Ep. 1993 Jacopo Gubert of Ager Patris | Wine, Food & Travel With Marc Millon

The Italian wine podcast is the community driven platform for Italian winegeeks around the world. Support the show by donating at italian wine podcast dot com. Donate five or more Euros, and we'll send you a copy of our latest book, my Italian Great Geek journal. Absolutely free. To get your free copy of my Italian GreatGeek journal, click support us at Italianpodcast dot com, or wherever you get your pods. Welcome to wine food and travel. With me, Mark Millen, 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 specialties 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 Minon on Italian wine podcast. Today, I'm delighted to continue a special new subseries that highlights the winners of the prestigious five star wines and wines without walls competition that took place in April just prior to Vin Italy twenty twenty four. Over the course of three long days, more than two thousand two hundred wines were tasted by an International jury of wine professionals that included Italian winemakers, so many a's, Italian and international journalists and wine writers, as well as Italian wine ambassadors and Italian wine experts. Those wines that scored more than ninety points were awarded certificates and have been included in the five star wines and wines without walls twenty twenty five book, or the very best wines in each category were singled out for special awards. My guest today is Jakapo Gilbert of the Agar Patris winery located in the beautiful wine hills of Azolo, which won the five star wines and wines without walls Best Biodynamics sparkling wine, Edgar Patris, Azolo Proseccio Superior, DOCG, Suile Aviti, Vino Biologico two thousand and twenty two. Congratulations, Yacapo, and welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being my guest today. How are you? Thank you, Mark. It's a huge pleasure being here. Sorry for the long name of the wine. I know it's very, very long. And I'm very good. Thank you. Well, that's great. Now, Yacapo, I want our guest to, to gain an impression of of the Oslo wine zone. But I also wanna know where you are right now. Describe where you are right now. So right now, I'm in the city center of Treviso where we have one of our companies and master inside, an old old palace from the thirteenth century. So, from one thousand two hundred. And it's a special place. We are renovating in order to make some co working space, event space, which is one of the many things we do in our company, which is inference group. Okay. And I guess in the thirteen hundreds, Yacopo, Traviso was under the Venetians. Is that right? Exactly. Yes. It is right. The fun thing is that, we are very connected to history, and we love history, and that's why actually the name of the wine, which is not casual. It's from, it's from Latin Agarapates. It's a word that means, father's land. Okay. So that's interesting to to connect with history and tradition. Now, Jaka, before our listeners, I'd like the new to describe the Oslo Wine Hills, the area around Montebelluna, where where the Agra Patris winery is. And it's it's a it's a really beautiful area. I go to Oslo often. It's an area I love. I love the hills. So can you describe this so our listeners can gain a picture in their minds of where the winery is. Yeah. So our state is located in the Santa Maria de Colle, which is the old part of, Montebelluna City. So inside the Azolo DOTG region, AZulu XG reason is an historic region famous for its biodiversity history, as I was saying before. And, now for Hero Beauty culture, as we're saying, the city of Azolo is is beautiful. Is so beautiful that it's also called, City of Andre's Horizon by Jose Gucci, the poet. And the the city and the region was founded in the Roman times and developed a lot in the middle age and for wines, especially, is a very lucky territory as we are so just amazing the ventilators northeast of Italy. And we are between the pre ops that protects the region. And we have Pia ventriver crossing the region. With lot of hills that they all are with an altitude between a hundred and four hundred and fifty meters above the sea level. Our hill to our state hill It's around two hundred and fifty meters above the sea level, and it is exposed to the sun all year round. So, yes, as as plates, we're very lucky for for this two main things to the pre ops that protect us from the bad weather and winds and hazel. And then we have the Piaver River, which is a gold for wine. Okay. Well, that's a that's a good description. And it's important to emphasize this hilly nature of the terrain. Presecco, of course, is a wine loved around the world. Presecco doc, ex especially is produced in a vast area across Veneto and Freulevenencia, Julia. But the two finest zones, as you've mentioned, have select DOCG status. The prosseco Superior, Azseco Superior, DOCG, and, of course, the Coneliano Vald de beyondine, proscco Superior, d o c g. Perhaps the larger area is is better known than Oslo simply because There's so much less Azzolo prossecco superiority made. Would you say that's true? And how would you distinguish the wines of Azzolo prossecco superiority from Corneliano Valdo via Dene? Well, actually, the the main difference between the two territory is that al but to be out in the region is more is higher than asolo. And so our terwar is very exposed to sun. We have a good mix between sun and highness, and the third one has a strong integrity because it's composed of, conglomerate for by rocks that cement together and it's covered with clay and sandy