On April 15th, 2019, the Italian Wine Podcast received a significant award at the wine journalism competition Born Digital Wine Awards with Vinventions. Episode 139 of the show, where podcast host Monty Waldin interviews wine producer and TV personality Joe Bastianich, won as “2018 Best Interview.” The Award aims to showcase digitally-born, multimedia, and multilingual journalistic content about wine released each year. With two years of broadcasting and 200 episodes to date under its belt, the Italian Wine Podcast has recently released a series about the international markets for Italian wine as well as an educational podcast about the iconic Sangiovese grape with vine genetics academic Prof. Attilio Scienza.
Monty Waldin’s podcast interview to Joe Bastianich, who owns the Bastianich Winery in the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region and is also a famous TV personality, received a prestigious award at the Born Digital Wine Awards with Vinventions as the “2018 Winner of Best Interview”. The winners of this wine journalism competition which shines a light on international, digital, and multimedia content about wine were revealed in an online ceremony held on April 15th, 2019, after an initial shortlist which was released in early April. The Italian Wine Podcast was the only podcast show to be long listed in the Best Interview category.
The Born Digital Wine Awards recognition as “Best Interview” is an important international endorsement for the Italian Wine Podcast, one that rewards the show’s continuous commitment to its mission: to inform, educate, and entertain audiences worldwide about Italian wine. Podcast host Monty Waldin comments on his approach to interviewing guests for the show and on the importance of the interview medium: “A podcast, like any conversation, benefits from a bit of unpredictability. There is nothing wrong with majoring on stock questions, especially for wine interviews, where listeners want some basic background facts about terroir, vineyard size, brand names and wine styles, winemaking and market trends, as well as sales data and so on. But a podcast, to my mind anyway, is more than data mining. It is an opportunity for disparate strangers—guest, audience and question-master—to share a new connection. And to achieve this, as presenter, you have to reveal a bit of yourself, your strengths and weaknesses, your professionalism and your incompetence. Otherwise it is not a level playing field. We are all vulnerable, and if you show your guest that I think you gain trust and both you, audience and guest all gain a unique, shared experience. A successful podcast should also have a bit of spontaneity and fun, in my case via my sometimes dry, always desperate English humour. We are thrilled when guests want to come back on and do a second podcast with us. It shows they value this increasingly popular medium, and its shows that we valued them, their time and their personal story. And that like after any fleeting conversation, you can always make time to talk again, and go a bit deeper.”

Since 2011, the Born Digital Wine Awards has been a wine journalism competition which rewards digital journalism and multimedia content about wine in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The 2018 edition was open to categories such as “Best Editorial (text),” “Best Tourism Content with a Wine Focus (Text or Video),” “Best Food & Wine Content (Text or Video),” “Best Interview (Text, Video, or Podcast),” and “Best Visual Storytelling.” The 2018 edition also saw the addition of two special awards: the “Sustainability Award” and the “Innovation Award by Vinventions.” In total, 370 works were entered from all over the world, registering a 20% increase in entry numbers from the previous edition and also an increase in non-English entries. In an official statement to the entrants, Chair of the Awards Richard Siddle praised the high quality of the submitted work: “The quality of the work this year was outstanding. Like any good wine the Born Digital Wine Awards gets better every year. The 2018 competition was the best and toughest to judge yet. Best because there was simply so many good entries across all categories, but particularly the visual storytelling and tourism categories where people's digital skills could really come to the fore. It's great to see such a diversity of work from right across the world, from full on geeky, to right out cheeky and fun.” To keep the conversation going, first prize winners in each category have been invited to join the Born Digital Wine Awards & Vinventions Summit on “Truthfulness and Future of Wine Communication” that will be held in Liege, Belgium, from May 30th to June 2nd, 2019.
Approaching episode 200 of the show, the Italian Wine Podcast has recently resumed its “Let’s talk wine biz – wine2wine series” with wine professionals working in the industry whose perspectives on foreign markets can be useful to Italian wineries looking to expand abroad. New episode recorded during wine2wine 2018 feature expert insights on the Hungarian, Swedish, Brazilian, Czech, Slovak, and Hong Kong wine markets. Moreover, during Vinitaly 2019 in Verona, Monty Waldin had the opportunity of gather new stories from wine producers and personalities of the Italian wine world. Most recently the show also broadcast an interview with leading Italian vine genetics scholar Prof. Attilio Scienza. In this interview which is available both in Italian and in a translated and dubbed English version with transcripts in each language, Prof. Scienza talked about one of the most iconic Italian indigenous grapes—Sangiovese—unveiling its genetic origins and ties with native varieties such as Mantonico, Nerello Mascalese, Foglia Tonda and other Southern Italian grapes. On Tuesday, May 14th, 2019, the show reached episode n. 200 with an interview with Wine Spectator’s Executive Editor Thomas Matthews.

