March 27, 2024 • 51 mins
Caterina Dei continues the legacy of her grandfather, Alibrandi Dei, who planted his first vineyard, Bossona, in Montepulciano in 1964. Cantine Dei is now a leading producer of DOCG Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in Tuscany. Cantine Dei is a stunning winery built from travertine marble, conceived by Caterina’s late father, Glauco Dei. Honoring his memory. Caterina created Madonna Della Querce, a single cru wine. She discusses how she combines her love of music, art and wine as a vintner.
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The Connected Table Radio Show is broadcast on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).
The Connected Table Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com), iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, Audible, and over 100 other podcast outlets.
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FOURCY Radio. Welcome to the ConnectedTable Live. We're your hosts, Melanie
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Young and David Ransom. You're insatiablycurious culinary couple. We enjoy bringing you
the dynamic people we meet around theworld who are leaders in wine, foods,
spirits and hospitality. We travel alot and we love sharing our discoveries
and the people we meet with you. Recently, we had the pleasure of
attending the annual Entreprima Tuscana, whichdebuts all the new releases from all the
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regions of Tuscani. Right absolutely,it's really quite amazing. There are many
and they all get together and haveus taste in Florence and around the region
as well, so we actually getto go to some of the towns and
the wine making regions as part ofthis strip. It's really a fabulous,
fabulous experience. And what many mayrealize is Tuscany is known for its red
wines, but every region has guidelinesand specifications that may each wine unique to
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its local erroois. And there's alsoa white wine, which we did a
discussion on and we'll be spotlighting aproducer in the upcoming weeks for Varnaccius and
Jiminiano. So there is also theWhite Queen as well. But today we
are going to spotlight one specific regionwith one of its leading producers, and
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that's the docg Noble di Montepulciano,which is south and east of Sienna.
So if you got your mental map, you were south and east of Sienna.
Uh. And it's very unique interms of the guidelines of what,
how and while the wines can bemade, right David, Absolutely, And
it's also got one of the longest, most beautiful histories of that region.
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Well just the name kind of saysit nobly. It's the wine of the
nobility, the noble wine, thenoble grape. But yeah, it has,
you know, over a thousand yearsof wine making history there and it's
also Monte Piano itself is one ofthe most beautiful hilltop villages in Tuscany.
Really is sunning. So to sharethe story of the region and the story
of her family's stunning winery, we'veinvited Katerina Day, who is the proprietress
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of Cantina Day, to join us. Welcome, Thank you, Memanie.
I'm so happy to be with youand the share time and with the with
you talking about my region. Thankyou for inviting me. Well, it's
an honor. And we had thepleasure of visiting canteena day during our visit
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to Entreprima Tuscana, which is apromptest to say, we've got to have
you join us on the show.Let's start with a little history. The
continued Day was founded by your grandfatherexact nineteen sixty four, almost fifty years
ago, right exactly, so,yes, right there. So my grandfather
really loved this this territory. Hewas, of course, he was from
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Tascany, and he approached the areaof Multiple Channel and literally fell in love
with the territory, with the landscapeand thought of you know, buying some
land and planting the first vineyard,the first vinear. He was planted exactly
in nineteen sixty three, and thevinna was called Bosona, which is now
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the vineyard that gives us the VinoNobile Reserve, so one of the most
important vineyard of hours. So hedidn't mean to be a wine producer at
first, because the core business ofthe family has always been excavating marble from
Tuscany, from Rapaulan. So thefamily has always been involved in excavating and
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working, traveling, you know,a stone that you know, was a
worldwide known and we actually made,you know, works all over the world.
But so my grandfather, falling inlove with the grapes and with the
land of Monte Pucano, started cultivatingthe land and planning the vineyards. So
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he sold the grapes for a numberof years until and we go. You
know, it was twenty years laterin nineteen eighty five, when my grandfather
and my father thought of making somewine for family and friends, and that's
when our story of a winemaker starts. So it was my father who actually
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founded the winery in nineteen eighty five, and we didn't have any wine cellar.
At that time, not any equipmentfor wine making, but we borrowed
a cantina in an underground building wherewe produced just one barrel of vino noobil
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in nineteen eighty five. That justone barrel that was you know, nineteen
eighty five was a stunning vintage.That one barrel decides our future. So
after that barrel of vino noobile,my father decided to go on and started
building the wine cellar. So that'show our story begins. That's an amazing
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story. And you know, firstof all, trafvetinge marbles, uh is
what the winery is built from.It's quite sunny. You call it your
marble palace. And I want tocorrect myself. Your winery was established about
sixty years ago and the actual bottlingforty years ago, so that's that's a
long time. I'm just curious.How does that compare to other wineries in
the in the area. Well,you know, Mananie, we have wineries
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that were founded much earlier, Sowe have we have canteenas and families that
have been had been there for youknow, for for longer. We have
a cantina the ready, we haveContucci that where you know, families present
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in the territory, uh for fordecades and uh for for hundreds of years,
so we we're not that old.But the but the passion was really
so important for our family because itwas the real you know, switching from
stone to wine and then and puttingthese two worlds together. You know,
that's the characteristic of my family.So my family being involved in the stone
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and then being so much in lovewith wine, and this was what my
father did, so putting the twowells together. So he started, you
know, he was really passionate,and therefore the whole family began so passionate
the bad wine. Myself, indeed, myself was let's say, involved in
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the one business in the early nineties. So I made my very first harvest
in nineteen ninety one. And asyou probably know, Melanie, I told
you I was wrapped into totally differentkind of stories. I had studied art
and music. I was totally passionateabout art, and when my father asked
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me to get involved in the winebusiness, I said, no, thank
you, dad, I'm not interestedin wine. I'm more interested in art
and music. But we made adeal and I said, okay, I'll
go harvest I'll go harvesting, whichI did in nineteen ninety one. And
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after the harvest, you know,something happened. I suddenly became inspired,
and I thought that music and winemaking had so much in common that I
decided for my future. So Idecided right there that my life would have
continued in Monteple Channel, in thevineyards, not forgetting my music, but
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putting the music into wine. Andso now I feel that I I really
reached my goal, and I feelthat I'm totally I totally found that myself
is right there. I love Ilove wine, I love wine making,
and I think that there's so muchin common between art and wine because both
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of these worlds have, you know, a kind of sensorial experience. So
it's not actually, you know,an intellectual kind of direction, but it's
like more again, a sensorial experiencemade of soul heart. And then you
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know, it's really merging two differentwords, merging so conviviality, having friends
and people gathering together. So sharing, it's all about sharing, it's all
about art, it's all about spirituality. And this means a real lot to
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me. So that's why I decidedthat wine would be my world. So
it's not my job, it's it'smy life, and it's my world because
then I live. I live inMontepulciano, I live at the winery,
and I spent the last thirty yearsof my life there. So it's a
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it's a whole experience. And that'swhy my father, after you know,
initially startying the the the activity thewine business, and startying building a cellar,
a nification celler and then an agingceller. He got the whole family
following him and therefore studying a newlife in Montepiano by the wineyards. Then
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he reached his doll built the newCantaina that you visited, made of traveling
made of marble. So he hadalready turned eighty when he decided to build
a home for his wine, madeof his stone. So a whole experience
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in his life, you know,a total experience putting together the stone and
the wine. So that's what thenew Cantaina means. And this means a
lot to me. It's a mission, it's legacy. It's something that is
one thing with my life and Iwill carry on, you know, as
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long as I can. In termsof health, in terms of possibilities,
of course, you know, wewant to point out to our listeners,
Katerina, that your father Glauco wasalso a renowned architect and really created that
winery from his own mind to representnot only himself in your family, but
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the wines of Multipliano. It's abeautiful structure and a beautiful winery and a
beautiful piece of property. Let's tellus about him and what you remember about
him. He passed away in twentyeighteen, and he obviously inspired you greatly.