soil, which is less present in the badogliaden and the o c g region. So, actually, we have the perfect underground draining system that for a very used grape as a glera, it helps a lot the grape. Everybody now will live later. We know that there are thousand and thousand and thousands of, vineyards of prosecco all around, as you said, Bento and a few living at Cettulia. But in the little region of Azolo, we have this perfect mix of sun. Highness that there are made with this underground grading system with help a lot of the glare break, which makes, wine direct, clear, and with a very fine bulb of which is would actually distinguish us from the Vada and Voci. Okay. That's great. Now how about the history? Give us a background to Agar Patris. It's a family story. Isn't it? It is actually So let's start from the name Mark, which is etymologically Agarpatus means father's land in Latin. And we decided to give this name for two main reason. First, the fact that the history of our state goes back or to millennia, actually. It's rooted in a land and once hosted a Roman Villa, a real Roman Villa. In fact, archaeologists found basis for a jury from both Roman and medieval times. So this is actually the connection with the history, but second and actually not less important. The fact that Rose are exactly those of the family estate where our property were born and raised. So the actual only family, he inherited the land from their ancestors, let's say, And we have documents that, saying that they were making the promise to cultivate vines, honoring their parents wishes of botulin memories. So we have documents saying that. And this is the the the connection with the past that actually make our wines very private, very, very important for us. So a very personal story, a very personal connection with the roots of the family's origins. Exactly. And then, our group, if in the group, was born. Thanks to the first job of our of our family, the only family which is, with hardware software artificial intelligence. So something very, very, connected to technology. So we needed something to help us going back to our to our past and to our times when that help us become what we're now. So, actually, everybody, it's it's not born for business at all. We are in a very, very little state, only five actors. So we produce around this year, we will produce eight thousand bottles. And we we have a very beautiful I don't know if you've seen the bottle, but it's beautiful packaging. So it's actually something we do we do just for love and passion and not for business. Okay. That's a very interesting story and and yet for love and passion, but you still are producing wines capable of winning the highest awards. Now, it's interesting as well that it's a tech business, the main holding company, but you've returned to the land and above all to organic and sustainable farming. Tell us a little bit about the philosophy behind that. Yes. So as I was saying, we have many different companies, but they we have always had two main pillars that we share with clients and employees. And the first one is that our work is dedicated to those who have respect for the work we live in and who wants to leave it better than how they found it. And the second is that we have infinite possibilities of being ethic in everything we're doing. So for these reasons, We worked very, very hard in order to obtain the organic certification from the beginning. So as I said, we promoted biodiversity. We do have, olive trees and Cyprus is calling for act on actual territory and protecting the state and our little paradise. So we started the biological fight. We only use copper and sulfur, and we definitely don't use pesticides, but all the natural predators. I do know the names, but I have no idea how to pronounce it in English. Okay. And and what is important is in the as well the OTG region, we we do make heroic agriculture. So our vineyards can only be word by hand. So by offering a very, very limited build. So you can see in mid September, you can see, our old, our parents or season beakers selecting only the best grapes during the harvest, which is which is something you have to see, Mark. It's just amazing. Okay. So it's very much a artisan produced wine made on a very small scale. Exactly. You're talking. That's it. 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. Tell us a little bit about the glitter grape, this great grape of prosecco. So glitter grape, we we always thought from the beginning that it's a it's a simple grape. And but, actually, it's one of the worst to work on in order to make a sparkling wine because it's not very high in acidity. So you have to pick it when it's a perfect time home of the year. And during the harvest, you have to taste the grape every six hours because with three hour sun, you can destroy a full a full year of work. So you it's a very difficult, great to to cool type, but we do not only have, glare. We only make some, which is, which is a great from, from the Treviso area. Very difficult to find very rare. And we make our Jose with this, but it's not prosecco because it's not Clara. With Clara Gave, we make our three main wines. So the the winner, which is actually the the sweetie, we make an extra guy, we make an extra brute. There's a lot of winemakers using, like, trying to using glare to make some, shampooise with champagne on the mask method, but it's so difficult. As I was saying, it's a difficult grape. So it can only be treated as prosecco. For me. Which means under the Martynote method of production, can you explain that