Interview with Matilde Poggi, the winemaker who doesn’t follow trends • Food and Wine Italia

A leader amongst ladies in Italian red wine and a wine maker because 1984, Matilde Poggi in her farming business Le Fraghe produces white wines that reveal a viticulture devoid of styles, putting identity and area initially in the heart of the Bardolino denomination. Amongst the creators of FIVI (Italian Federation of Independent Winemakers), which she likewise led from 2013 to 2021, today she is President of CEVI (Confédération Européenne des Vignerons Indépendants), therefore ending up being the very first Italian to lead the association that brings the voice of Independent Winemakers to Brussels, the location (as we understand) where, not by possibility, choices on European farming policies are made. She is likewise amongst the members of the global association Rosés de Terroirs, which intends to develop, promote and establish a genuine market sector committed to this particular kind of red wine. We fulfilled her and backtracked together the prominent phases of her profession.

Why did you begin making red wine?

” I was born into a household of wine makers who started bottling in the 1960s. My dad did not work full-time in the household company, as he had another task as an engineer. In 1980, the vineyards owned by the household were divided in between him and his 2 siblings and we started to provide the grapes to a cooperative winery. It distressed me not to be able to offer our grapes a correct location, provided the fantastic efforts of renewal that we had actually carried out in the vineyard. From there, the choice to begin dealing with our own with a part of the grapes, up until we vinified them totally beginning with the early 1990s.”

What were you like in 1984?

” I was a curious and identified girl. I felt extremely supported by my dad, who constantly motivated us kids to be resourceful: he was an excellent business owner and an example for everyone. I am not the child of an artist in the rigorous sense of the term and what directed me was enthusiasm. I never ever succumbed to the styles of the minute: to start with I wished to make white wines that I liked.”

And what do you feel today?

” The course carried out in these 40 years is long, in another sector it might be a whole profession. In red wine, 40 harvests are actually couple of, so I feel that I still have a lot to discover and I understand that the next harvest will likewise have something brand-new and unanticipated in shop for me. If I recall I see that I have actually likewise made lots of efforts that have actually not brought the hoped-for outcomes; now, nevertheless, I think I have actually taken the best course and I can consider myself pleased with the options made”.

What does it suggest to make red wine on Lake Garda?

” We remain in a location fit to viticulture – extremely aerated, with soils abundant in skeleton – and committed to producing fresh and stylish white wines. On an industrial level, our location is having a hard time to discover a strong identity and I see rather that each people wine makers should chart our own course, frequently with a lot of energy. I am positive that in the future this location will likewise have the acknowledgment it should have and higher valorization likewise since market patterns inform us that our kinds of red wine, light reds and rosés, are the most asked for”.

What have been the most fascinating minutes in your profession?

” It has actually been a constant development, with ups and downs. I keep in mind getting in the United States market in the early 2000s, getting in the very first market worldwide marked a substantial development for me. 2014, when I handled to get the Ronchilonghi vineyard in Affi, a lovely location with the woods behind it, which I would have liked to cultivate for several years. Additionally, having had the fortune of having the ability to lead FIVI for 9 years implied considerable individual development.”

A white wine that represents you?

” Rosa was my mom’s name which in Greek ends up being Ròdon, like my Chiaretto di Bardolino vinified in steel, which is identified by freshness, verticality and structure”.

What differentiates your approach in the cellar?

” I am for an extremely non-interventionist oenology. I think that our task is to observe the vineyard and after that in the cellar to appreciate the grapes and their qualities. With this in mind, I chose not to utilize yeasts, making spontaneous fermentations. For corking we just utilize screw caps, an accurate option to offer the very best development to my white wines, which, because 2009, are all licensed natural.”

Who were and still are the most crucial individuals in your expert life?

” My moms and dads, who have actually supported and sustained me because the start, and all the wine makers – and there are lots of – that I have actually fulfilled throughout the years and who with their suggestions have actually added to making me what I am now. Amongst them, Costantino Charrère, who invited me into his caring welcome in 2010, remains in top place.”

What do not you like about your market?

” I do not like excessive those who follow patterns and those who deal with red wine like any other item. I do not like those who wish to alter the specs every other day to make the white wines more in line with the needs of the minute: red wine originates from vineyards that last lots of years, it is not a seed that is planted every year. I like manufacturers who stay loyal to their area and its occupation, I do not like those who do a bit of whatever”.

What are you most happy with in your work?

” To have actually turned into one of the points of referral for the Bardolino denomination”.

What’s the compliment that pleases you the most?

” When they inform me that my white wines have a typical thread that joins them, that you can feel my hand in them which they “speak” the exact same language”.

How do you see your winery in 10-15 years?

” More than how I see it, I can state how I would like it to be, that is, with an even more powerful bond with the area and with youths to direct it, constantly with the hope of having the ability to “raise””.