I believe it is all about finding an equilibrium between the vineyards, the work in the cellar and human activity, which combined all together create the taste of the wine itself.
How did you start working in the wine industry? What is the story behind “Tenuta La Palazza”?
My family always owned “Tenuta la Palazza” in Romagna and when I was young I would help them every now and then – as an excuse for not studying much during university – but I wasn’t too passionate about wine. However, after graduating in Modern History, I unexpectedly ended up working for my family winery. What fascinates me the most about this job and the world of wine overall is the fact that it is the opposite of monotonous: from the vineyard work, to the marketing and communication of the final product. It’s always a matter of innovation and of finding new ways of improving your produce and selling it to the best buyers. I have always been fascinated by the environment and the lifestyle surrounding the wine world.
Businesses such as farms and wineries are considered “slower” businesses, as they have long-term goals and therefore it takes longer to physically see the results. I am fascinated by the beauty and magic of nature but also by high-quality food – in Romagna you can find both of them!
Our main consumers are from the U.S, Japan and Russia. The United Kingdom is a different story, as retailers tend to prefer known labels coming from the most famous wine regions in Italy, such as Tuscany and Piedmont. Moreover, the current political situation (including Brexit-related consequences) brought many of them to over-stock their warehouses, as they were worried about higher customs taxes.
We always produced wine with the Sangiovese grape variety, which is the ancient grape variety produced in the hills of Romagna, between Forlì, Castrocaro and Predappio. My father radically transformed our family winery by applying the principles of organic farming and making a commitment to sustainability and respect for the environment. This is one of the reasons why we decided to implement solar panels in order to be more autonomous with our energy. Moreover, organic farming allows us to maintain our soil healthy and rich. Since the soil is very important in contributing to the characteristics of our wine, these practices enable us to guarantee a better taste to our Sangiovese.
How do Sustainability and Innovation coexist?
At “Tenuta la Palazza” we enjoy coming up with new ideas and experimenting with innovative techniques. As a matter of fact, we recently tested the use of blackberry extracts as a substitute foe sulphur dioxide in our wine. It was an interesting and successful project – however, we still need to work on it and get a proper certificate to implement this technique.
A new technique we want to experiment in the future is aging wine in clay amphorae, which can have a more or less porous surface, that allows oxygen to get in contact with the wine. Our aim is to explore the differences in taste between the same kind of wine aged in an old and new barrique, where the tannins of the wine get in contact with those of the wood, and in an amphora.
We are also keen to come up with new ways of minimizing our waste. We like to re-use and recycle everything that nature gives us: after building a special area for our horses, we have started utilizing their manure to fertilise the soil together with organic compost. Further, we introduced crops such as wild mustard to enrich the soil. As bees are the keepers and enhancers of biodiversity, we plan on implementing them in our estate and maybe selling their honey as well. I am really fascinated by them because they exist in highly organised communities whose pollination is essential for agriculture. Another initiative to avoid wasting grape marc (pomace) was to start a small production of grappa, which is ultimately distilled in Piedmont.
Finally, five years ago we started a project called “Artevigna” together with an Argentinian artist. It is an “artistic cultivation” project that combines art and nature, using natural materials from the vineyards. Every year we add new art works, thus creating an open-air museum to explore and enjoy while you visit the winery.
What are your thoughts on natural wines?
I do not fully espouse the concept of natural wine since by definition, wine is not something natural but rather the grape is. For many, natural wine was a marketing strategy, standardising the taste of consumers and making their product distinctive through its flaws. However, I met some good producers of natural wines, but I consider it to be a very risky technique and not so satisfying, as you are not exactly sure of what wine to expect. If you need forty-five minutes to explain the wine to consumers, then there is something wrong with it! I believe it is all about finding an equilibrium between the vineyards, the work in the cellar and human activity, which combined all together create the taste of the wine itself.
How did Covid-19 impact “Tenuta la Palazza” and the wine industry?
It has been a tough break for us, as we had to cancel many meetings and wine events all around the world. Moreover, the majority of the wine we produce is sold through more traditional channels such as wine shops. However, I think that many small producers like me have started rethinking their way of doing business and consequently, leveraging technology as a service. First of all, having an online shop is essential and it allowed us to sell some of our wines in these last few months. At the moment we are also making a deal with a wine delivery platform to be more visible on the market. In Italy many people are sceptical about online shopping, as they prefer to have a direct experience while buying wine. However, many customers are now realising the benefits of buying online and probably will adopt this way of purchasing wine in the future with greater frequency.
Secondly, I realised that many meetings with clients could be efficiently executed online as well, saving both time and money. Lastly, traditional wine distribution in Italy will probably change after this pandemic. Until now, on the Italian market, traditional “Horeca” (HOspitality, REstaurants, CAtering) sales were managed through independent brokers working for multiple different brands. I believe that this figure will change a lot; for example, I think that wine sales will be predominantly managed by regional or national distributors that will be able to provide more services to restaurants and winebars. The independent agent will slowly lose part of its independence, transitioning to work on behalf of larger distributors instead.