briefly to our listeners? So the main difference between Martynote method and Champenote method is that we do use metal sister Yes. To let fermented the wine, then we bought to it. The only difference is for the Suilever team, which is called phoned in Italian. And it's kind of a Champen Moss method that undergoes a secondary fermentation. But without the gorgement. Okay. So that is in the bottle fermentation, then this award winning. Is exciting. Okay. Well, we'll discuss that in a little bit more detail then. Can let's talk about this award winning, Suitli a v t. Would you say this is the sort of the old way originally before the technology came in to do the second fermentation in the tank in the stainless steel auto cloud? Exactly. So is actually how how the prosecco was made was made at the beginning. So our parents were making the prosecco called fonda. As I was saying, the majority of prosecco is produced using what is properly called the tank method. I believe it's saying in English. Yes. That's right. Which Italian is called the Martin Autom method. For tank metal wines, basically, a base wine is produced, and then it is re fermented in a large and pressurized tank. Our colfondo is actually a little bit different from the ancestral method. So instead of bothering the wines, why they're still fermenting, a base wine is produced, and fermentation is actually carried out until computation. So this the wine is bottled, and then the wine undergoes the second fermentation, Those those results in a sparkling wine, time to the c o two that's produced by fermentation in a actually pressurized environment, just the bottle. Unlike the traditional metal wines, so let's say, Francacorta, or a trento dog first thing you need to leave a champagne if you want to go to France, call from the wines are not the discourse of their sediment. So you you can actually see the sediment inside the bottle. So actually, the English language term will be reformatted in a bottle of wine. Yes. That's a very good description, and I think that's important for our listeners to to understand. I love the call fondo style when it's done well. The secondary fermentation, of course, the yeast eats the sugar in the wine, in in this case completely so that it's a absolutely fermented to bone dryness without any dosage without any dosage added to it. And as and instead of freezing that yeast in the neck of deposit in the neck of the bottle, it remains in the wine. So the wine can be a little bit cloudy, but that's something that consumers have come to enjoy and value and appreciate, isn't it? It is actually, two main reasons. First of all, you know, prosseco being a a marketing method cannot stay longer. It cannot stay for a long time in the bottle. So, actually, the the the shelf life table, the shelf life for a prosseco is a year, a year and a half. But with the sweetie, everything, so Colfondo, being with their east inside the bottle helps the bottle stay years and years. Do the wines develop the autolytic character that's sort of bready yeasty notes from the from the, l a v t? That's it. And then it's a fun it's actually, as you were saying, it's a for clients, it's a fun game to propose. Is to try the three eighty in two ways, because you can actually leave the lease in suspension, making it very cloudy. And when it's cloudy, you can feel this very intense, page three, aromas, and has an ulceroma, thanks to the east. But then if you want to do, a comparison, you take one bottle and you make it cloudy with the lithium expansion, then you take another bottle, and you leave the, East to settle at the bottom. So the first class will be clear, and the last class will be very, very cloudy. And it's nice because you can taste the different flavors for each glass. And that's something I always suggest to clients when they buy this. Is that how you would drink it yourself? I would drink it myself for the first time just to understand the difference, but I like Wolfo so much that I prefer it cloudy. And actually, it really depends what you're Okay. That helps decide if you want to do with leasing suspension or not. Well, that was my next question, Yackel. I wanted to talk about that because I think this style of Prosecco does lend itself to food. Often prossecco is enjoyed as an appetitivo, just a a a a light mind to enjoy before a meal. But I think this style, Colfondo lends itself to food. So tell us about some of the typical foods of your area that you think pair very well with with a prosa or so. So talking about food, we are in, in a Latin region because we have a Venice and the the lagoon and sea. So we we do have a fish coming from that part. And then we have, meat, especially little birds and, wild animals coming from the center of the region and the pre ops. We have two possibilities to pair the wine. So starting from the holler taste, as I was saying, very elegant pastry aromas, hazelnuts, and then we do have fresh fruits, notes, like pear, and apple, which reflects the altitude of the vineyards. So it's not that typical for Saco because we have the SIP. It's very juicy with a higher SIP T making it an ex extend a parity. But the structure, given by the break on the East, pairs very well with also main courses of fish or white meat. And, you know, how how it's good with the local imperative in, the Treviso, among the blue one and Azure region. We have our, our, break at three o'clock in the afternoon. We do have a palm and suppressor, which is, basically bread and suppressor, which is, a cold cut, very soft, and it reflects the, Actually, the the Dolcevita