Tell us a little bit about yourfather. Yeah, he, of
course he was you know, thecolumn of my life, my referring point
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the family, you know, thefamily, a real, real arch and
he was inspiring and he was aman of you know, a lot of
He was a dreamer, but hewas also a very strict, a very
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you know, powerful man in termsof you know, spreading and communicating his
will. But he was a lovingfather. So his will and his desire
was one thing, with his lovetowards the family, towards whatever was mission
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was and whatever he did. Sofor him to establish the winery and to
found the winery and to carry onthe traveling activity was matter of love and
really labor of love. So hereached the age of eighty eight when he
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left us, but he was totallyenthusiastic, and I can say he was
a thirty He behaved and he showedto be a thirty years old man because
of his enthusiasm, because of hislove, because of his passion that he
put, you know, and everythinghe approached in everything he did. Uh
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specifically the last I could say thelast his last twenty years were totally dedicated
to implementing his activities, just searchingfor the best, you know, in
terms of viticulture. You remember wewe of course follow the direction of sustainability
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the last twenty years, so sustainabilityone hundred percent, both in the vineyards
and in the cellar. In fact, my father wanted to follow this specific
direction, so no pesticides at allin the vineyards, but prevention rather than
cure, so only using you know, the the elements that the organic u
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its viticulture allows us to use.And again prevention rather than cure. So
a lot of hands specifically during sixmonths over the year, from you know,
April basically through September and then soit's it's really working specifically vineyard by
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vineyar. We own sixty hactures ofvineyards specifically spread in five different locations,
so it's five different areas with fivedifferent wires, composition of the soils and
microclimate, so each different vineyard isreally cured and taking care of very carefully
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and specifically depending on its specific characteristics, really having a very low yield hector.
Let's say that the regulations for thevennobility allow us to collect up to
eight tones of grapes per hector.We collect less than five, you know,
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and this for each different wine.I could also say that every wine
of ours is a crew, soevery wine comes from a different area.
So this was this was specifically theplan that my father had and his desire
to have best quality and best researchof health because he was the first consumer
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of his wine, so he wanteda perfect san Jovese expression because the san
Jovese is ninety percent of our grapesthe winery, so he wanted to drink
what could be the best production ofhis vineyard, so best quality and of
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course best healthy wine. So hepurchased this goal using you know, all
the best the best elements in thevineyards and also in the cellar, if
you if you remember, we havean important. We installed an important structure
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including the geothermal energy, so weuse the geothermal energy to control the temperature
and the whole the whole winery.So this was a huge project and the
next step will be installing solar panelsthat will start the geothermal activity, so
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in a very short time will beone hundred percent sustainable and one hundred percent
green. So this was an importantgoal for my dads, and I only
have to follow. I only haveto, uh, you know, fill
the legacy and continue my father's missionwith all the love and fashion that I'm
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capable of. He was a builderand a visionary. And it is a
stunning, uh structure. You know. I love the it's like a snail
what's the term, like a snailshellnautilus. To go into the cellar,
it's very dramatic. And then yougo down and there's a little pool of
like I think koy fish, andyou go in and there are these travertine
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columns inside the cellar. It's quitestunning, uh. And you know,
I'm sure travertine is very symbolic becauseit's strength and endurance, and so many
wonderful facilities and buildings were made ofit. So it's kind of a testament
also to your family into the andand and too, something that represents strength
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in Italy. Yeah, you know, the traveling is something very special that
particularly is excavated in the area ofRapolanome where we have the quarries. So
that the specific areas where we havetraveling in Italy are Rapolanos, which is
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again thirty kilometers from montepulchannel the wayto Sienna and Tivoli, where we have
another quaritively is near Rome. Theseare the two specific areas Initialy where you
can have this stone. And actually, if you can imagine this stone,
you know, really takes hundreds ofyears to be there, you know,
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so it's not something you can replanta vineyard, but it's difficult to recreate
this stone. It takes a hundredsof years and once it's ended, you
can't reproduce it. So it's somethingvery very special and actually very unique.
So my sister is in charge forthe travel team. So again I think
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the real goal of my family andthe desire and the beauty of what my
father did was, you know,having these two worlds and these two activities
and get together, you know.And I think basically it's art is labor
of love and its total dedication tosummarize, you know, the activity of
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the family in the last fifty years. The travel team began even earlier because
it was started by my grandfather inthe nineteen nineteen twenty something, so you
know, long ago, very longago. So now it's a third general
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with my sister and hopefully my sisterkids will will go on. So I
think it's a wonderful uniting of twoheritages, and then you add in the
art and the music, and itis symbiotic in many ways. Now,
when we visited Cantina day, wedid the really wonderful tasting from two of
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your signature wines from two very specificvineyards. One was the Bosona Vineyard,
which was the first vineyard that yourgrandfather acquired, and then we did the
Madonna de la Querce, which yousaid was a testament to your late father.
Let's talk about those two different vineyardsand wines and what distinguishes each because
they're very different in terms of theirstupicity. Absolutely, Melanie. So the
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Bosona, exactly as you shared,was the first vinea that my grandfather planted
in the sixties, and it's likean amphitheater of thirteen hatches, where the
composition of the soil is sand,rocks and fossils. So I would say
the distinguishing element is really the fossilsthat make the wine very fine, refined,
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balanced, of course well structured,where the fossils make the difference.
Uh, the fossils guarantee the youknow, the finesse, the gallicy,
the elegance, the structure and thesand, I would say, have guarantees
the best expression of the Sanjoves interms of perfumes and uh uh, you
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know juiciness, so powerful, butvery elegant, smooth, refined wine.
So it was for me interesting toshow two different crews like Madonna de la
Cuerte. The wine that I dedicatedto my father comes from the vineyard,
a vineyard called Piaggia, planted muchlater in two thousand and five. But
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after ten years we realized that thissmall piece of land, because it's less
than two actors it's actually one anda half hector, has a great,
great potential in terms of you know, producing again a very good expression of
San Jovese. It's similar in away, similar to Bosona in terms of
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exposition. So they're both south.Piaja is south southeast and Bosona is south
south. So the composition of thesoil sees sand in both vineyards, but
will have some clay in La Piagia. So in the winner of the Madonna
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de la cuerce so sand clay androcks and no fossils in Madonna de la
querte vigniang. So I would sayMadonna la Cuertee gives a powerful one,
definitely powerful and where really we canfeel you know that the heat, the
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roundness and the round the very roundpowerful tannings. So I would say both
wines are you know, expected toage for long. They are both.
I can say they are both veryimportant vineyards of ours where we can guarantee
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quality. Also in vintages that werevery difficult to handle. Let's speak of
seventeen. In twenty seventeen, asyou well know, we have you know,
a lot of trouble because we hadfrost in the spring and then heat
and lack of rain during the summer. So in some of our vineyards we
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didn't even harvest because the grapes didn'tcome to a good ripening. So we
forgot about some hattores of ours,and that was a real loss and you
know, unfortunately a real, realproblem. But in spite of this,
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I can say I'm very proud ofthe harvest that we had in these both
viniards, both in Bosona and Madonnade la Perre vineyard, because I can
say both of the vineyards are shelteredby some woods, and so we could
have a good shade, you know, also in the most let's say difficult
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time of the year, so inthe middle of the summer where we reached
a forty degrees celsius, so wecould have a good writing acidity and structure
without coming to a you know,an overridening situation. So of course the
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production is really really small and reallylimited, but I'm proud to say I
can have a good, a reallygood Madame de la Quetra seventeen and a
really good Bosona seventeen. So I'mreally proud of both of the vineyards.
