First of all I want to thank all this wonderful ABA 21 family, because even if I am here for a few hours, I have realized that it really works with a great philosophy of passion, for my world, that of wine, of good food, and for therefore I am the one who thanks you for the invitation. From here, where we are, you are right when you say that we are on foot and we can see the capital from above.
Tirana in such a short time that I have known it and with this expectation today has given me the impression of an extraordinary city, with great growth, beyond the expectations I had when I came. And it's really the first time I come to Tirana, but it won't be the last. I would happily return. Especially if I had an invitation and a hospitality like that of ABA 21.
How did you and Podore Concori get the invitation to be at this event? Did you accept it positively? Because you showed me that it exceeded expectations...
Thanks to a dear friend, an excellent person, Dario Laurenzi. he told me about this place. It's actually been a long conversation. we discussed it for many years. However, work and commitments have postponed the opportunity to arrive in Tirana several times. Finally, here I am, in a festive period, Christmas and New Year lighting make this visit even more beautiful. and although I have a lot of work waiting for me in my country too. this time I thought it's time to come. today, I really got to know a country that walks, runs, an economy that is witness to this development. I am very happy to have arrived at Aba 21 to present good projects, good wine and more importantly, wines that represent Tuscany. perhaps not classic Tuscan wines, but of great interest in the world of winemaking.
Tuscany is the region where some of Italy's best wines are produced. But this century-old industry is starting to change some of its rules. Wine producers are giving up pesticides to embrace a biodynamic way of farming, biodynamics, and Gabriele Da Prato is one of them. Why are the Tuscan classics not your creations? Because of biodynamics I was told, but what is biodynamics?
Biodynamic farming relies on the use of natural fertilizers and the cycle of the moon. So I have given up the use of pesticides, putting the terrain first. and I come from a wild terrain, Podore Concori wines come from a rough terrain. Biodynamic farming excludes chemicals and relies on the use of natural fertilizers and the cycle of the moon. otherwise we call them natural wines, that's how they were presented from the first day they were exhibited. because there is an extraordinary connection between nature and what we enjoy in a glass.
You have undoubtedly studied to improve a taste in the glass, you did not inherit it from your parents, although they inherited your love for nature and the place where you now make wine... But how did you find your way to wine?
Good question, but I have to say I would never do it if I didn't enjoy the job. I did not inherit it. and I haven't even thought about it since I was a child. because I was raised by grandparents and parents who have inherited for years an osteri, a small tavern. I have lived in a world where the most noisy, bright with words and deeds, unlike the work of the village and agriculture.
Then why did you choose wine, you could have become a chef for example?
I also did that job for a while. But as I grew older I began to repeat the same question in my mind. Why don't I make better wine than the craft my parents did? My father Luigi da Prato made wine since the 40s, 50s, 60s, but in an artisanal way, and who knows how many times I wanted to improve a wine typology. so I started studying biodynamics and opportunities to create. I like to make wine, I also like to be called a farmer, actually a winemaker, because it is a connection with the land, with nature, which I enjoy a lot. It's amazing to be able to get the best out of nature, your country. From Tuscany I make wine. but the question that pushed me was to ask: "the reason why we fail to make a really high quality wine?"
I did this too, because wine is something that unites extremely the place, the territory, the people, the cuisine, the banquet, the pleasure and above all to produce wine means to produce the vision of a person within a territory that enjoys a microclimate, soil and quality life. This goes back to the quality of life of the one who consumes the wine, but also of a wine producer. It's hard, but in the evening you come home and you always have the energy to move forward. Because with a glass of wine, your thoughts, your memories, nature and people get together for a glass of wine.
Do you think there is a taste for every kind of wine, or a wine for every kind of taste? do we define each summer by the food we choose? just as nature is related to wine?
When friends come to visit me at the winery, or when customers come to see me during the grape ripening period, especially around August to October, I take a walk in the vineyard. I tell them to touch the leaves, to taste the grapes themselves. The feeling it gives the person then determines what wine I can suggest. I think when you drink wine you always have that question: what to pair it with. I think the right philosophy to understand a wine is through the characteristics, which are freshness, acidity and elegance. I produce both white and red wine. and I always think about the flavor I want to pair one with. it can be a kind of cheese for one wine, a fish for another and from what I saw here at ABA 21, here you have an immense treasure, you have wonderful fish… so I think there is always a harmony between the quality of the grape and the wine that you enjoy. Both educate each other for a good life.
Do you produce different types of wine? What have you chosen to bring to this ABA 21 event?
For this beautiful event we decided together with Dario, from a small reality of about 5 hectares, in Tuscany, the province of Lucca, the municipality of Gallicano, are the many typologies of wine that are produced by us. But for this event we chose the CheninBlanc grape variety, a white wine we call Concori Biaco, a wine called Melrograno, which is the grape most used in our winery. I can tell this is the highlight of the evening….ah, you've opened another book now with this question, dear. Melograno is named after a friend of mine Gino Veronelli, a famous journalist, food and wine journalist in Italy. walking along the vineyards of my home at that time, when I was still young in the vineyards, there was a magical moment I think. The fruit opens and then he sees the red color in the purple and says, how nice to call it Melogramo. But it has a lot to do with nature, with the spirit of all the wine that is produced by Podore Concori. It is a name and wine that fascinates you, there is positivity and energy in a glass.
What I bring to ABA 21 is a 2022 Melograno, to be followed by the next taste which is Pinot Noir. The food that will accompany these tastes has been prepared with great care by the ABA 21 team and I think equally positively about the management of the entire evening. You don't have a profession inherited from your ancestors, but how do you see the future? Are you passing it on to your children? Today, young people, including my children, have a very strong relationship with technology, with the phone, and are increasingly moving away from nature. However, I am happy to say that whenever I ask them to help me with farm work, or wine shop work, they are always the ones with me. Especially during the harvest, their help and connection with nature seems as if as little as they are involved, they do it with a lot of love. at the end of the day, no matter how tiring, I have seen them feel positive about the work they have done. Maybe because we are a biodynamic company and nature never disappoints anyone...
Thank you very much for this interview and welcome back to ABA 21...
Summer always brings people together. It was a pleasure to talk with you, thank you to everyone here at aba 21. (A2 Televizion)
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