L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano Slow Wine: a conversation with Giancarlo Gariglio I f you care about high qua- lity and original wines pro- duced with respect for land and environment, then there are two words which you should remember: Slow Wine. First published in 2010, and evolving out of the Slow Food ethos, Slow Wine Guide to the Wines of Italy adopted an avant- garde assessment framework to tell the stories of wine and wine- ries, issuing a come-to-Jesus-mo- ment to a status quo wine writing establishment narrowly focused on wine scores. In the years since 2010, Slow Wine Guide has become the lea- ding wine guide in Italy and is currently making serious in-roads here in the US. I had an opportunity to catch up with Slow Wine editor-in- chief Giancarlo Gariglio in New York City at the recent Slow Wine 2019 USA Tour. Here's what he had to say: What's the fundamental idea behind the Slow Wine Guide? For our readers, it's very im- portant to know about the wine quality, what is in the glass. But for Slow Wine is also important to explain the process by which wines are produced, both in the vineyard and in the cellar. So, we create a wine guide that tries to give a lot of information, more than just the (wine) scores. For us, this is very important, giving more information : about herbi- cides, pesticides, chemicals ad- ded, whether the grapes are grown (by the producer) or pur- chased. The focus is on what's in the glass, but also on what's outside the glass. This is Slow Wine. Does Slow Wine's philo- sophy consider the politics of price and democratic accessi- bility of the wines? Yes. We thought since the be- ginning that wines should be known and drunk by all the peo- ple who want to. Wine culture, in our opinion, must be open to everybody. And Italy is a source of great wines, that are not so ex- pensive. I think the relationship between quality and price in Italy is one of the best. Yes, you can find very expensive wines, but there are plenty of wonderful wi- nes — representing a big biodi- versity of grape varieties — that you can drink for under 10 Euros, and find in the US for under $20.00. Our mission is to get peo- ple to know about great wines, but also about wines for everyday drinking, made with good sustai- nable agriculture. Slow Wine is now reporting about the wines of California and Oregon, too. Do you sense a difference in how US produ- cers think about sustainability, production, and terroir, com- pared to their Italian counter- parts? The difference between Italy, California, and Oregon, is incre- dible: different histories, terroir, people, different ways of doing business. There are similar concepts you can find in each area, like the way to produce and sustai- nable methods; maybe not exac- tly the same because weather conditions are different. There are some wineries in Italy that have great agricultural standards. And in California, too. We found a lot of wineries very focused on good agricultural practices. Ore- gon is very strong also. So, we try to select wineries in Oregon and California that have the same idea of making quality wines; also, that have a different per- spective of their terroir. When you taste Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara wi- nes, you can find a lot of diffe- rences, a lot of particularity. Some journalists and consumers can misunderstand American wi- nes, thinking they are "standard" and full-bodied. But, in our opi- nion, we can find incredible wi- nes with a lot of personality and wonderful quality. How does Slow Wine Guide ensure contributors apply a consistent method of evalua- tion? We have a huge team, more than 300 contributors, because we would like to visit every wi- nery every year. Slow Wine is fundamentally different from other wine guides: our guide is not made only by blind tastings or telephone reports. Slow Wine Guide is made directly from the vineyards (and cellars). We crea- ted a big team, which is homo- genous, on the same wavelength. For this reason, we discuss and talk to each other a lot, we share thoughts, and try to meet often to be sure we are on the same page. It's impossible to have exactly the same idea, of course, because we are human. But we try to be authentic and consistent. We try to communicate a real and fresh picture of every wi- nery. In fact, we change the con- tributor reviewing each winery every year. This is a fundamental point in our guide. Tasting Note Reva Nebbiolo d'Alba Scents of small red berry fruit, floral rose, and spice, transfer to a generous, flavorful palate dra- ped with soft, elegant tannins. Fantastic. Giancarlo Gariglio, editor in chief of the Slow Wine Guide The Slow Wine Guide 2019: an alternative, in depth look at what wineries have to offer JOEL MACK WINE NEWS TRENDS PROFILES

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