All Episodes

May 18, 2023 16 mins
Founded in 1843, Santi Winery is in the foothills of the Lissini Mountains in Valpolicella, east of Verona. Mountain breezes and calcareous soil rich in clay and sea sediment contribute to producing this region’s iconic red wines made from native Corvina, Rondinella and Corvivone grapes. Santi produces classic Veronese wines- Valpolicella Superiore, Ripasso and Amarone della Valpolicella - under the direction of Oenologist Cristian Ridolfi. www.cantinasanti.com www.frederickwildman.com

The Connected Table is broadcast live Wednesdays at 2PM ET.

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.
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
Welcome to the Connected Table SIPs oniHeartRadio. We are your insatiably curious culinary
couple, Melanie Young and David Ransom. We bring you the dynamic people who
are front and center and behind thescenes in food, wine, spirits and
hospitality. Ours is a delicious lifeand we want to share it with you.

(00:26):
Bounded in eighteen forty three, SantyWinery is located in the foothills of
the Lacini Mountains in Valpolicella, eastof Verona. This is red wine country
and Santy produces classic Veronesy wines suchas Rapasso and Amarni della Vapolicella, under

(00:47):
the supervision of anlogist, Christian Ridolfi, who joins us on the Connected Tables.
Welcome Christian, thank you our pleasure. So Christian, you grew up
in Verona and you've worked as anan just for many years in the region.
What attracted you to Santy Winery andhow long have you worked there?
So for me, Santi is avery important winery because the first time as

(01:11):
I worked in Sante was during thenineties when I was very young, and
Santi for me it was a bigopportunity. The first important winery where I
had the possibility to study about whenmaking process unification in aging to them something

(01:32):
new made in an important way.Then I moved to other winery because my
experience okay was good, but notenough for a young white maker. I
decided to work in other tales.And then after a very long experience in

(01:52):
other wineries, I decided to cameback to the original winery for me.
So in the sixteen I've been workingin Santi as a wine maker and a
director for the production. So weunderstand Santi one who is founded at eighteen
forty three near the historic village ofa Laze. So can you provide some

(02:14):
historical information about the wineries original ownersand why they selected this area to make
their wines. Yes, Santi wasborn in eighteen forty three. The Santi
family around the winery for fourteen operationand they were important family in the valley.
We had to think there are severalvalleys, but by the Lazi is

(02:37):
the largest valid in the Vipolicella area. Santi was maybe the first family decided
to invest only in the wine production. So eighteen forty three is an important
in the area and we had tothink that by the Lazi is very interesting

(02:57):
for menial reason, for the souland the microclimate. Maybe Santi family had
the idea, okay, this isthe perfect place to start producing especially red
wines using the local the local grapescordina cordin christ And we understand that Santi
Winery underwent a major renovation in twentysixteen. What changes if you made since

(03:23):
you took over the rains at Santiand what has been the impact of those
changes? So Santis an historic Wineryis very difficult to change something because for
many here has one hundred and fifteeneighty he has the winery has been produced
in wine in a good way,so means everything is maybe perfect, but

(03:44):
something new is important to introduce becausethe taste changed during the year and from
the two sixteen we introduced the appascimentof the drunk process inside the mainly winery
historic winery, this is not commonin by policnda. We have a very
important drund shed where we do thepacimiento in the same building. This is

(04:10):
very interesting, especially for the microbiologicalenvironment. We need an indigenous beast from
the winery, not from the vineer, to do an important fermentation to maintain
the style. That is very important. The identity of Amarna, especially Monatoly,
is the same for Ripasso, byPolycena. The second important thing was

(04:32):
the fermentation. It would so todaywe have a different sized barret from ten
ectolities to one hundred way we fermentAmarone, Ripasso and by Polica. It's
very important to produce soft compound,especially for the taines with a important structure,
with a round, round taste.So that was a great explanation because

(04:58):
this is an area with very uniquewines. As we said, it's red
wine country, and we'd like todiscuss these wines and have you talked about
them in terms of the specific stylethat distinguishes sante. Let's start with a
Ventale Valpolicella superiority, which we havea twenty nineteen with Us tell Us about
this wine. Yes, lets youthink Bipella is a particular area inside the

