part of the estate is positioning in the wide, convlevial bassines that was that is the result of the course of an ancient river that created heat. And this has created a very special place. We have two banks, two hillside that are facing each other where we have the white solids. And in the needle, we have the very black, soils. This is the reason why we have the side along here that was absolutely an accessory to introduce a systematic study to identifying the specific characteristics in each plot. And thus, as also support to be able to understand which varieties which biotypes and rock stocks was the best to be planned in each flow. So now we have six contrada, different sub area, and in all, sub here we have identified at right now, fifty different crew. And each crew is a quite a small world, a small universe that is managed with some specificity from the beginning from his birth up to the moment of the rest. And also, they cared all along with you here are defined specifically to have the care to identify the microclimate, the exposition, and everything. Nothing is left to the Azar. Everything is analyzed in order to obtain the best for it available in this Italian wine podcast. If you think you love wine as much as we do, then give us a like and a follow anywhere you get your pods. That's incredible that within that small area, you have identified fifty specific micro crews, which are attended separately and vine separately. I'm imagining some microvinnifications really following through that wine from growing the grapes to creating the wine and finally making your final couveys. What are the main grape varieties that you cultivate? Oh, we have, we started with, a focus at the end of the seventeenth beginning of the hiatus. With rediscovery, of the most ancient, ah, sicilian variety. The in Zolia, specifically, and followed by two bio type of cataracto, the simple cataracto, and the cataracto extra luchido. And then for work concern, the red varieties, the narrow dabbana, and the volarization of two different system. Right? One is called Perricone and, but we also planted from the very beginning, the sharpening, the international, the most well known international white variety, with, a specific, a dream, at the very beginning of Australian dream to create traditional parking method in Sicily. We have been one of the first to, believe that it was possible to create high quality sparkling wine here in Sicily, and the Shargane is the hurt of our sparking wines. And that's a great you're beginning to harvest now already. Yeah. Yeah. We're just beginning with the the special selection, specifically devoted to the, creation, the traditional Sparkkin level. We produce seven different label spark in metal. We have two mother's day. We have a melasma. We have we produce them beautiful grand covey. We have Roserva, and we have two Rosay's sparkling wine. We consider ourselves, can say two wineries in one. We are a sparkle producer. We are white wines creator. And we consider ourselves also interpretive of red wines, especially, interpretive of the narrow dot com, which is the most well known bread. Daniel, I'd like to turn our attention now to the award winning wine to the Terrei Tardive. Explain this wine how it's made and why it's so special, why it impressed the judges. You gave it the absolute top scores for a sweet wine in the wines without walls competition. In the past, we produced a sweet and natural sweet wine that was called already Casamilazzo. At a certain moment, we have suffered the production, and we take a moment to wondering a about what idea of natural sweet wine we would like to share with our clients and wine lovers. One of the, key element of our wine is the reserve chef elegance and to absolve the specific freshness and beautiful acidity and the sort of civility that are the main characteristic of our, white variety. So the idea in the Terro Terro diva, the name is quite evocative because Terry is coming from Terrovela Barona. So as in the meantime, she absolved through this wine, the main characteristic of our terroir, and to demonstrate how we can interpret her in a very different way, one of our iconic blend, which is the Enzoya chardonnay, which is our signature blend. You have to know Mark that Inzoya chardonnay is born in Italy in nineteen ninety one with Maria Constantza white wine was the first time that is sicilian white wine was created starting from this blend. So the idea that is to reveal a new interpretation. So we use an aromatic chardonnay, and in zone. Yeah. And to maintain the freshness, we approached we cannot, of the bunch who was carried out on both varieties. The shots were cut to reach tank to the partial degradation, a concentration of sugar, and to interrupt the reopening at the same time. This techniques, also lowered has to preserve a particularly delicate aromatic component does ensuring a fine and dull factory profile and extraordinary drinkability. In the sense, we used to say that the is our unconventional intriguing and sophisticated sweet wine. It sounds exquisite really expressing in this sweet expression, these two grapes, chardonnay blended with, a native white grape from Ciceli. What time of day would you have the Terre tartive? Would you have this as an after dinner drink? Would you have this in the afternoon with biscotti or cakes? Of what foods would you enjoy with Taritardime? The fact that we find intriguing and unconventional is due to a fact that this virus very controversial. So you can even open your dinner with. We have tess's, for example, with some cheese, and even with foja, and this can be paired also with some first dishes when you have some very summer season it, cheese. And I believe that at the end, the most interpretation should be with cakes, biscuits, not too much sweet dishes in order to exhaust this sweetness and freshness that are the main, the two main component of this one. It sounds absolutely exquisite. I'm imagining another way is perhaps simply sitting out with a small glass of Terre tartide. It's a sun setting, perhaps overlooking the sea if you can see the sea from where you are. No. We don't see the sea, but we have a beautiful grain nature that explode around the winery. So business could be a beautiful, way to appreciate the territorial diva. Okay. Now, Vania, I always ask because I know many of our listeners like to visit the people, the wineries we talk to. I know you don't actually have open wine facilities for people to just drop in. But should wine lovers or groups of wine lovers, small groups wish to visit? Is that possible? Okay. Yeah. You're right. So the moment that we are not open with, analytics services. The winery in the last year, I've been involved with an important invest infrastructure investment to improve our sustainability. So now we have, a photomoltaic system, that guarantee, another percent of energy for the sellers. And we have improved it also, the recycling system or the water we use, you know, in the cells. But we have decided to make, an effort in order to share with wine lovers who we are, our philosophy, our idea, our physical culture, our idea of sustainable company here in the south of Sicily. So during the year, we set up a calendar when it's possible to gas small group at maximum six people and to give them the possibility to visit the vineyards, to visit the winery and have allied testing. This is really a poor pleasure. The only, rules that you have is to kindly ask to the wine lover to write us, so they can verify if there is any availability, and they will try to organize, a date, so they have to call us maybe one month before. So, we can give them the calendar and some option to try to to come here and visit the margarita. Okay. That's very helpful. And wine lovers are generally quite resourceful and like to plan ahead. So I'm sure that could work well simply to contact Milazzovini in advance if you're going to be in the area, perhaps visiting the really beautiful and awe inspiring valley of the temples at Agrigento, and then to have perhaps arrange a visit to Milazzo Vini. Vania, thank you so much for being my guest today to explaining where you are in Campo Bello, South East Sicily, the philosophies of organic and sustainable Viticulture at Milazzo Vini and also this very special wine, Terre Taridevay, for which Milazzo Vini won the best, organic sweet wine award in the wines without walls competition. I hope the harvest goes well for you. And everything continues well through the summer. So thank you very much and hope to see you sometime in the future. Oh, thank you so much, Mark. Thank you for our guest in house to give us the possibility to tell us something about the honorary and our work. And we will wait for you here in, in the winery to show who we are and our idea of agriculture. And the fantastic team and colleagues that, have it. They are passionate, very involved in the idea of one area that we have in mind. And let me say, a special thanks to the property of the winery, to the Pina Milazzo, Sabario Gallegio, her husband, and Josepe, Lolejo, there. So they are fully involved in the winery. And They are our inspiration in what we do every day to take care of the, Milazzo heritage and what we would like to represent in the future. Thank you again. Well, thank you. And I do hope to visit you sometime soon in the future. We hope you enjoyed today's episode of wine food and travel with me, Mark Millen, on Italian wine podcast. Please remember to like, share, and subscribe right here, or wherever you get your pods. Likewise, you can visit us at Italianwine podcast dot com. Until next time.