Ep. 899 Valter Fissore | Wine, Food & Travel With Marc Millon

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 will 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 travel to the beautiful wine hills of Barolo in Piedmont's Leilenge. To meet my guest, Walter Fisore, of the ellevio Conio winery. Guangiorno Valtor. How are you today? What's the day like in Leilangi? Good morning. Good morning, Mark. Good morning, everybody. I am Walter. And you call your winery. I am the winemaker, of, historical winery of Nobelo in, in Barolo area. Today is a beautiful is a beautiful day because you have a rain. And it's raining about the difficult, dries period, and, so I'm so happy. That's interesting because, you know, we are always imagining the sun shining in the beautiful wine country of Italy, but of course, over winter, in Barolo, it's very important that you have the rain, the snow in order to get that moisture penetrating deep into the, into the subterranean. And you haven't had so much rain this year. Yeah. We we had, a dry winter, and so the spring is important time to have, enough water for the growing season. So it's important to know that we have, rainy spring Well, I'd like you to perhaps transport our listeners into the beautiful world of the barolo wine zone. I know it's a bit wet today, but I've been there in all seasons in snow and heat of summer. And at any time with these wonderful deep hills in the valleys, it's such a beautiful area. Can you please, describe where you are in the Barolo wine zone? And and what's unique about your corner? Yes. We are located in, in the south turn, part of, rural area. It's, our district, the, located, very close to to the Barolo. It's actually in the Rivera crew. Our, our winery is located on the top of the hill, surrounded from eleven, actor of, of a winners in one piece of land. That is our great power for us because we can manage very well, the the winners and, follow directly, looking at the winners. So not so far, and that it helps to do much better wine. Novelo is, one of the eleven villages, where the Barolo find a great, expression, especially in Rivera that is located, at three hundred eighty meters above the sea level, where where we have a beautiful, microclimate with the beautiful temperature description through night and day that get a a beautiful freshness to the the the the wine, especially to the nebbiol. And here, we find beautiful, condition to to to express, a barolo so so unique because the things that are are, elegance, finesse, complexity, and wine that age really well. My father-in-law, phoned this wine that is in nineteen ninety one. Since a long experience, get from, another wine in La Mora, Marconi that he founded in nineteen fifty one. And sixty one. Sorry. And then in nineteen ninety, we moved to novello because he bore here and know very well the potential of this, of this crew. In fact, Thanks to him today. We can, we can consider our crew, very important. This is really interesting, Walter, because you're, you're beginning to, explain these nuances that that are found in a great wine region like Barolla, where small differences in soil, in exposition, in, in, from one commune to the next, gives a completely different expression in the wines, in these wines all produced from the same grape variety. Nebula. Tell us a little bit about this this Great grape of Italy. Nebula grape is, it's became, in the last years, one of the most important, grape of the of Italy. And, this, this variety found a great condition to grow in in Piedmont. In fact, is, Piedmont is, the unique place where you can, Piedmont, and a little bit of, lombardia in Montelina. You find a great, condition to grow because, probably the microclimate and the soil are very unique and, this grape find really, the best condition and then get the best expression of wine possible. And this is part of our history. And the nebelo today is, like, San Jose is one of the most important, right, the grape of Italy. Barolo and Abiola grape, in barolo, became barolo. Thanks. The the microclimate and soil, limestone soil with, not too much sand. And the but this soil change a lot. Depends of the communist. Some we have two different areas like elvishan and turtonian. Depends, the, of the quantity of sand that you find in the soil. So the these are geological eras that Logic era is elvasion and Thortonian. Okay. That, honestly, was, Saniano, Tatiano, Tatiano, and Messiano, that is, smaller, geological era. Okay. Oh, differences in some millions of years we're talking about from when an ancient sea cover this this whole area leaving behind these deposits. Yeah. From fifteen to five million years ago. Wow. Amazing. Amazing how that then becomes actually reflected in the wines that we taste today. We can taste these differences, from one area to the other. Can you give us a sort of broad I know that the elvio cogno wine reproduces not only your range of barollos, but also barbaresco and Lange Nabiolo. So different expressions of Nabiolo. Can you sort of talk about a little bit about the difference, differences between your wines from these other from either Barbara or when you are making a longue de biolo. Thank you for this question. That, is it's important about my v winery vision. But all of, for sure, is, really important. Is most masculine wine and more powerful is, is a wine that, have a great body and great potential for age. Borro is, needs, a beautiful microclimate warmer, continental, warmer time in in in summer, good water and, in, and the cooler, winter. That is very continental climber. But, I mean, Barolo is considered the king of the wine because, is a little bit more, cooler area and get the wines that had pickled a little bit later than than the Barbarisco. Barbarisco is an area a little bit more in the more, in the north, consider Barolo area. Is a place that is more warmer than Barolo area. And we produce wine a bit more elegant and, wines with the