Born quanto a 1989, Milanese, oenologist, sommelier, trainer and today also producer. Paolo Porfidio, head sommelier of the Excelsior Albergo Gallia quanto a Milan, is one of the most representative voices of the new generation of Italian wine.
From the dining room to the vineyard: a new trend?
His choice to make wine follows that of other illustrious colleagues, such as Gianni Sinesi who – after twenty years alongside chef Niko Solitario – decided to put aside the tira bouchon to dedicate himself to the production of wine quanto a Abruzzo and other parts of Italy. It is not an isolated case: Mauro Cutuli, quanto a Sicily after several experiences quanto a the world of sommeliers, also decided to dedicate himself to the Grottafumata company together with his wife Mariangela. The world of wine always invites us to update ourselves, through historical courses and recurrences, and precisely quanto a this last period Cutuli – although not leaving the wine project acceso Etna – has decided to return to the dining room again as a sommelier.
Remaining quanto a Sicily, how can we not mention the three Italian Masters of Wine: Gabriele Gorelli, Andrea Lonardi and Pietro Russo, who with Salt West (we talked about it here) have focused acceso their Stravaganza from the vineyards quanto a the Stagnone nel corso di Marsala Nature Reserve.
Paolo Porfidio and Sangiovese
But let’s go back to Paolo Porfidio: we interviewed him to understand where the sommelier is going and why his first Sangiovese wine is already making waves.
Paolo, when did your relationship with wine begin? «Very soon. My father was passionate: he bottled wine at home and I helped him as a child. Those atmospheres stayed with me. When I discovered the degree quanto a Viticulture and Oenology at the University of Milan I had voto negativo doubts: I wanted to deal with this topic. I studied with great professors, such as Dottrina and Brancadoro, and I was lucky enough to meet the person who later became my greatest teacher, and a true friend: Alessandro Cellai. My first winery experience was quanto a Chianti Collaudato. From there my love for Sangiovese was born.”
But at a certain point you leave the cellar and become a sommelier. «Yes, all paio to an unexpected event. I was supposed to go to a grape harvest quanto a New Zealand, but the passport arrived late. A friend suggested London to me: they were opening a restaurant aiming for the Michelin stella. I had never held a tray quanto a my hand, but I accepted. It was supposed to be a short experience, but instead I fell quanto a love with the room: the contact with the people, the story of the wine, the possibility of uncorking iconic bottles. So I decided that that would be my path.”
Today you are a reference figure, and you work quanto a one of the hospitality references. How is the world of wine doing? «It’s a complex period. Sales of bottles quanto a restaurants are decreasing, while service by the glass is exploding. The economic and geopolitical situation has an impact: fewer Russian customers, Americans who are more careful about spending. But not everything is negative: the glass allows you to discover small cellars, lesser-known areas. And young people are increasingly curious, less tied to traditional standards.”
The topic of education is also central for you. «Yes, I teach at IULM, at Cattolica, I collaborate with the Nazionale and I coordinate ASPI for Milan. There is a lack of young professional sommeliers: we must be the ones to tell the beauty of this profession. More and more young people are coming to communicate about wine, not just for the dining room, and that’s distinto: there is a need for a new language.”
Your projects Somm is the Future and Wine List Italia are receiving great attention. «Because they want to unite, not divide. Wine List Italia rewards the best wine lists and gives visibility to professionals. Somm is the Future is a movement that overcomes the old rivalries between associations: today the sommelier is not just that of the decanter, but a communicator who works quanto a the dining room, quanto a the cellar, quanto a the , at events”.
Let’s get to your wine. What’s special about it? «It’s a Sangiovese designed by a sommelier: I want it to be usable immediately but capable of evolving for the next twenty ora thirty years. I chose the IGT Toscana for stylistic freedom: it is my story of the grape variety, not the one imposed by a specification. And the label is a unique artistic project: it contains a natural pigment extracted from the pomace of the harvest. It is alive, it changes over time like the wine inside it.”
Where do you see yourself quanto a the next few years? «Quanto a the midst of wine, but acceso multiple fronts. Producer, yes, but always with one foot quanto a the sommelier and quanto a pratica. I want to build a bridge between oenology, dining and communication. If we manage to team up, the figure of the sommelier will have a bright future.”
The wine: Vine Pigment
The “creature” of the winemaker-sommelier is called Pigmento nel corso di -Socialista Porfidio, now available quanto a the 2022 vintage: a wine born from the time, color and passion of Porfidio. The label is by Francesco Fossati, famous for the use of natural pigments: hand-painted using the color of the wine itself, it gives life to a unique artistic and sensorial experience that is renewed with each vintage.
The red comes from 25-year-old vines quanto a Castelnuovo Berardenga quanto a the heart of Chianti Collaudato and 435 meters above the sea. The soil composed of clay, Pliocene shale, porphyry and calcarenite is certainly characteristic. After harvesting the grapes, it begins its journey quanto a tulip-shaped concrete tanks, where malolactic fermentation takes place before resting for 26 months quanto a lightly toasted Allier barriques. Acceso the market for a few weeks, it is ready to bevanda now ora enjoy quanto a a few years.
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