(05:21):
Verona region because we have a typeof soil completely different than soa that is
next to the La to the eastside or the Legarda in the west part
of Verona region Viplia. The soilis caycarus reaching limestone. Du region is

(05:42):
from the sea fifteen millions years agoin around the Bipolicella area there was a
tropical lagoon and now the sediment frombacteriod we found and on the hill so
Visicaro soil is very good to producefine of red wines with a soft tiness,
bodacility, a long lack. Thisis the reason because Prizella has this

(06:05):
particular characteristics for rats. Inside theby Pulzella area that is a huge area.
Badi Lazi is the longest ballet,very close to the high mountains where
to produce especially superior. It's verygood. In fact, Ventale means windy

(06:26):
area and we picked the Ventale grapesonly at the end of the ballet around
three hundred meters attitude, where thesoil is icarios but rich in clay.
So here we have a very interestingacidity, low phs, especially the salted
sappit taste. We are able toproduce a bozella with a good freshness.

(06:51):
A different type of aroma, notonly footing, but especially spicy. Is
a place in this part of thevalley where especially the corbine is a lot
of aroma. It tastes. Sowe have to think about is a blend
of indigenous varieties where every grape playsan important rule by corvina, especially the

(07:15):
body gives a lot of tinies,a fruity aroma. But remember the plant,
the charvry, the corbinona, especiallythe acidity and the paper aroma and
taste and the rondinella color and aviolent aroma. So in this blend we
can decide if we use more corrinaor corn. In this case it's mainly

(07:41):
corvina, but we have an importantpresent of corbinone to produce by pula Superior
is very easy, especially the pairingwith the food, because there is the
fruity, the spicy, a foodbody but not too strong and a very
interesting acidity. What are some dishesthat you would recommend pairing with the ventality

(08:01):
superior? So we have to thinkabout the Verona cuisine. Verona is a
cuisine from the farm, so misswe have different type of meat, especially
chicken park vegetable mushrooms are very plaindishes and Superior is for this reason the

(08:22):
perfect wine for different dishes from apptiserwhere we use salumi cheese or suit or
diso pasta. Why not because hasa sub subtins creamy Chinese who the city
cleansed very well during a lunch ora dinner, because if we can fare

(08:43):
in a very easy way, alot of versatility, right David, Yeah,
there really is the very versatile wines. I love the wines from this
region, Melanie, very unique Christian. The next wine we're talking about is
the Solane, which is a lpolicella ripossible classical superiority. We have the
vintage twenty nineteen in front of us. Tell us first of all, what
repasso is for those listeners that don'tknow it, and then describe the wine

(09:07):
for us. So Ripasso is thewine between the vipulzella and the a Marone.
Because in the Ripasso we do twofermentations. In fact, the ripasso
needs to repeat. We do thefirst fermentation in October. Win we harvest
grapes during the old tune, duringthe fall to the spring. We are

(09:28):
trying the a marina grapes. Becausewe picked the marine bunches from September,
we try them till January, soa very long period the way we are
in February and March. Before finishesthe marine fermentation, we move the a
marone from the fermentation. Think theseskins with the east and a part of

(09:48):
marine juice. Stay inside the fermentation. Thank you. We introduced the vipulzella
inside. So the vipulzella finds themarina skins a part of juice, east
in sugar and there is the secondfermentation. It's another important fermentation in times
of icon. But it's a verylong period, so around fifteen days.

(10:11):
In this way we have a differenttype of where increases the icle around one
percent, but especially the aroma,the color, the taste, the taines,
so in general the ruandness, andthis is by ripasso in a repast,

(10:31):
it was so unique, in soterrific. In this point, it's
going to be a bit more intense. We've got the red fruit, but
it's a little marichino, cherry jam, a little vanilla. It's gonna be
a little richer. How would youpay this differently or similarly to the policella
superiority, Yes, similar, superiorBut let me think a ripasso is a
type of wine. But because therandomness, richness, especially in fruit,