more finesse that is, fantastic for drinking a little bit earlier. Is, there are a lot of expression in the lung, in the barolo area about lancane biola because lancane bureaus sometimes is considered a, the classified bureaus, but, in many cases, is harvest choice. So we decide to do lancane bureole from the beginning. And that you, we use the, and the nebbiolo that's not come from the barolo area, but it is the winners that's located outside the barolo area where we have a little more sandy soil and you get a while, a little more drinkable, more approachable, wines that are not, as more baroque or as more baroque. Okay. Well, that's really, really interesting to get an, an idea of this differences in expression of Nebula. Now, Walter, there's long been, something of a divide between the traditional approach and a more modern approach. Does that still exist today? And how would you describe yourself as a winemaker? Respect much better the the characteristic of the original grape. So we don't want to change the the characteristic of the of the flavors that come from the winners. So we are we are producing very natural wines that is our goal. For this reason, we are very traditional approach to the, dreyfication. And, we use only large barrel and a very natural, Livonia for example, we don't use we are making long, long fermentation forty, fifty days of of, macerations. And recently, we introduced a little bit whole cluster, fermentation. Because, the trend is to get have a more, warmer, seasons. And we want to have in our wise, the beautiful elegance and finesse that come from the the the hook line style. Okay. So the whole cluster, that's only in part of the VINification, is it? Partially. It depends, how we can interpret the vintage. That is very important. You cannot do every year the same, you know. But what is really important that, we are, we are producing wines that, are the bestest pressure of the Rivera crew that is our our signature. Well, let's talk about that Rivera crew in more detail. And, also, I think, Walter, it's very important for our listeners to get, a little bit of a handle on the MGAs, AMencio, geographic, because I think it's, It's something wine drinkers are less familiar of this idea of really having that pinpoint precision from these named crew vineyards that have his history and character and personality. So if we could talk a little bit about RAvera, what makes that special, but also in general, about MGA's and their increasing importance. Yeah. Since two thousand ten, we get MGA, and that is, was, a very important key point for, for the consumer and, for the wild lovers that want to understand a little bit better the difference that we we have, with different position, with different, winners. That is really important. We We're talking about the crew, but, MGA is the right name, and MGA represent, wise that, comes from a special area, special zone, and where the wise have a different aspect, different, sensation, different of aromas, different personality. That is, really important for us. And today, with the with the MGA barolo increase the the the authority around the world. Tara is located, in, in, the border of the river of the Nobelo Village near barolo. Take part of the chuwi and Rivera is considered today or one of the most important crew of Novelo. Thanks also to have you call you that since nineteen ninety one, already put on the label, this, the crew, the name of the of the MGA Rivera. Roberta is located, at three hundred eighty meters. So it's a very windy place. So we have a beautiful freshness, and beautiful temperature solutions. And you get this aspect in the wines. When you try the wine, you have find a beautiful minerality and the freshness elegance, but complexity for sure. The the MGA, today, mostly are, are became famous are more famous than others, but, that helps to understand the, why we make this choice. Because, in the years, before we're talking about parole in general, and you don't have this expression, single expression comes from the single crew. Yes. I think it is really important, and it's it's certainly a way for wine lovers to have an extra tier of enjoyment, an extra level of understanding of an area first of all, beginning to, you know, consider the different commune and how styles change between Novalo, Barolo, Cerralungo, or castiglion de Fernato, but also this precision from the individual name vineyard. So I would urge our listeners to be aware of the MGAs, not just in Barolo, but in other areas of Italy, in Barbara, for example, as well as the name of the wine itself. Now, Walter, can we talk about a special white wine that is not often encountered? Your Anes Chatta, produced from Nasheta, an unusual grape that as I say, many people will not have heard of let alone tasted. Yes. We are lucky also because, you know, we we've we've found, Nacheta Grape. And, Elio Konya was, let's be the pioneer to save this, historical variety that, since, eighteenth century was very popular here in November. And then it was abandoned. Probably, it was a little bit difficult to cultivate this white variety. Consider always that we are in the barolo area. That is not not so easy when you're entering competition, like, with a wire that's so important like barolo. But anyway today, Nachete is considered one of the best white wine of the and thanks to our effort today, there are many producers that start to produce this wine. And, this is a white white wine that is pick up the quite later after the the Dolce and, in novello, probably, they find a beautiful expression, because already in past, we have, testimony of this, of this grape. The characteristic of Nacheta is, a Mediterranean white wine for sure, but a wine that the age is so well, age really well. That is the reason that and you're going to start to to produce since nineteen ninety four, a little bit, Nacheta. And then we start a a long, longer work to get a DOC that arrived in two