On March 10th, 2019, the Italian Wine Podcast celebrates its second anniversary since its first weekly episodes were launched on dedicated digital platforms. In two years and after 181 episodes, Monty Waldin’s show reaches 130,000+ plays overall and provides listeners in every corner of the world with the most complete overview of the Italian wine scene, with stories from producers, winemakers, critics, educators, and various professionals with first-hand knowledge of the Italian wine industry.
On March 10th, 2019, the Italian Wine Podcast celebrates its second birthday in the digital ether. Launched in 2017 with a pilot series of 13 interviews to Italian producers that took part in various Vinitaly events, the Italian Wine Podcast is now a well-established show in the rich landscape of podcasts dedicated to the wine world and the only podcast in the English language focusing on Italian wine. Hosted by British wine writer Monty Waldin, who authored several books on biodynamic wine and also writes for Decanter, the show features interviews with iconic and emerging Italian wine producers along with episodes where international wine critics, educators, and professionals provide a glimpse into the perception and potential of Italian wines in their respective markets.
Devised by the vision and passion for podcasts of Stevie Kim (Korean-American wine business entrepreneur, digital innovation specialist, and Managing Director of Vinitaly International), the Italian Wine Podcast airs every Tuesday and Wednesday with a brand new episode which goes live on multiple channels to which listeners can subscribe for free: SoundCloud, iTunes, the Chinese podcasting platform XimalayaFM that makes it available in China, and the official website www.italianwinepodcast.com. In addition, the show is also available on several podcast apps.
Stevie Kim comments on the rationale behind the Italian Wine Podcast project and her willingness to harness the potential of audio storytelling to promote Italian wine globally: “I have invested personally in the podcast project because I believe audio is immediate and frictionless. This immediacy and ability to reach wine lovers while they are commuting to work, jogging, or working is a very effective way of bridging the gap between the Italian wine community and the rest of the world. In devising the project two years ago, our intention was to give voice to Italian wine producers but also to wine professionals who promote Italian wine worldwide and who provide their precious insight into the way the Italian wine category can be better positioned in their home markets.” On the show’s achievements to date and future directions, Stevie Kim adds: “In terms of plays we are still below my personal objective. Although to many 130,000 plays may not seem like a lot, I have given myself 5 years to significantly improve ratings and engagement. As it stands, the project is not entirely self-sustainable. However, I really believe in its potential and hope the show can be the go-to place to take part in the Italian wine conversation.”