Of course, you can imagine howmuch it cost me, you know,
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to this production, and because ofcourse we weren't all the year round having
all the necessary attention, and againit's labor of love for all of our
vineyards for a production that it issmaller and smaller, But I could say
that quality and the one wine inthe glass really is really rely wording because
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the market is really giving confirm andboth these wines are really being very well
appreciated, you know, in manymany markets, in many countries. Again,
this production is really small, manly, because Madona de la Perche we
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speak of just one barrel a year, so in bottles is three thousand and
a little just a little more thanthree thousand bottles, and Bosona is thirteen
thousand bottles from thirteen hectors, sobasically one thousand bottles per hector. You
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can imagine how much work for thistiny quantity. But again I have to
say, both of these wines arereally wines of my heart, and both
of the wines are really destined toa very faithful clientele that is really rewarding
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for us. Speaking of Madonna dela cuertire the name, so again,
after ten years, we decided thatthis vignyard could give us a crew,
a single vineyard one hundred percent ofjovision. By the way, both Bosona
and Madonna de la Cuerce are onehundred percent Jevasi. Why the name Madonna
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de la querceez. So this smallvineyard is very close to a very important
small shrine. It's a small churchalso not far from the winery that for
us means a lot because it's thelittle church where my parents celebrating their fiftieth
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wedding anniversary, where my niece wasbaptized. And again this little church is
very close to the Madonna de laparche Vignia. So that's why Madonna de
la Puerce where Madonna is the virginlady and the quartz is the oak tree.
So for me, the oak treeis like my father. Uh.
So it means to me strength,power, legacy and a lot of love.
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So I designed the label. Bythe way, the label is like
it's a golden color is gold becausefor me, it's the most precious and
uh it's like a frame. Uh. Like the frame is like an oak
tree that embraces the logo. Soit's like my father embraces the family.
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That's the meaning for me. AndBosona, of course is the Bosona is
the name of the vineyard and ofcourse also vineyard of the heart because the
very first vineyard again legacy and lovefrom my grandfather's side. So both wines
are the wine of the heart,the wines of the heart. Does persona
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have a meaning? No, it'sjust the name of the place. Okay,
just curious, curious, you know, Melanie, I I. You
know what I find about Montepulciano andthe region of Montepulciano itself is how personal
everything is. Everybody has everybody hasa personal steak in in the wines that
are made there and what goes onthere. And it's so unique in Tuscany,
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I think because it's a very smallregion. You look at Counti Classico,
hundreds of producers. You look atBrunello de Montalcino, hundreds of producers.
County Classico makes millions and millions ofbottles of wine. Nobly de Monte
Pucciano is maybe tens of producers,not hundreds of producers, and everybody has
a family steak in it, andeverybody has a passion to make it succeed.
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I think it's such a unique area. Let's talk a little bit about
for our listeners who may be hopefullymost are familiar with Nobly multip but for
those who may not with some ofthe guidelines are to make a docg Nobly
multiple m hm. Yes, wehave you know, a really important history
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in the past because the area wasrenowned since you know, the the Etruscan
Age, so thousands of years ago, you know, when the land was
really famous and uh, you knowbecause of its a really high high vocation
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to the production of red wines.And we know that for Senna, the
the Etruscan kings from Cusic came toput multiple channel to find the best,
the best wine, you know,among the Etruscans. Then we have a
very important time during the Renaissance whenthe name nobility comes out, as you
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exactly well said, you know,the nobility, so the noble wine for
the noble families, not only thefamilies that lived in the area, but
it was also a wine that reachedout to the noble families throughout Europe.
So it reached the the England withthe royal family and in France with this
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nobility, so very famous, veryfamous wine during the Renaissance. Also we
don't have to forget that Monte Pluchanis also called the Pearl of the fifteenth
century. So the fifteenth century,it was really the Golden Age when you
know the most important buildings were builtby very famous architects. Uh that age
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sent over by the Medici family.From Florence. So by the way,
Monte Pucano was connected to Florence,more to Florence rather than to Siena,
which is, you know, thethe closest city in the area. And
in fact, if he visited thePiazza Grande, the main square in Montepuiano,
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we have you know, the mainbuilding, the town hall that resemples
Palazzo de la Signoria in Florence.So we have various connections to Florence.
And again the Medici family played avery important role also concerning the you know,
the Vino Nobile image and the VenoNoobyl importance. So and this is
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the history. So the Golden Agewas definitely the Renaissance for the Vinoobile.
But coming to nowadays times, theVignobile, I'm proud to say the very
first DOCG released on the domestic market, So the Nobule was a doc in
nineteen sixty six and became a DOCGin nineteen eighty and spread on the domestic
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market in nineteen eighty one before othertask and denomination. So I'm very proud
of of this. And again it'sI could say the Vena Nobile, the
Multipliano is really one of the mostancient and most important wines from Italy and
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here in Venenobi, the Multipotiano sangioveasis called Prunello Giantile. Is it a
clone rail or is it just anothername for it? Here the proneology and
till is definitely the name that sanjoVese is, you know, the the
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the expression of San joves in Montepulciano. So of course the family Sangiovese,
and of course you know the thespecific vine. You know, really expresses
in different ways according in the differentterritories, in the different pieces of land.
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So I would say the Punology inTile is the sanjo Vesa from Montepo.
So is the name of the santovein Montepuiano. And you know that
Brunology in Tile, the name goesto, you know, really reflects something
specific because Brunolo comes from pruna,which is the plum. And I would
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say the plum is one of thecharacteristic both flavors and color of the Santo
ves in Montepulciano. So the plumstogether with the cherries, with the ripe
cherry, is you know the specificagain characteristic both in flavors and a taste,
together with redberries and ride, cherryand genteeve. I would say the
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vinobility is gentle. It's never rough, but it's a gentle sangovesa that plays
on elegance, finesse and balance.And I would say this is the goal
for for my wineries. This isthe goal for me, and I would
think of my venenobile as balanced,refined and an elegance. This I hope
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you know, this is what ituh, what it gets to the UH,
to the consumers, to the peoplethat enjoys a glass of vinoobile.
You know, I totally agree withher, Melanie. I think the the
nobles grown there really does create awine with finesse and elegance, whereas a
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lot of the other regions in Tuscanyreally go for power and structure. You
have structure and noble, of course, but you also have that beautiful finesse
and that elegance that gives it anice ability to age for a long time.
Most definitely, I'm curious you alsomake a doc a doc excuse me,
panzanto montep right, Yeah, wewe have been Santo made of the
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local wide varietals, so basically Malvazia, Greggueto and Trebiano that's something belonging to
our again our history. We asa family, we produce a tiny quantity
of vincanto, less than one thousandbottle, less than one thousand and half
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bottles a year. So it's somethingvery i would say precious that sometimes I
don't even sell it because it's it'sa very little quantity and it's something you
know, really really special and youknow that. Excuse me. We have
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found that with many families in Tuscanythat when they when they when you so
if you're listening, if someone inTuscany are produced in fonsanto, except because
it's made in very limited qualities andusually to share with the family. Yeah,
it's something that you know, wewant to have because it's again laver
of love and something that you know, well how much labor or specific efforts
(38:40):
speacause the grapes are harvested when theyare wrap right but not over ripe,
speaking again of the wide ritals,and they are put on straw, so
they grapes lay down for some months, let's say in a ventilated area,
(39:00):
so basically under a roof where youhave you know, temperature exchange between day
and night, so that you havethe grape get like raisins, but we
don't want any mold any buttrytis.You know, it's not made of drydis
(39:22):
but it's made of very healthy grapesthat turn into very dry let's say,
raisins, and then we we pressthem after four months, so what we
get is really very concentrated juice,and again is tiny quantities that then age
(39:44):
in a small, very small casksof fifty liters and and then this this
precious liquid stays there for four yearsin our case as minimum for years.