thousand ten. So a longer, a longer road, not to don't don't have too much, economic, results in fact, the money. We don't get too much money from this white on the beginning, but to the but what is really important if for us is to save this variety because it's part of our history is part of our tradition. And it's a wine that I have a beautiful, characteristic, regarding analogical aspect. And, and they, Nacheta with Timorasso, are a two great white wine that, can represent very well Piamontes white. Yeah. So I think that's, that's a really, really interesting story. And it's an example of how in Italy, you know, elsewhere in the world, we're seeing fewer grape varieties, wines being sold just by you know, and, of ever decreasing names of grapes on the labels, but in Italy still, there's this celebration and valuing of wines that have history and, and can produce quality results, even if for whatever reason they had been abandoned. So it's a beautiful story, and I hope, that people will have a chance to encounter Nasheta, even if it is produced in, in, limited quantity. Nasheta, I'm thinking Walter as we move towards summer. It will be a wine that will go very well with the summer foods of Lehlenge. Lehlenge being one of the great food regions of Italy of the world, even with the famous tartuffo bianco in the in the autumn, the Brazato al Barolo, these big foods to go with big wines like Barolo. But what about the foods in the summer? The wines in the summer that you would be enjoying yourself with your family. Tell us a little bit about the gastronomy of your area. The gastronomy is really important in the language, and, Today, we are famous also not only for the wine, but also for the guests for the, our, our, food and our, cuisine, right, is, we are, we have a lot of, beautiful and capacity that, are we are famous for that, but also famous for tairine for, tearing his, and again made pasta, that, have a beautiful pairing with, with the wines. For example, we drink in summer, but not only summer because it's a very gastronomic wine and it's very full body wise. And you can you can enjoy with with many different food. For sure the fish is very good, but not only also white meat, vegetables, grilling. In Piedmont, we have, fried and zucchini flowers that are very beautiful and very good. And, these are great, match with the with the warmer, with the shade. Then the ceta dalba that we drink, you know, also in San a little bit Chilled. It's a wine, very fruity. And like, a pair with the raw meat, our Fasana meat that is very, very beautiful, very, very soft and delicate, and also fresh cheese, like, too many more asana, for example, that is a very, very good with, Dolceania. Barbera. I love with, for example, barbera. I love with, with tiring, with truffles, or with the rich food because it's a little more needs, barbera has acidity and it's a little more fat food. And, it's very good with, with pork, with, our, our, our, and, figurine with the truffles. And Barolo Barolo is a wine that I love to drink, always. Sorry, but, because it's a wine that also I recently I started to drink a bottle also with the fish. So the forest plane and that, how it has changed the barrel in the ears? Impaso was very austere, very heavy. A little too much technique. Today is more delicate, more drinkable, more, fresh because the culture helps to get the wine, in this in this side, in this way. And but Nebula is beautiful with our our our roster with our meat, with, our, Brazat overall. We use typical, food of, Piedmont, main course. Well, wonderful. It's a really, really delicious menu. I think it's one of the certainly one of the great food areas of Italy as well as as well as one of the greatest wine areas. Just, finally, Walter, the wine country of Leilenge is now has been marked by UNESCO as a world heritage site. Tell us our, our listeners just a little bit about what is so attractive and what what they should do when they come to visit Leilenge, why they should visit Leilenge in addition to seeking out great wine and food? Yes. The longer recently became, a place where the tourists come up very often because it is very, very special place, very, very unique. They can, initially for their wines and, from for for the food but today is a place that also was, important. All it's important also for for the tourists to have, different attend exclusions with bicycle. We are doing many we have a lot of hassle to visit. So for sure. The visit is an anogastronomic tools, but, we have a lot of things to do that, because language, thanks to UNESCO. It became important in the world and, is you are immersed into the nature and, you can, admire, this, the winery, the winners, or it very well is, all is very organized. And you find a place that Honestly, it's not too expensive considering the quality that we can get offer. Yes. It's, yeah, as you say, Walter, it's a place where you can immerse yourself totally into, a magnificent countryside with so much to offer. Volter, thank you very much for being my guest today. You've really taken us into Leilenge, into an understanding of the wines of Elvio, and also into a deeper understanding of some of the nuances of Barolo through the MGAs and the differences in expression of this great grape Nebula. I hope to be back in Le Long before too long, and it would be a real pleasure to meet. But in the meantime, thank you very much and I look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you very much this for this interview. You are very kind to to get this opportunity to me. And, I'm sorry if my English is not so perfect to to explain everything, but I I try to the best as I am doing with the wine. No. Your English is has been perfect, and you've been a a great, ambassador of the area. So thank you very much. 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. 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. 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