Podcast host Monty Waldin—who also has extensive experience in television documentaries about wine, after his central role in Channel 4 series Château Monty (among other series) where he was filmed making biodynamic wine in France—has a personal connection and family memories associated with audio storytelling: “As a kid I would help my dad produce audio recordings of key figures in the local community. My dad was both a history fan and a radio expert, having worked in intelligence during the war. I see the podcast as a hybrid, part educational tool and part oral history. The podcast format has an easy, effortless transparency: there is no filter between audience and interviewee.” Drawing on this experience, Waldin approaches each interview with deftness and great empathy, putting his interviewees at ease in the recording booth, truly enjoying their company and making their stories shine. Waldin sees a parallel between podcast interviews and tasting wine: “For me a podcast interview is like a blind wine tasting but by audio rather than by smell or colour or taste. You get an intimate feel of family histories, of terroirs, wines, and wine making, plus news of innovation and branding, sales, market trends. All this in a format allowing you to listen and learn on the move.”
In two years of digital broadcasting, the show has released 181 episodes subdivided in thematic series and playlists. Italian wine lovers can listen to the history of wine producers grouped by geographical location within Italy (Tuscan, Piedmontese, Sicilian wineries and so on). Series also include “Celebrity Winemakers,” where Waldin uncovers the personal story of personalities from the fashion, cinema, and TV businesses such as Renzo Rosso, Carole Bouquet, and Joe Bastianich, who also produce wine in Veneto, Sicily, and Friuli Venezia-Giulia respectively.
The wine business is also reflected in a few playlists with wine professionals from all over the world with strong affiliations to the Italian wine industry from either a marketing, sales, education, or communication perspectives. Among these playlists, two most recent broadcasts feature wine educators and communicators who host wine-themed podcasts in the U.K. and the United States. Chris Scott, the host of The UK Wine Show Podcast (one earliest and most long lasting wine podcasts in the UK) tells Waldin about the power of the podcast medium for wine education. Adam Teeter and Zach Geballe, the duo behind the microphones of The VinePair Podcast, discuss their informal and entertaining approach to podcasting for issues that span the entire beverage industry.
Most recently Italian Wine Podcast has been nominated as one of the Feedspot’s “Top 30 wine podcasts” for its active commitment “to educate, inspire, and empower its audience with frequent updates and high-quality information.”
Entering its third year of broadcasting, the Italian Wine Podcast will continue to showcase new weekly stories of Italian wine producers and key industry players from all over the world. Coming up in April are a new series focusing on Sardinian producers, new recording sessions that will take place during Vinitaly in Verona, and the launch of a new dedicated channel on Spotify.

The Italian Wine Podcast just broadcast an exclusive interview with wine maker, restaurateur, TV celebrity, and musician Joe Bastianich. Podcast host Monty Waldin conversed amicably for half an hour with the eclectic wine and food celebrity about his Italian origins and his relationship with Italian culture more widely.
In an unreserved interview, Bastianich reminisces about his upbringing in New York City and about his deep-rooted Italian connections. Bastianich’s parents came from the Istria region (former North-Eastern Italian territory, albeit Croatian now) and emigrated to New York. There, they worked in restaurants, finally succeeding in opening their own restaurant activity. Bastianich, therefore, grew up in a family environment where good food and good wine were always valued. After starting a career in Wall Street, he eventually went back to the restaurant business, contributing also to innovating the restaurant scene in New York: “When I opened my first restaurant in 1991, it was called Bacco in the Theatre District in Manhattan. We opened up with an all-Italian wine list, which was unheard of in New York in the late eighties-early nineties and every bottle was 15 dollars a bottle (the cost to customers); it was a different time, of course, where you could sell a bottle of wine for 15 bucks in a restaurant, but that is where it all began.” Currently, Bastianich owns several restaurants worldwide with the group Batali & Bastianich.
Italian wine has always played a key role in both Bastianich’s professional and personal life. Bastianich explains that, in 1997, he opened his own winery in Friuli’s Colli Orientali for his children, as a way for them to reconnect with their Italian heritage: “That was my dream… Aside from loving wine I really had to have my kids be tied to this Italian reality in a real way, like I was fortunate to have my family. And they did! They grew up in the winery, they grew up among people who live there, with a seventy-year-old woman, Gianna, who runs the winery and who taught Italian to all my kids and took care of them like she was her grandmother, and they worked with farmers. They had a whole existence of agriculture, of living in Italy… And although now they are moving away (two of them are in college)… I hope one day they will go back to Italy as a place where they had fond memories and come back to even make it a part of their life.” In the podcast, Bastianich also speaks about his non-interventionist wine making philosophy and marketing wine to the new generations.