So it's something really very special,very precious. And I would say our
(40:07):
vincanto, I would like to tocall it a mabile, so it's not
too sweet and it's not dry.So again I call it a mabile because
it's something sweet again but not oversweet, that can go really well,
not only with the famous dry drycookies, but I would prefer vin santo
(40:34):
with the seasoned cheese or with them. How do you say figato if you
like, for example, or somethingyou know or yes, something something like
this, So it's something very special. Yeah. The traditional way is to
(40:58):
tip contucci, the little crackers andthe little cookies scotti into the bencanto but
we like it with a savory cheeseor just alone because it really a special
and we always accept when people offertalk to us about you. You have
an analogist that you work with,talk to us about him. So we
worked with Paulo Ca. Paulo hasbeen with us the last ten years.
(41:23):
We love him. Of course,he is totally devoted to the san Jo
as he also owns a winery inthe area of the county Classical, but
he works with the different areas fromnorth to south, also in Sicily,
and he also has a small onein Sicily as well. But I would
(41:46):
say he's a friend and basically hissano as a friend. So he respects.
He has always respected, you know, the philosophy of the family,
and for us family, the philosophyis respecting UH, respecting the characteristics of
(42:09):
the land, respecting the territory andrespecting the vinyards. This has always been
my father's goal. So it's uh, it's it's putting together the same energies
towards UH, towards a goal.So we share the goal, which is,
(42:30):
you know, having the best expressionof the Santovese in our land.
So Paulo is only very careful towork in details in the cellar just to
let express it best what we getfrom the vineyards. So we don't create
anything, but just respecting the grapesand respecting respecting the grapes environment is the
(42:58):
goal for you know, to produceanobility that it's really a real fruit of
the land where it's planted and produced. Katerina, you talked about frost in
twenty seventeen. You've talked about hotvintages as well. What are some of
the challenges that you're facing as climatechange becomes a reality. It's not easy
(43:22):
because you know, climate is moreand more unpredictable, so it's been really
you know, changing so much thelast five or six years. So we
only have to work specifically, youknow, trying to feel the single vineyards
(43:47):
needs, you know, in everysingle time of the year. So respecting
feeling and following the specific needs ofthe specific vineyard. That's why again as
I said before, we have fivedifferent vineyards, you know, different in
(44:09):
terms of microclimate and microtre so weoperate in each single vineyard in different ways,
meaning you know, planting different seedsaccording to the different composition of the
soils. So what we call sovasho. So you say greenk clover,
(44:34):
grink cover. I think you saygrink cover right, right, that's correct.
Yes, So we plant again thedifferent seeds to make the soil healthy,
to make the soil breathe. Sothe goal is trying to get to
the harvest in the most healthy conditions. Uh, there's not much you can
(44:59):
you can do if you have frost, because you have to be prepared to
lose quantity. And there's not muchyou can do if there's a lack of
water. I cannot think of wateringsixty hactors of vineyards, you know,
(45:19):
not depending if you're allowed or ifyou're not allowed. But the coast would
be unaffordable for me. So whatI can do is prevent again and trust
that if not the five different areas, but at least two or three would
give it, give me, youknow, the opportunity to have a good
(45:44):
a good harvest, you know,depending on the different changing of the climate.
But again in very hot and hotterhard in hotter seasons, I can
can read at least I can trustthat in the Madonna de la quertuvinion and
(46:04):
in the Bosonaviniate, the bushes youknow, bordering divines would be a good
shelter from the heat and from thelack of rain. This is what I'm
confident. And then this is thebeauty and the difficult thing about the viticulture
(46:28):
and agriculture in general that you dealwith nature. So you can do all
your best by working the vineyards andagain for us, being sustainable and also
organic is more and more difficult.But the beauty and the challenge of being
(46:50):
in this world is you know,raising your eyes to the sky and say,
maybe make a prayer and say,ah, what are you giving us
for this year? Read doesn't dependmaybe depend also a small percentage, you
know on the on men's work andmen's labor, of labor of love.
(47:15):
And then the most of it itdepends of home heaven. But this is
the beauty, the challenge and whatis what is really stunning and absolutely unique
about the wine making. It's allabout respecting nature and I love the fact
that you can take it and strideand have a sense of humor to go
(47:37):
about it. So we have afinal question. So you love music and
art right as do we? Asdo we describe yourself as a song or
a piece of art? Your life. Yes, like I said, I
love music, and I decided toget involved in the wine making when I
(47:59):
discovered so much that music and winehave so much incumbon. So I love
being with people, and I lovesharing the wine, the philosophy of the
wine making and sharing blasts of wineor the people who come to the winery.
I feel so I feel so blessedto meet so many amazing people all
(48:25):
over the world, like you feelblessed and lucky. And this is the
most wonderful job in the world inspite of its difficulties and challenges. I
love to put music into wine becauseI don't have so much time, you
know, left for music. SoI like to put music into wine.
(48:47):
And so sometimes I like to organizewhat I call musical tastings or wine dinner
concerts for friends and visitors who cometo the winery, sometimes exporting music.
Sometimes I like to travel with thefriends and the musicians and go presenting the
wines and singing at the same time. If I would describe myself as a
(49:14):
song I would think of summertime,because because the summer is the challenging time
of the year, because the summeris when you get the most of it
when you see the grapes getting ripeand getting the violet color. So the
(49:34):
most important time of the year andthe season when you really enjoy the landscape
and enjoy the fruit of the fruitof the nature. I like that song
too, I like putting in thesummertime. It's a beautiful song and your
wines aredeutable as well. Thank youso much for joining us today on the
(49:57):
Connected Table Live. Yeah, howcan our listeners find and follow you and
visit Cantina Day. You could visitour website so cantinaday dot com and I
would be absolutely happy to welcome personallyfriends visit and visitors who would like to
come to Montepuchiannol. So we area couple of kilometers away from the historical
(50:22):
center of Multiple Channel, So Ireally invite all your followers to visit this
stunning city from the Renaissance and comeand visit us and taste the glass of
Inoobile with us. Well. Welook forward to returning and we want to
(50:43):
thank you Caterina Day for your hospitalitywhen we visited Kantina Day. And we
also want to thank mumbling to Montpulcianoand all the CONSORTI that hosted us during
Entrepreneur Tascana twenty twenty three. Itwas terrific and we learned a lot and
met some wonderful people and taste someoutstanding wines from Tuscana. As always,
we hope that you're inspired to goout and try the wines that we're talking
(51:06):
about, visit the regions, andalways stay insatiably curious. Thank you,
The topics and opinions expressed in thefollowing show are solely those of the hosts
and their guests and not those ofW FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates.