of the Treviso region. Okay. That's a lovely lovely thought of having an a Miranda at three o'clock with, the bread and the So press, type of Salumi, and, of course, a glass of prossecco superiori Suilevi tea. I'd I'd like that idea. I would like one now. You're making me want that, and it's only, ten o'clock in the morning here in England. Yeah. We we have to we have to use the podcast to stop this way of thinking that ten o'clock is not a good time to have a glass of wine. That's true. That's true. So that's a very nice pairing. What what would be a few other Piatiti teaching that you would enjoy, with the ones of Aga Patris. One food pairing I'd like to to make actually with sweetievity, and this will sound weird maybe for someone. But we do have a typical oyster coming from the port river, which is called the rosa delta, which is, the the pink one from the delta, delta, is where the port river goes into the into the c. And there, that's the perfect microclimb inside the water to grow oysters. And there's very little oysters with the pink color inside, and they are kind of salty, very salty. And with a glass of, our sweet heavy tea makes it the perfect pairing because you don't you having the yeast, you don't have the, smash between the salty fishy oyster. And the, that's straight and clear bottle of prosaic or champagne, which makes that kind of irony flavor in your mouth. Yes. I that, richer flavors from the Suileverte would parallel with the salinity of the oysters. I've not had those oysters from the Po Delta before. I mean, she'll have to look out for them the next time I'm in the area. Absolutely. Yeah. They're very difficult to find. I mean, there's restaurants here in the in the area that struggle to find some. So there's very, very little production. What about the blue crab that's this invasive species that's coming into the lagoon and and chefs are finding ways to to cook this? I would imagine the blue crab would pair very well with with your pre set goal. Well, Blue Prab would pair even better with the with an extra brute, actually, because Blue Prab has a very sweet meat. They eat everything they find. So from algae to fish to other crabs. And so eating everything, the inside started becoming very, very sweet. And that could be actually difficult to pair with. I had a plate of gnocchi with the blue crab, and we decided to pair it with our, actually, Rosain. And that was good because you need to have a little bit of structure given by the by a red rate. To pair with the to pair with the blue crab. Okay. That's that's sounds. I mean, you have, yes, some pleasing activity on the palate, but also sweetness and, and a strong background as well. Okay. Now Yockable, I know that the Agapadris wines are made in very small quantity. Our listeners, I'm sure, who are located all around the world, may find themselves in the Azzolo area in Treviso, for example, How can they find the wines? And is there any opportunity for them to sample those? Well, first of all, we are very, very open to welcome every everyone that wants to come and visit our our estate. We on this state, we do not have, hospitality reseller as probably said because our lands are uncontaminated, and we have decided to leave nature being the main character of the land. So no cars, no working machines. Sometimes you can find high grass, but we are still happy to take guests to our land, keeping in mind that they are going to leave an ancestor experience. So in a land that took to they can take them from to another time in history. So we're actually the our plans for the future will be we are building a hotel close to the estate that we can use as, as as a hospitality point for whoever wants to come and want maybe have too many glasses of wine who wants to play at stake. And then actually close to to the state. That's our our main office is called infinite air infinite area called Infiniti, a sound innovation hub for events and co working where it can also offer personalized testing experience because we have projector in maxi immersive experience all around, so we can actually take the guest from the nature to a very high technology place. Using the AI and the virtual reality? Exactly. So, actually Wow. Amazing. So for for our clients, so for whoever wants to taste the glass of wine with us, they can They can try the two different options, having the glass in on the hill, enjoying the nature, and then with our car, taking them in five minutes to infinite infinite area where they can have another glass of wine, but we're gonna have to do all around because using the project immersion and the AI, you can have the you you are a multiple owner, but you can have a glass of wine and find yourself in Venice or in New York. Or in at the top of the average mountain, thanks to the technology. And you and you see that the taste of the wine will be completely different. Wow. That's incredible. I love that idea. Yacobo, you've actually given us virtual reality tour today on our brief conversation. I think you've taken me and all of our listeners, to the linehills of the special linehills of Azolo. On the Azzolo Prosecco Superior, d o c g zone, which is a tiny zone, a small zone. It's not as well known as other areas, but you've taken us there and, and I'm sure you've uninspired many people to come and visit. So thank you so much for being my guest today. It's been a real pleasure talking to you. It's been a big pleasure for me as well, and I will wait for you and all the guys to come and visit us and test our 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.