Bastianich comments also on his television work as a judge for MasterChef Italy, explaining the close relationship judges develop with contestants during the four-month shooting of the show. He generously shares with Waldin his passion for rock music, which dates back to his teenage years and is linked to the New York City rock scene of the eighties. Bastianich plays guitar and has performed in Italy and the U.S. on various musical projects such as Vino Veritas My Life Unplugged, a concert which combines songs, storytelling, and wine tasting.
Joe Bastianich is one of several internationally-renowned personalities that have turned to wine and wine making out of a heartfelt passion for Italy. The Italian Wine Podcast features a dedicated series exploring “Celebrity Winemakers.” For instance, fashion designer Renzo Rosso (the father of Diesel Jeans) is the owner of a family winery in the hills of Marostica, near Vicenza, in his native Veneto region. In addition, French Bond girl and fashion icon Carole Bouquet settled on Pantelleria island in the Mediterranean and started producing Passito di Pantelleria.
Recently, the Italian Wine Podcast also launched a demographic survey to understand its audience and seek feedback to improve the show. The survey is available here. On the podcast website, it is also possible to donate to the show. Donations will help fund part of the show’s technical equipment, production, and publication costs.

After fashion designer Renzo Rosso, the Italian Wine Podcast welcomes another international celebrity, who got into the wine business after falling in love with the island of Pantelleria in the Mediterranean, off the coasts of Sicily. French diva Carole Bouquet, who starred in over fifty films since the mid-seventies, made Pantelleria her home and took up wine-making to produce Passito di Pantelleria. In the interview with Monty Waldin, Bouquet speaks of her previous career in the world of cinema and advertising—most famously, she played a Bond Girl in the 1989 James Bond movie For your eyes only and modeled for top fashion brands such as Chanel. Bouquet, who defines herself a “city girl,” tells Waldin of her breakthrough in acting that happened when she was eighteen. Indeed, while attending the national school of acting in Paris, Bouquet was selected for Luis Bunuel’s famous movie That obscure object of desire.
On the other hand, her forays into the wine world started when she turned forty and fell in love with Pantelleria, which she defines the “front door of Orient… but at the same time very Italian.” Bouquet, who is very interested also in the history of viticulture and wine-making on the island, had always admired Pantelleria’s landscape of terraced vineyards and its volcanic soil, to the point that she decided to put down roots there by gradually buying land. “I wanted a piece of land, and I never wanted that before, and I was 40 at that time,” she tells Waldin, “I decided (because I am a real city girl) to put down roots in Pantelleria, as if I belonged there more than in any place in the world. Even though I was not Italian, that was my way—I am so in love with Italy!—to dare to say that I was Italian.” Bouquet’s winery, Sangue d’Oro, produces Passito di Pantelleria from Moscato di Alessandria grapes and was selected also by Wine Spectator for the OperaWine Grand Tasting 2018 in Verona, Italy. Listeners interested in discovering stories behind other producers of Sicilian wine can tune in to the series on Sicily.

In addition to famous wine producers, the Italian Wine Podcast also hosts key players in the wine business, and recently dedicated a series of podcasts to three influencer marketing projects that exploit the popularity of Instagram and other social media to promote wine. Waldin’s interviews with Andrea Albagli (@cor_vino), Stefano Quaglierini (@italian_wines), and the @cantinasocial trio Adriano Amoretti, Matteo Franco, and John Murnane dig deeper into the field of influencer marketing for the wine sector and into their different approaches to digital communication. Currently every Tuesday the Italian Wine Podcast is broadcasting a series of podcasts on Sagrantino wine producers in Umbria; on Wednesday, Waldin meets other wine producers coming from all over Italy, in particular from wine regions such as Campania, Puglia, Sardinia.
The Italian Wine Podcast team recently launched a new interactive map of Italy that allows listeners to browse through the stories of Italian wine producers region by region. This digital map is available on the podcast website. By clicking on each Italian region, listeners are redirected to the stories of great wines and their producers grouped together according to their location in Italy. With around 300,000 companies involved in wine-making across Italy and with its biodiversity, the Italian wine world may seem difficult to decode at times. The digital map tool for podcasts helps locate producers and discover the regional attachments and affiliations of Italian wines.