We make no recommendations or endorsements forradio show programs, services, or
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shall be extended to W FOURCY Radioor it's employees are affiliates. Any questions
or comments should be directed to thoseshow hosts. Thank you for choosing W
(00:21):
FOURCY Radio. Welcome to the ConnectedTable Live. We're your hosts, Melanie
(00:44):
Young and David Ransom. You're insatiablycurious culinary couple. We enjoy bringing you
the dynamic people we meet around theworld who are leaders in wine, foods,
spirits and hospitality. We travel alot and we love sharing our discoveries
and the people we meet with you. Recently, we had the pleasure of
attending the annual Entreprima Tuscana, whichdebuts all the new releases from all the
(01:11):
regions of Tuscani. Right absolutely,it's really quite amazing. There are many
and they all get together and haveus taste in Florence and around the region
as well, so we actually getto go to some of the towns and
the wine making regions as part ofthis strip. It's really a fabulous,
fabulous experience. And what many mayrealize is Tuscany is known for its red
wines, but every region has guidelinesand specifications that may each wine unique to
(01:38):
its local erroois. And there's alsoa white wine, which we did a
discussion on and we'll be spotlighting aproducer in the upcoming weeks for Varnaccius and
Jiminiano. So there is also theWhite Queen as well. But today we
are going to spotlight one specific regionwith one of its leading producers, and
(01:59):
that's the docg Noble di Montepulciano,which is south and east of Sienna.
So if you got your mental map, you were south and east of Sienna.
Uh. And it's very unique interms of the guidelines of what,
how and while the wines can bemade, right David, Absolutely, And
it's also got one of the longest, most beautiful histories of that region.
(02:20):
Well just the name kind of saysit nobly. It's the wine of the
nobility, the noble wine, thenoble grape. But yeah, it has,
you know, over a thousand yearsof wine making history there and it's
also Monte Piano itself is one ofthe most beautiful hilltop villages in Tuscany.
Really is sunning. So to sharethe story of the region and the story
of her family's stunning winery, we'veinvited Katerina Day, who is the proprietress
(02:45):
of Cantina Day, to join us. Welcome, Thank you, Memanie.
I'm so happy to be with youand the share time and with the with
you talking about my region. Thankyou for inviting me. Well, it's
an honor. And we had thepleasure of visiting canteena day during our visit
(03:05):
to Entreprima Tuscana, which is apromptest to say, we've got to have
you join us on the show.Let's start with a little history. The
continued Day was founded by your grandfatherexact nineteen sixty four, almost fifty years
ago, right exactly, so,yes, right there. So my grandfather
really loved this this territory. Hewas, of course, he was from
(03:31):
Tascany, and he approached the areaof Multiple Channel and literally fell in love
with the territory, with the landscapeand thought of you know, buying some
land and planting the first vineyard,the first vinear. He was planted exactly
in nineteen sixty three, and thevinna was called Bosona, which is now
(03:54):
the vineyard that gives us the VinoNobile Reserve, so one of the most
important vineyard of hours. So hedidn't mean to be a wine producer at
first, because the core business ofthe family has always been excavating marble from
Tuscany, from Rapaulan. So thefamily has always been involved in excavating and
(04:19):
working, traveling, you know,a stone that you know, was a
worldwide known and we actually made,you know, works all over the world.
But so my grandfather, falling inlove with the grapes and with the
land of Monte Pucano, started cultivatingthe land and planning the vineyards. So
(04:45):
he sold the grapes for a numberof years until and we go. You
know, it was twenty years laterin nineteen eighty five, when my grandfather
and my father thought of making somewine for family and friends, and that's
when our story of a winemaker starts. So it was my father who actually
(05:10):
founded the winery in nineteen eighty five, and we didn't have any wine cellar.
At that time, not any equipmentfor wine making, but we borrowed
a cantina in an underground building wherewe produced just one barrel of vino noobil
(05:31):
in nineteen eighty five. That justone barrel that was you know, nineteen
eighty five was a stunning vintage.That one barrel decides our future. So
after that barrel of vino noobile,my father decided to go on and started
building the wine cellar. So that'show our story begins. That's an amazing
(05:58):
story. And you know, firstof all, trafvetinge marbles, uh is
what the winery is built from.It's quite sunny. You call it your
marble palace. And I want tocorrect myself. Your winery was established about
sixty years ago and the actual bottlingforty years ago, so that's that's a
long time. I'm just curious.How does that compare to other wineries in
the in the area. Well,you know, Mananie, we have wineries
(06:21):
that were founded much earlier, Sowe have we have canteenas and families that
have been had been there for youknow, for for longer. We have
a cantina the ready, we haveContucci that where you know, families present
(06:42):
in the territory, uh for fordecades and uh for for hundreds of years,
so we we're not that old.But the but the passion was really
so important for our family because itwas the real you know, switching from
stone to wine and then and puttingthese two worlds together. You know,
that's the characteristic of my family.So my family being involved in the stone
(07:09):
and then being so much in lovewith wine, and this was what my
father did, so putting the twowells together. So he started, you
know, he was really passionate,and therefore the whole family began so passionate
the bad wine. Myself, indeed, myself was let's say, involved in
(07:36):
the one business in the early nineties. So I made my very first harvest
in nineteen ninety one. And asyou probably know, Melanie, I told
you I was wrapped into totally differentkind of stories. I had studied art
and music. I was totally passionateabout art, and when my father asked
(08:01):
me to get involved in the winebusiness, I said, no, thank
you, dad, I'm not interestedin wine. I'm more interested in art
and music. But we made adeal and I said, okay, I'll
go harvest I'll go harvesting, whichI did in nineteen ninety one. And
(08:22):
after the harvest, you know,something happened. I suddenly became inspired,
and I thought that music and winemaking had so much in common that I
decided for my future. So Idecided right there that my life would have
continued in Monteple Channel, in thevineyards, not forgetting my music, but
(08:48):
putting the music into wine. Andso now I feel that I I really
reached my goal, and I feelthat I'm totally I totally found that myself
is right there. I love Ilove wine, I love wine making,
and I think that there's so muchin common between art and wine because both
(09:15):
of these worlds have, you know, a kind of sensorial experience. So
it's not actually, you know,an intellectual kind of direction, but it's
like more again, a sensorial experiencemade of soul heart. And then you
(09:43):
know, it's really merging two differentwords, merging so conviviality, having friends
and people gathering together. So sharing, it's all about sharing, it's all
about art, it's all about spirituality. And this means a real lot to
(10:07):
me. So that's why I decidedthat wine would be my world. So
it's not my job, it's it'smy life, and it's my world because
then I live. I live inMontepulciano, I live at the winery,
and I spent the last thirty yearsof my life there. So it's a
(10:28):
it's a whole experience. And that'swhy my father, after you know,
initially startying the the the activity thewine business, and startying building a cellar,
a nification celler and then an agingceller. He got the whole family
following him and therefore studying a newlife in Montepiano by the wineyards. Then
(10:54):
he reached his doll built the newCantaina that you visited, made of traveling
made of marble. So he hadalready turned eighty when he decided to build
a home for his wine, madeof his stone. So a whole experience
(11:18):
in his life, you know,a total experience putting together the stone and
the wine. So that's what thenew Cantaina means. And this means a
lot to me. It's a mission, it's legacy. It's something that is
one thing with my life and Iwill carry on, you know, as
(11:43):
long as I can. In termsof health, in terms of possibilities,
of course, you know, wewant to point out to our listeners,
Katerina, that your father Glauco wasalso a renowned architect and really created that
winery from his own mind to representnot only himself in your family, but
(12:03):
the wines of Multipliano. It's abeautiful structure and a beautiful winery and a
beautiful piece of property. Let's tellus about him and what you remember about
him. He passed away in twentyeighteen, and he obviously inspired you greatly.
