L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 5 Lorenzo Scarpone: Portrait of a Connoisseur. From sunny Terre d'Abruzzo to the Wines of Italy Hall of Fame O n F ebruary 4 th , 2015 Lorenzo Scarpone will enter the Wines of Italy Hall of Fame, but w ho exactly is Lorenzo Scarpone? Lorenzo is many things: a leading advocate of Slow Food, a wine and food spe- cialist extraordinaire, and an import/export Guru. I had the pleasure of speaking with him at the S an F rancis co Italian Athletic Club, considered the heartbeat of the city's Italian community. North Beach pro- vided the perfect backdrop for an interview with a compaesano. Lorenzo, what is your fami- ly background? I was born and raised in the central Italian region of Abruzzo where the family business was farming. We grew our own food, harvesting grapes to make our ow n w ine. This upbringing exposed me to the importance of local food and taught me to respect the land from a very young age. I acquired my fami- ly's legacy of wine-making tra- ditions which, after my father's passing, I was able to make my own. I recall being in charge of my first grape harvest, using a book I received from one of my Restaurant and Hotel school teachers as a guide. The book explained, in a very scientific way, how to make wine. I real- ized that not everything that the old generations of wine makers claimed was absolutely true, and decided to follow my instinct. That year's crop yielded the best vintage my family had ever had. Tell me about when you first arrived to the Bay Area I arrived in 1987, after having served as a wine steward for Sea Goddess Cruises for a few years. I worked myself up to become a sommelier at the renowned San F rancis co D onatello H otel's restaurant. At that time, most of the Italian w ine here in America was flask Chianti, some P inot G rigio, and s ome Lambrusco. There was very lit- tle quality Italian wine on the market, and mos t of it w as almost totally unknown. I real- ized right away that in the USA there was a place for my ideas. During my years at the Donatello Hotel I met some of the most important Italian and California wine producers. After this expe- rience and exposure to the food and restaurant business, I started my own company, Villa Italia, w ith the help of s ome dear friends, in 1989. We started by importing artisan wines of my native region: Montepulciano d' A bruzzo and Trebbiano d' Abruzzo, and slowly created a range of wines identified by an excellent price-quality ratio. Today the company is composed of 12 staff members, its portfolio includes over 150 Italian, Californian and French wines, and has received exceptional review s by Wine S pectator, Robert Parker, Stephen Tanzer, and the Italian G ambero Rosso. You are the founder of S low Food S an Fran cis co. What is it, and how did all start for you? Back in 1989, right before the establishment of Villa Italia, I got to know Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, an inter- national movement promoted as an alternative to fast food. Its mission objective is to preserve traditional and regional cuisine, to protect food biodiversity, and to build links between producers and cons umers . Through an array of initiatives, it also pro- motes gas tronomic culture, endorses food education, and protects local and traditional foods from extinction. Under his mentoring, I opened the San Francisco chapter and, during the early 90s, I organized events fol- low ing the S low F ood criteria. These gatherings pre- sented me with the opportunity to showcase traditional Italian products for the American audi- ence. I still fondly recall when, for the organization of these events, I used to fly to Italy to stock up on typical products, coming back with pounds of delicious Abruzzese cheese pro- vided by my Mamma! When I started the San Francisco chap- ter, Slow Food was a new, unex- plored, almos t exotic concept. Today, eco-friendly, organic, humane animal treat- ment, and fair trade…are all con- cepts that have become quite trendy. Reflecting upon it now though, back in my day, Slow Food was our way of living. How much has your "being Italian" influenced your busi- ness? I go to bed at night, get up in the morning thinking about what the best my home country has to offer to my new home in America. Because of my back- ground, I want to represent the best qualities of Italy. I consider myself more an ambassador of Italia than anything else, repre- senting small farmers that pro- duce high quality wines. I want to give Italian food producers more opportunities. It is well known that when I talian s meet ab road , th ey build a sort of instant cama- raderie. Did you experience th e s ame h ere in S an Francisco? Certain people can be very helpful and instrumental. If you are a decent person with new ideas, they will likely listen. Once they get to know you and begin to trust you they will love to help you out. I experienced this especially with some of the older, successful Italians. I had a positive experience for the most part. Finally, why did you choose the name Villa Italia for your company? Villa Italia is an imaginary place. It does not exist in reality. It is an abstract and ideal venue that lives in my mind, and that summarizes what I consider of great significance and value in my life and professional path: regional and traditional food, Italian craft and history, artisan- made fine wines, farming art. Lorenzo S carpone s pent many years pioneering, and rais- ing the image of Italian wines to an exceptional level, inspiring others to do the s ame. N ext month his efforts will be recog- nized at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, during the Italian wine convention, Vino 2015 - now at its fourth edition- at the presence of hundreds of members of the press, Italian officials and wine industry lead- ers. BIANCA FRIUNDI Lorenzo Scarpone Lorenzo Scarpone at the march against Monsanto Lorenzo Scarpone with his staff at Villa Italia

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