On March 10th, 2017, Italian Wine Podcast broadcast its first episode on SoundCloud and iTunes. The episode featured an interview with Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini, owner of Altesino winery and other estates, telling podcast host Monty Waldin about sustainable viticulture and her love for tortellini. On March 10th, 2018, after 87 episodes broadcast every Tuesday and Wednesday, Italian Wine Podcast celebrates its first-year anniversary.
Italian Wine Podcast is an English-language podcast project dedicated to the storytelling of Italian wine through the voice of its main proponents: producers in the first place along with a number of personalities (educators, experts, trade professionals) orbiting planet vino in Italy and abroad. Listeners can enjoy the show free of charge by subscribing to one of the show’s multiple platforms: SoundCloud, iTunes, the official website, and the recently-launched XimalayaFM channel which makes the podcast available in China.
The Italian Wine Podcast host is the English wine writer Monty Waldin, who has published widely particularly on biodynamic wine. Waldin explains the importance of the project: “The Italian Wine Podcast is a guide into the endlessly fascinating world of Italian wine from A to Z in easily digestible, bite-sized audio chunks! My interviewees range from 100-points-scoring winemakers that grace the covers of the world’s leading wine magazines, via little known artisans with a story to tell to up-and-coming winemakers. The Podcast also focuses on the commercial side of wine-growing where I interview those who follow–and set–trends in sales and marketing or create innovations in packaging. Leading sommeliers, importers, and distributors who work intimately with Italian wines from New York to Hong Kong get plenty of air-time too. Leading wine writers also get to sit in the podcast hotseat, explaining the ins and outs of how they get the best stories about Italian wines and winemakers into print or out online.” Waldin’s winemaking background coupled with his long-standing interest in alternative wine-growing also means Italian winemakers who work either organically, naturally, or biodynamically get to share their story too.

Italy counts the largest number of native grape varieties in the world grown on its national territory—this grape biodiversity being an impressive primacy in this era of climate change. Moreover, as is well known, Italy’s wine and food culture along with its romantic landscapes are among the factors which make the country famous worldwide. Yet, both the diversity of Italian wines coming from lesser-known grape varieties and the regional fragmentation of the country’s wine and food traditions may at times hinder a deeper understanding of the high quality of Italian wines. Italian Wine Podcast was born to explain this complexity and the century-long history of Italian wine. The mastermind behind the project is Stevie Kim, Managing Director at Vinitaly International. Kim’s constant quest for innovative and digital ways to communicate Italian wine to international audiences pushed her to invest in an English-language podcast project: “Podcast is not yet very popular among winemakers, but I really believe the audio format is the way forward. Nowadays it is all about competing for attention and the audio format has an enormous potential: for example podcasts can be enjoyed while doing other activities (driving, working out, travelling) and podcast listeners are incredibly loyal to shows. So I am confident the podcast medium will soon come around in our sector too becoming a crucial tool for us to broadcast our ideas and passion about Italian wine.”
The Italian Wine Podcast’s mission—to inform, educate, and entertain about Italian wine—is reinforced also in a number of thematic series which orderly guide listeners to learn more about Italian wine. At present, every Tuesday the “Let’s talk wine biz – wine2wine series” introduces some key players in the global wine business and discusses Italian wine in relation to hot topics such as social media, international markets and more. Every Wednesday, Waldin once more unearths the great family histories of Italian wine producers. In addition, listeners can also browse through the podcasts regionally in the “Discover Italian Regions” series. A series on “Italian Wine Coops” introduces Italian wine cooperatives, unveiling the inner workings and cruciality of the cooperative system in the Italian wine industry. The series “Italian Native Grape Varieties” provides a specific focus on three Italian native grapes, Glera, Aglianico, and Sangiovese. Additional series include podcasts on “Natural Wine” where wine writers and professionals advocate for less invasive wine-making methods and the “Learning about Italian Wine” series, which groups together the experiences of international experts and students coming to grips with Italian wine’s complexity. In the second year of air-life for the Italian Wine Podcast new thematic series coming up in the Spring will feature Sagrantino producers and Italian wine influencers.