Tell us a little bit about yourfather. Yeah, he, of
course he was you know, thecolumn of my life, my referring point
(12:28):
the family, you know, thefamily, a real, real arch and
he was inspiring and he was aman of you know, a lot of
He was a dreamer, but hewas also a very strict, a very
(12:50):
you know, powerful man in termsof you know, spreading and communicating his
will. But he was a lovingfather. So his will and his desire
was one thing, with his lovetowards the family, towards whatever was mission
(13:11):
was and whatever he did. Sofor him to establish the winery and to
found the winery and to carry onthe traveling activity was matter of love and
really labor of love. So hereached the age of eighty eight when he
(13:35):
left us, but he was totallyenthusiastic, and I can say he was
a thirty He behaved and he showedto be a thirty years old man because
of his enthusiasm, because of hislove, because of his passion that he
put, you know, and everythinghe approached in everything he did. Uh
(14:01):
specifically the last I could say thelast his last twenty years were totally dedicated
to implementing his activities, just searchingfor the best, you know, in
terms of viticulture. You remember wewe of course follow the direction of sustainability
(14:28):
the last twenty years, so sustainabilityone hundred percent, both in the vineyards
and in the cellar. In fact, my father wanted to follow this specific
direction, so no pesticides at allin the vineyards, but prevention rather than
cure, so only using you know, the the elements that the organic u
(15:00):
its viticulture allows us to use.And again prevention rather than cure. So
a lot of hands specifically during sixmonths over the year, from you know,
April basically through September and then soit's it's really working specifically vineyard by
(15:22):
vineyar. We own sixty hactures ofvineyards specifically spread in five different locations,
so it's five different areas with fivedifferent wires, composition of the soils and
microclimate, so each different vineyard isreally cured and taking care of very carefully
(15:48):
and specifically depending on its specific characteristics, really having a very low yield hector.
Let's say that the regulations for thevennobility allow us to collect up to
eight tones of grapes per hector.We collect less than five, you know,
(16:11):
and this for each different wine.I could also say that every wine
of ours is a crew, soevery wine comes from a different area.
So this was this was specifically theplan that my father had and his desire
to have best quality and best researchof health because he was the first consumer
(16:38):
of his wine, so he wanteda perfect san Jovese expression because the san
Jovese is ninety percent of our grapesthe winery, so he wanted to drink
what could be the best production ofhis vineyard, so best quality and of
(17:03):
course best healthy wine. So hepurchased this goal using you know, all
the best the best elements in thevineyards and also in the cellar, if
you if you remember, we havean important. We installed an important structure
(17:26):
including the geothermal energy, so weuse the geothermal energy to control the temperature
and the whole the whole winery.So this was a huge project and the
next step will be installing solar panelsthat will start the geothermal activity, so
(17:51):
in a very short time will beone hundred percent sustainable and one hundred percent
green. So this was an importantgoal for my dads, and I only
have to follow. I only haveto, uh, you know, fill
the legacy and continue my father's missionwith all the love and fashion that I'm
(18:14):
capable of. He was a builderand a visionary. And it is a
stunning, uh structure. You know. I love the it's like a snail
what's the term, like a snailshellnautilus. To go into the cellar,
it's very dramatic. And then yougo down and there's a little pool of
like I think koy fish, andyou go in and there are these travertine
(18:36):
columns inside the cellar. It's quitestunning, uh. And you know,
I'm sure travertine is very symbolic becauseit's strength and endurance, and so many
wonderful facilities and buildings were made ofit. So it's kind of a testament
also to your family into the andand and too, something that represents strength
(18:57):
in Italy. Yeah, you know, the traveling is something very special that
particularly is excavated in the area ofRapolanome where we have the quarries. So
that the specific areas where we havetraveling in Italy are Rapolanos, which is
(19:22):
again thirty kilometers from montepulchannel the wayto Sienna and Tivoli, where we have
another quaritively is near Rome. Theseare the two specific areas Initialy where you
can have this stone. And actually, if you can imagine this stone,
you know, really takes hundreds ofyears to be there, you know,
(19:45):
so it's not something you can replanta vineyard, but it's difficult to recreate
this stone. It takes a hundredsof years and once it's ended, you
can't reproduce it. So it's somethingvery very special and actually very unique.
So my sister is in charge forthe travel team. So again I think
(20:11):
the real goal of my family andthe desire and the beauty of what my
father did was, you know,having these two worlds and these two activities
and get together, you know.And I think basically it's art is labor
of love and its total dedication tosummarize, you know, the activity of
(20:37):
the family in the last fifty years. The travel team began even earlier because
it was started by my grandfather inthe nineteen nineteen twenty something, so you
know, long ago, very longago. So now it's a third general
(21:00):
with my sister and hopefully my sisterkids will will go on. So I
think it's a wonderful uniting of twoheritages, and then you add in the
art and the music, and itis symbiotic in many ways. Now,
when we visited Cantina day, wedid the really wonderful tasting from two of
(21:22):
your signature wines from two very specificvineyards. One was the Bosona Vineyard,
which was the first vineyard that yourgrandfather acquired, and then we did the
Madonna de la Querce, which yousaid was a testament to your late father.
Let's talk about those two different vineyardsand wines and what distinguishes each because
they're very different in terms of theirstupicity. Absolutely, Melanie. So the
(21:47):
Bosona, exactly as you shared,was the first vinea that my grandfather planted
in the sixties, and it's likean amphitheater of thirteen hatches, where the
composition of the soil is sand,rocks and fossils. So I would say
the distinguishing element is really the fossilsthat make the wine very fine, refined,
(22:11):
balanced, of course well structured,where the fossils make the difference.
Uh, the fossils guarantee the youknow, the finesse, the gallicy,
the elegance, the structure and thesand, I would say, have guarantees
the best expression of the Sanjoves interms of perfumes and uh uh, you
(22:36):
know juiciness, so powerful, butvery elegant, smooth, refined wine.
So it was for me interesting toshow two different crews like Madonna de la
Cuerte. The wine that I dedicatedto my father comes from the vineyard,
a vineyard called Piaggia, planted muchlater in two thousand and five. But
(23:02):
after ten years we realized that thissmall piece of land, because it's less
than two actors it's actually one anda half hector, has a great,
great potential in terms of you know, producing again a very good expression of
San Jovese. It's similar in away, similar to Bosona in terms of
(23:22):
exposition. So they're both south.Piaja is south southeast and Bosona is south
south. So the composition of thesoil sees sand in both vineyards, but
will have some clay in La Piagia. So in the winner of the Madonna
(23:47):
de la cuerce so sand clay androcks and no fossils in Madonna de la
querte vigniang. So I would sayMadonna la Cuertee gives a powerful one,
definitely powerful and where really we canfeel you know that the heat, the
(24:11):
roundness and the round the very roundpowerful tannings. So I would say both
wines are you know, expected toage for long. They are both.
I can say they are both veryimportant vineyards of ours where we can guarantee
(24:36):
quality. Also in vintages that werevery difficult to handle. Let's speak of
seventeen. In twenty seventeen, asyou well know, we have you know,
a lot of trouble because we hadfrost in the spring and then heat
and lack of rain during the summer. So in some of our vineyards we
(25:00):
didn't even harvest because the grapes didn'tcome to a good ripening. So we
forgot about some hattores of ours,and that was a real loss and you
know, unfortunately a real, realproblem. But in spite of this,
(25:22):
I can say I'm very proud ofthe harvest that we had in these both
viniards, both in Bosona and Madonnade la Perre vineyard, because I can
say both of the vineyards are shelteredby some woods, and so we could
have a good shade, you know, also in the most let's say difficult
(25:51):
time of the year, so inthe middle of the summer where we reached
a forty degrees celsius, so wecould have a good writing acidity and structure
without coming to a you know,an overridening situation. So of course the
(26:15):
production is really really small and reallylimited, but I'm proud to say I
can have a good, a reallygood Madame de la Quetra seventeen and a
really good Bosona seventeen. So I'mreally proud of both of the vineyards.