(10:54):
the aroma, it tastes, youcan drink a glass without food because it's
by rich. We usually fair,especially with the risulto in the truffle.
Good steak usually a dishes where thereis more fat. Maybe a road duck
I'm thinking about in the United States, duck is very popular lamb. Yes,

(11:16):
right now, let's talk about SantikoAmaroni Dellaba Policella Classical. It's a
DCG wine. The village is twentyseventeen and Amaroni is just a very special
wine in this region. Tell usabout it. Yes, Amarone is the
most important expression of We start fromthe harvest time selecting the best punches present

(11:41):
in the vineyard, around thirty fivepercent of the bunches, and we put
them in the special crates. Wemove the crates inside the trying shed.
So it's an important selection in thevineyard and then a very long trying process
in the wine. You're very importantis the place where we store and try

(12:05):
grapes. We need a place wherethe ventilation is very important. But usually
if you stay in the ballet whereSanti is, the ventilation from the sunset
in the sun rise is very strong, and we need a very cool wind
with a low humidity, a trycalled wind. But in the valley we

(12:26):
have in order to have a verygood a passimento. During the passimento,
the verry think uses around the thirtypercent of water from September to January,
so there is the concentration. Thewater process is finished only after four months.
We have to dry the grapes fora long period if we want a

(12:48):
good amarone. Santi comarone seventeen isa selection of the best nius. But
Santi has in the Bipolitzela around ourfifty five actors of dinners and a fermentation
that usually last. For the seventeenwas around fifty days and a long aging

(13:11):
in barrels around three h s.At the end we have this good red
wine, full body, but veryvery gentle. The acidity is very high,
the pH is very low, myyouth feel. The tainis soft,
a velvet perception and a very interestinga roundness. An important read. It's

(13:33):
not common. This is a marineand unique to Valpolicella. Yes, so
this is a more concentrated wine.You get the cherry jam like the riposso,
but you get more dry plum andcoca. Note you're enveloped in that
kind of richness. I would assumeyou would want fattier dishes but this,
But what are maybe some cheeses youwould recommend with ammeronia a very ripe cheese

(13:54):
at the end of a dinner goodcheese, or you can try Amarna fairy
the meat, good cheese, andwhy not at the end of a dinner
with a chocolate cake. Amarona isfor an important dinner because the excitination that
there is in the glass after openingthe bottle is important. So it's a

(14:18):
type of wine that can stay onthe table for hours, releasing new aroma
every minute. So it's a winenot for a quick lunch, for a
dinner. It's very important to shareamarone bottle with friends because there's a wine
that help you to talk about notonly the good characterism of Camarone, but

(14:43):
in general to share with friends.I'm curious, Parely, this is a
long aging wine. How long doyou think he's wine's age? He's a
type of wine good today to drink, but why not after taking years with
Richard Aromba the scene after twenty hereis of faithy. Here is a type
of wine with montains, a lotof freshness. We more interesting aroma after

(15:09):
think he is. We want topoint out to our listeners that Sante wines
are widely available in the United States. The importer for Sante wines is Frederick
Wildman. That's Frederick Wildman dot comand the website for Sante is Contina Sante
dot I. If visitors want tocome to Contina Sante, we know that
you have a visitor experience. Canthey try some of these older villages that

(15:31):
they come Yes, of course,why not? Well, you've just given
all of us another reason to visitValpolicella. There's always a good reason to
visit Italy. But this time wecan go and sip Veronasy wines at Sante
Winery. Christian Radolphie, thank youfor joining us on the Connected Table SIPs.
Thank you for your time and thensee you in the winery. You've

(16:00):
been listening to The Connected Table SIPswith Melanie Young and David Ransom. To
listen to more in depth features withthe movers and shakers who shape the wine,
food, spirits and hospitality industry,tune into our companion show, The
Connected Table Live. You can tuneinto the live broadcast on Wednesdays at two
pm Eastern Time on W FOURCY Radio, easy to find atww dot W fourcy

(16:26):
dot com, or listen to allour shows anytime at iHeart dot com and
on the iHeart app. Connect withus on Twitter at Connected Table, and
follow us on Facebook and Instagram underthe Connected Table. And remember always stay
insatiably curious.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.