Italian Wine Podcast: Cin Cin with Italian Wine People, the first podcast in English dedicated to Italian wine culture and its main protagonists, is now available in China on the Chinese podcast sharing service Ximalaya.com. On http://www.ximalaya.com/5228876/profile/, Chinese lovers of Italian wines and Italian food culture will now be able to enjoy Monty Waldin’s show from all parts of mainland China.
With 76 episodes to date and various thematic series exploring Italian wine regions, native grape varieties of Italy, Italian wine coops, and more, Italian Wine Podcast showcases the unique Italian wine culture through the voice of its key players: producers in the first place, but also wine writers and experts, sommeliers, and various trade professionals.
Hosted by Monty Waldin, wine writer and biodynamic wine expert based in Italy, Italian Wine Podcast aims to inform, educate, and entertain about Italian wine through engaging conversations in English with “Italian Wine People.” Italian wine producers tell family stories and anecdotes of often century-long connections with the land. They speak of their wine making approaches, viticulture and terroirs, their styles of wine, as well as their favourite wine and food pairings. Chinese listeners will be able to better grasp the Italian wine culture and gastronomy through authentic first-hand accounts from people who are immersed in both the culture and the trade.
Among the Italian wine stories told by Monty Waldin, of an international resonance is the interview with fashion entrepreneur Renzo Rosso, the man behind Diesel Jeans. Rosso, who also produces wine at his Diesel Farm in the Veneto region of Ita-ly, tells Waldin about his humble beginnings growing up on a farm and helping his father with the land and the animals.
The podcasts will also be of interest to Chinese listeners as some episodes give an insight into the reception of Italian wine on various Asian markets. Hong Kong-based JC Viens, Editor of the Spirito DiVino Asia magazine, talks to Waldin about the yet-to-be-exploited potential of Italian wine on the Asian markets. Wine educator based in China Julien Boulard speaks in depth about the Chinese market for Italian wine and his favorite Sicilian wines. Former wine buyer for Amazon China and most recently Operations Advisor for wine at Ali Baba, Zhu Mi discusses Italian wine paired with Chinese food and a new favorite of his, Lambrusco.

Despite Italian wine exports in China only account for 5% in 2016 of imported wine, there is a strong growth of sparkling wines especially Moscato d’Asti and Prosecco, and a continuing appreciation of Amarone, Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti, and the Super Tuscans (Source: Jiu Yejia http://www.jiuyejia.com/p/103383.html). China’s interest for Italian wine is also evident in the increasing popularity of wine education courses, such as the advanced program offered by the Vinitaly International Academy, that last September offered two training courses in Beijing and Shanghai. Additionally, over the last three editions of the VIA courses held in Verona during the world-famous Vinitaly wine exhibition, one fourth of the candidates came from China. Italian Wine Podcast will be a precious tool to stimulate interest in Italian wine and to educate wine lovers to Italian wine and its hundreds of indigenous grape varieties. With Italy counting almost 600 indigenous varieties (hence the largest number in the world of native grapes concentrated on its national territory), the show also explores this grape biodiversity with leading experts. For instance, in some of the episodes, Waldin interviews the award-winning wine writer and Vinitaly International Academy Scientific Director Ian D’Agata, who put together the groundbreaking study Native Wine Grapes of Italy (California University Press, 2014). In a concise yet throrough way, D’Agata presents three popular Italian grapes, Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Glera.
The Italian Wine Podcast show broadcasts two podcasts a week on the Ximalaya.com channel and also on additional platforms such as iTunes, SoundCloud and on its dedicated website www.italianwinepodcast.com.

