An Hour with Gianpaolo Paglia

"This is not rocket science."

"It doesn't matter if you use native varieties or international ones.  Is the wine any good?  There's no need to split off into factions."

"It's cooking.  Wine and food.  Food and wine."

Pictured:  Natalie Katic of Empson USA, importer; and Gianpaolo Paglia

These were some of the disarming comments offered by Gianpaolo Paglia of Poggio Argentiera, as he paused in his whirlwind tour of the US East Coast last Thursday.  Accompanied by Natalie Katic, of Empson USA, his importer, Gianpaolo's visit seemed to be blessed from above.  Favorable mention in the latest Wine Spectator is increasing the visibility of his winery, which is located in the Maremma zone of southern Tuscany.  Supertuscan territory.

By his own admission, Gianpaolo needs all the help he can get. The Morellino di Scansano appellation isn't very well-known in the US.  Only 5% of Poggio Argentiera's product currently makes it to these shores. 

"There's an embarrassment of riches," Gianpaolo said, referring to the vast array of good Italian wines flooding the American market.  "People like simplicity.  They know Chianti and Brunello.  They know Barolo.  But Morellino di Scansano?  The Maremma?  It's not so easy." 

Natalie said that restaurateurs, their main target, are slow to accept new wines.  Still, she and Gianpaolo focused their energies last week on restaurants sales, because it's easier to get buy-in. Retail, as usual, is a tougher nut to crack.  Not so much scope for romance there.   "It's all price price price,"  Gianpaolo complained.  (At the same time, he knows that his wines are not "value wines.") A cursory ransacking of about 10 NY shops' web sites yields zip; retail distribution of Poggio Argentiera wines has a long way to go in this country.

A significant obstacle to Poggio Argentiera, as to so many would-be importers, is our hallowed three-tiered distribution system.  On this topic, Gianpaolo is in complete agreement with Tom Wark of Fermentation.  As you probably recall, Tom has written many eloquent and blisteringly funny posts on this legal relic from the Depression.  Hallowed, schmallowed, it's time for the thing to go.

Not that restaurateurs are the easiest bunch to sell to.  Gianpaolo laughed and added, "In Miami, one guy said, 'You should change the name of the wine.  Morellino is too hard to say.'"  He shook his head and laughed.  "We have a real education job ahead of us." 

This might be easier than he thinks; he has a big advantage in his very nice bilingual website, thanks to his wife's lively translations into English; and his blog, which is engaging and truly personal.  He weaves into it a good but not excessive measure of family stuff, including appearances by his little son.  Justine translates these entries, too, a big plus for English-speaking markets.

If selling wine is about the romance of the people and the land, then Gianpaolo and Justine have a leg up on nearly all the cantine in Italy.  They know how to communicate.  And they do it with charm and humanity.

Not a dedicated follower of fashion

Gianpaolo and his wife, the British-born Justine Keeling, have built Poggio Argentiera from scratch over the past nine years. They have acquired more and more land, with very different terroirs, which has enabled them to establish a cru or two.  They grow a mix of local and international varieties, as is common in their DOC.  Their foundational grapes, if you will, are morellino (a localized clone of sangiovese) and vermentino, but they also grow alicante, chardonnay, merlot, etc.

When I asked about the "cult" of the indigenous wines that has taken hold of Italy, Gianpaolo laughed and said, while it has had many positive effects, "It is a fashion.  Twenty years ago, it was all international grapes.  It's like the fashion for barriques -- now no barriques.  But some wines are good in barriques and some aren't. The same with grape varieties.  They want to simplify everything too much.

"Remember," he went on, "wine is a product of a man. Lots of people help make it.  People make the difference." While he seems to be despoiling the romantic dream of wine as some pure, unsullied product of nature, Gianpaolo is affirming the primacy of the winemaker and his entire team, including the humblest pickers. 

Winemaking is inherently intervenionist, so get over it, which is my little way of oversimplifying the matter. 

But I digress.

It's the cucina, stupido

Long term, Gianpaolo sees a good US market for his 80% DOC and 20% IGT production.  He believes that the importance of Italian cuisine in America is the key to his wines' success.  "It's cooking.  Wine and food.  Food and wine in abbinamento [pairing].  This is where we are strong."  He defined "we" as both winemakers and purveyors of top-quality Italian foods in the North American market.

(This is something I've been saying for a long time.  I'm glad Gianpaolo decided to listen to me.)

But seriously, folks...

It was an extremely enjoyable hour that I spent with Gianpaolo and Natalie.  I wish I could report that I tasted a wonderful Capatosta, one of Poggio Argentiera's signature wines (95% morellino, 5% alicante).  Natalie gave me a leftover portion of a bottle from an earlier tasting.  There was perhaps a glass and a half left, and the wine did not show to its best effect when I tried it the next evening.

Comments

[David]

I agree it is the pairing, the balance with food.

Do you think restaurants are the best way to help a wine penetrate the US market?

[Terry Hughes]

Good question. For those without the big bucks to spend on marketing and PR, it seems to be the easiest means of doing so. Egle Armani and her importer told me the same thing.

Retail, for all its cut-throat pricing and difficulties, is of course necessary at some point. If you love a wine at a restaurant but can't buy it to take home, what's the point of someone like Gianpaolo dealing with all the BS to get it over here in the first place?

[Gianpaolo]

Ciao Terry, grazie mille per la bellissima ora passata insieme. Domani rientro, è stato un giro interessantissimo e mi riprometto di postare un commento ampio.