Of course, you can imagine howmuch it cost me, you know,
(26:37):
to this production, and because ofcourse we weren't all the year round having
all the necessary attention, and againit's labor of love for all of our
vineyards for a production that it issmaller and smaller, But I could say
that quality and the one wine inthe glass really is really rely wording because
(27:03):
the market is really giving confirm andboth these wines are really being very well
appreciated, you know, in manymany markets, in many countries. Again,
this production is really small, manly, because Madona de la Perche we
(27:26):
speak of just one barrel a year, so in bottles is three thousand and
a little just a little more thanthree thousand bottles, and Bosona is thirteen
thousand bottles from thirteen hectors, sobasically one thousand bottles per hector. You
(27:48):
can imagine how much work for thistiny quantity. But again I have to
say, both of these wines arereally wines of my heart, and both
of the wines are really destined toa very faithful clientele that is really rewarding
(28:11):
for us. Speaking of Madonna dela cuertire the name, so again,
after ten years, we decided thatthis vignyard could give us a crew,
a single vineyard one hundred percent ofjovision. By the way, both Bosona
and Madonna de la Cuerce are onehundred percent Jevasi. Why the name Madonna
(28:33):
de la querceez. So this smallvineyard is very close to a very important
small shrine. It's a small churchalso not far from the winery that for
us means a lot because it's thelittle church where my parents celebrating their fiftieth
(29:00):
wedding anniversary, where my niece wasbaptized. And again this little church is
very close to the Madonna de laparche Vignia. So that's why Madonna de
la Puerce where Madonna is the virginlady and the quartz is the oak tree.
So for me, the oak treeis like my father. Uh.
So it means to me strength,power, legacy and a lot of love.
(29:27):
So I designed the label. Bythe way, the label is like
it's a golden color is gold becausefor me, it's the most precious and
uh it's like a frame. Uh. Like the frame is like an oak
tree that embraces the logo. Soit's like my father embraces the family.
(29:52):
That's the meaning for me. AndBosona, of course is the Bosona is
the name of the vineyard and ofcourse also vineyard of the heart because the
very first vineyard again legacy and lovefrom my grandfather's side. So both wines
are the wine of the heart,the wines of the heart. Does persona
(30:15):
have a meaning? No, it'sjust the name of the place. Okay,
just curious, curious, you know, Melanie, I I. You
know what I find about Montepulciano andthe region of Montepulciano itself is how personal
everything is. Everybody has everybody hasa personal steak in in the wines that
are made there and what goes onthere. And it's so unique in Tuscany,
(30:37):
I think because it's a very smallregion. You look at Counti Classico,
hundreds of producers. You look atBrunello de Montalcino, hundreds of producers.
County Classico makes millions and millions ofbottles of wine. Nobly de Monte
Pucciano is maybe tens of producers,not hundreds of producers, and everybody has
a family steak in it, andeverybody has a passion to make it succeed.
(30:57):
I think it's such a unique area. Let's talk a little bit about
for our listeners who may be hopefullymost are familiar with Nobly multip but for
those who may not with some ofthe guidelines are to make a docg Nobly
multiple m hm. Yes, wehave you know, a really important history
(31:18):
in the past because the area wasrenowned since you know, the the Etruscan
Age, so thousands of years ago, you know, when the land was
really famous and uh, you knowbecause of its a really high high vocation
(31:41):
to the production of red wines.And we know that for Senna, the
the Etruscan kings from Cusic came toput multiple channel to find the best,
the best wine, you know,among the Etruscans. Then we have a
very important time during the Renaissance whenthe name nobility comes out, as you
(32:06):
exactly well said, you know,the nobility, so the noble wine for
the noble families, not only thefamilies that lived in the area, but
it was also a wine that reachedout to the noble families throughout Europe.
So it reached the the England withthe royal family and in France with this
(32:37):
nobility, so very famous, veryfamous wine during the Renaissance. Also we
don't have to forget that Monte Pluchanis also called the Pearl of the fifteenth
century. So the fifteenth century,it was really the Golden Age when you
know the most important buildings were builtby very famous architects. Uh that age
(33:00):
sent over by the Medici family.From Florence. So by the way,
Monte Pucano was connected to Florence,more to Florence rather than to Siena,
which is, you know, thethe closest city in the area. And
in fact, if he visited thePiazza Grande, the main square in Montepuiano,
(33:22):
we have you know, the mainbuilding, the town hall that resemples
Palazzo de la Signoria in Florence.So we have various connections to Florence.
And again the Medici family played avery important role also concerning the you know,
the Vino Nobile image and the VenoNoobyl importance. So and this is
(33:47):
the history. So the Golden Agewas definitely the Renaissance for the Vinoobile.
But coming to nowadays times, theVignobile, I'm proud to say the very
first DOCG released on the domestic market, So the Nobule was a doc in
nineteen sixty six and became a DOCGin nineteen eighty and spread on the domestic
(34:15):
market in nineteen eighty one before othertask and denomination. So I'm very proud
of of this. And again it'sI could say the Vena Nobile, the
Multipliano is really one of the mostancient and most important wines from Italy and
(34:43):
here in Venenobi, the Multipotiano sangioveasis called Prunello Giantile. Is it a
clone rail or is it just anothername for it? Here the proneology and
till is definitely the name that sanjoVese is, you know, the the
(35:06):
the expression of San joves in Montepulciano. So of course the family Sangiovese,
and of course you know the thespecific vine. You know, really expresses
in different ways according in the differentterritories, in the different pieces of land.
(35:27):
So I would say the Punology inTile is the sanjo Vesa from Montepo.
So is the name of the santovein Montepuiano. And you know that
Brunology in Tile, the name goesto, you know, really reflects something
specific because Brunolo comes from pruna,which is the plum. And I would
(35:50):
say the plum is one of thecharacteristic both flavors and color of the Santo
ves in Montepulciano. So the plumstogether with the cherries, with the ripe
cherry, is you know the specificagain characteristic both in flavors and a taste,
together with redberries and ride, cherryand genteeve. I would say the
(36:15):
vinobility is gentle. It's never rough, but it's a gentle sangovesa that plays
on elegance, finesse and balance.And I would say this is the goal
for for my wineries. This isthe goal for me, and I would
think of my venenobile as balanced,refined and an elegance. This I hope
(36:42):
you know, this is what ituh, what it gets to the UH,
to the consumers, to the peoplethat enjoys a glass of vinoobile.
You know, I totally agree withher, Melanie. I think the the
nobles grown there really does create awine with finesse and elegance, whereas a
(37:02):
lot of the other regions in Tuscanyreally go for power and structure. You
have structure and noble, of course, but you also have that beautiful finesse
and that elegance that gives it anice ability to age for a long time.
Most definitely, I'm curious you alsomake a doc a doc excuse me,
panzanto montep right, Yeah, wewe have been Santo made of the
(37:30):
local wide varietals, so basically Malvazia, Greggueto and Trebiano that's something belonging to
our again our history. We asa family, we produce a tiny quantity
of vincanto, less than one thousandbottle, less than one thousand and half
(37:54):
bottles a year. So it's somethingvery i would say precious that sometimes I
don't even sell it because it's it'sa very little quantity and it's something you
know, really really special and youknow that. Excuse me. We have
(38:15):
found that with many families in Tuscanythat when they when they when you so
if you're listening, if someone inTuscany are produced in fonsanto, except because
it's made in very limited qualities andusually to share with the family. Yeah,
it's something that you know, wewant to have because it's again laver
of love and something that you know, well how much labor or specific efforts
(38:40):
speacause the grapes are harvested when theyare wrap right but not over ripe,
speaking again of the wide ritals,and they are put on straw, so
they grapes lay down for some months, let's say in a ventilated area,
(39:00):
so basically under a roof where youhave you know, temperature exchange between day
and night, so that you havethe grape get like raisins, but we
don't want any mold any buttrytis.You know, it's not made of drydis
(39:22):
but it's made of very healthy grapesthat turn into very dry let's say,
raisins, and then we we pressthem after four months, so what we
get is really very concentrated juice,and again is tiny quantities that then age
(39:44):
in a small, very small casksof fifty liters and and then this this
precious liquid stays there for four yearsin our case as minimum for years.
So it's something really very special,very precious. And I would say our
(40:07):
vincanto, I would like to tocall it a mabile, so it's not
too sweet and it's not dry.So again I call it a mabile because
it's something sweet again but not oversweet, that can go really well,
not only with the famous dry drycookies, but I would prefer vin santo
(40:34):
with the seasoned cheese or with them. How do you say figato if you
like, for example, or somethingyou know or yes, something something like
this, So it's something very special. Yeah. The traditional way is to
(40:58):
tip contucci, the little crackers andthe little cookies scotti into the bencanto but
we like it with a savory cheeseor just alone because it really a special
and we always accept when people offertalk to us about you. You have
an analogist that you work with,talk to us about him. So we
worked with Paulo Ca. Paulo hasbeen with us the last ten years.
(41:23):
We love him. Of course,he is totally devoted to the san Jo
as he also owns a winery inthe area of the county Classical, but
he works with the different areas fromnorth to south, also in Sicily,
and he also has a small onein Sicily as well. But I would
(41:46):
say he's a friend and basically hissano as a friend. So he respects.
He has always respected, you know, the philosophy of the family,
and for us family, the philosophyis respecting UH, respecting the characteristics of
(42:09):
the land, respecting the territory andrespecting the vinyards. This has always been
my father's goal. So it's uh, it's it's putting together the same energies
towards UH, towards a goal.So we share the goal, which is,
(42:30):
you know, having the best expressionof the Santovese in our land.
So Paulo is only very careful towork in details in the cellar just to
let express it best what we getfrom the vineyards. So we don't create
anything, but just respecting the grapesand respecting respecting the grapes environment is the
(42:58):
goal for you know, to produceanobility that it's really a real fruit of
the land where it's planted and produced. Katerina, you talked about frost in
twenty seventeen. You've talked about hotvintages as well. What are some of
the challenges that you're facing as climatechange becomes a reality. It's not easy
(43:22):
because you know, climate is moreand more unpredictable, so it's been really
you know, changing so much thelast five or six years. So we
only have to work specifically, youknow, trying to feel the single vineyards
(43:47):
needs, you know, in everysingle time of the year. So respecting
feeling and following the specific needs ofthe specific vineyard. That's why again as
I said before, we have fivedifferent vineyards, you know, different in
(44:09):
terms of microclimate and microtre so weoperate in each single vineyard in different ways,
meaning you know, planting different seedsaccording to the different composition of the
soils. So what we call sovasho. So you say greenk clover,
(44:34):
grink cover. I think you saygrink cover right, right, that's correct.
Yes, So we plant again thedifferent seeds to make the soil healthy,
to make the soil breathe. Sothe goal is trying to get to
the harvest in the most healthy conditions. Uh, there's not much you can
(44:59):
you can do if you have frost, because you have to be prepared to
lose quantity. And there's not muchyou can do if there's a lack of
water. I cannot think of wateringsixty hactors of vineyards, you know,
(45:19):
not depending if you're allowed or ifyou're not allowed. But the coast would
be unaffordable for me. So whatI can do is prevent again and trust
that if not the five different areas, but at least two or three would
give it, give me, youknow, the opportunity to have a good
(45:44):
a good harvest, you know,depending on the different changing of the climate.
But again in very hot and hotterhard in hotter seasons, I can
can read at least I can trustthat in the Madonna de la quertuvinion and
(46:04):
in the Bosonaviniate, the bushes youknow, bordering divines would be a good
shelter from the heat and from thelack of rain. This is what I'm
confident. And then this is thebeauty and the difficult thing about the viticulture
(46:28):
and agriculture in general that you dealwith nature. So you can do all
your best by working the vineyards andagain for us, being sustainable and also
organic is more and more difficult.But the beauty and the challenge of being
(46:50):
in this world is you know,raising your eyes to the sky and say,
maybe make a prayer and say,ah, what are you giving us
for this year? Read doesn't dependmaybe depend also a small percentage, you
know on the on men's work andmen's labor, of labor of love.
(47:15):
And then the most of it itdepends of home heaven. But this is
the beauty, the challenge and whatis what is really stunning and absolutely unique
about the wine making. It's allabout respecting nature and I love the fact
that you can take it and strideand have a sense of humor to go
(47:37):
about it. So we have afinal question. So you love music and
art right as do we? Asdo we describe yourself as a song or
a piece of art? Your life. Yes, like I said, I
love music, and I decided toget involved in the wine making when I
(47:59):
discovered so much that music and winehave so much incumbon. So I love
being with people, and I lovesharing the wine, the philosophy of the
wine making and sharing blasts of wineor the people who come to the winery.
I feel so I feel so blessedto meet so many amazing people all
(48:25):
over the world, like you feelblessed and lucky. And this is the
most wonderful job in the world inspite of its difficulties and challenges. I
love to put music into wine becauseI don't have so much time, you
know, left for music. SoI like to put music into wine.
(48:47):
And so sometimes I like to organizewhat I call musical tastings or wine dinner
concerts for friends and visitors who cometo the winery, sometimes exporting music.
Sometimes I like to travel with thefriends and the musicians and go presenting the
wines and singing at the same time. If I would describe myself as a
(49:14):
song I would think of summertime,because because the summer is the challenging time
of the year, because the summeris when you get the most of it
when you see the grapes getting ripeand getting the violet color. So the
(49:34):
most important time of the year andthe season when you really enjoy the landscape
and enjoy the fruit of the fruitof the nature. I like that song
too, I like putting in thesummertime. It's a beautiful song and your
wines aredeutable as well. Thank youso much for joining us today on the
(49:57):
Connected Table Live. Yeah, howcan our listeners find and follow you and
visit Cantina Day. You could visitour website so cantinaday dot com and I
would be absolutely happy to welcome personallyfriends visit and visitors who would like to
come to Montepuchiannol. So we area couple of kilometers away from the historical
(50:22):
center of Multiple Channel, So Ireally invite all your followers to visit this
stunning city from the Renaissance and comeand visit us and taste the glass of
Inoobile with us. Well. Welook forward to returning and we want to
(50:43):
thank you Caterina Day for your hospitalitywhen we visited Kantina Day. And we
also want to thank mumbling to Montpulcianoand all the CONSORTI that hosted us during
Entrepreneur Tascana twenty twenty three. Itwas terrific and we learned a lot and
met some wonderful people and taste someoutstanding wines from Tuscana. As always,
we hope that you're inspired to goout and try the wines that we're talking
(51:06):
about, visit the regions, andalways stay insatiably curious. Thank you,
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