The second series of Italian Wine Podcast is now in full swing broadcasting two episodes per week dedicated exclusively to the fascinating world of Italian wine and Italian viticulture. Every Tuesday and Wednesday on SoundCloud and iTunes, and now also on a brand new website www.italianwinepodcast.com, show host Monty Waldin and his guests discuss family and winery histories, native Italian grape varieties, but also broader issues like the increasingly important role of women in the wine business or the effect of global warming on viticulture.
Italian Wine Podcast aims to inform, educate, and entertain about Italian wine through engaging conversations with “Italian Wine People.” These personalities include not only wine producers, but also experts, writers, journalists, and various professionals orbiting the Italian wine scene in Italy and abroad. The podcast is an optimal medium for an engaging and non-invasive storytelling. “Podcasts are much more intimate and less distracting for the guest, and for listeners too,” Monty Waldin says. “The Italian Wine Podcast aims to make Italian wine fun and accessible to listeners of any age group or level of expertise, more a window into the lives and activities of those who are involved in Italian wine, and their tips on how to get the most out of the Italian wine–and food–experience in easy to digest bite-sized chunks.”
The “story” of Italian wine as told by Waldin and his interlocutors speaks of grape biodiversity (with Italy counting the largest number of native grape varieties in the world concentrated on its national territory), of century-long connections with Italian culture, gastronomy, landscape and lifestyle, and of an increasing success internationally. In recent episodes, Waldin talks to one of the leading experts of Italian wine: Ian D’Agata, Vinitaly International Academy Scientific Director and award-winning wine writer, whose book “Native Grape Varieties” is the recipient of the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Award in the category Book of the Year 2015. In an accessible yet informative way, D’Agata and Waldin introduce listeners to three notable Italian grape varietals, Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Glera, and the wines deriving from them.

In another episode, Waldin meets Deborah Brenner, the Founder and President of Women of the Vine and Spirits, an international association dedicated to women working in the alcohol beverage industry that recently inaugurated its European chapter in Verona, Italy, during Vinitaly. Brenner talks about the achievements of women in the wine industry and the challenges which they are facing around the world. Brenner states that the greatest achievement of the association is “coming together as a group, when you come together and you support each other and especially now that we are doing it globally, we are sharing best practices and I think this is number one thing to start any kind of change.” In Italy, a new young generation of women working in the wine industry is also in the spotlight in some of the episodes: Karolina Walch of Elena Walch Winery in Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and Chiara De Iulis Pepe of Emidio Pepe Winery in Abruzzo to name a few. In these episodes Waldin brings out their distinctive personal and family story at the intersection of tradition and innovation: from Walch’s sustainable viticulture and indigenous grape varieties developing at high altitudes, to Pepe’s wine-making methods featuring grape-stomping and pergola trellising system.
Italian Wine Podcast has also added another important channel to reach its audiences: a new flagship website www.italianwinepodcast.com, where listeners can find all the episodes along with additional information about the project, instructions on how to subscribe to the various podcast channels, press releases, social media links, a photo gallery and more. With SoundCloud, iTunes and the new dedicated website, Italian Wine Podcast has laid a strong foundation and plans to expand soon on additional broadcasting channels.

04/06/2017
The marketing extraordinaire and wine producer Renzo Rosso inaugurates a new series of Italian Wine Podcast, the first podcasting project dedicated exclusively to the Italian wine world and available on Soundcloud and iTunes. On March 31st, during the first day of tastings for the new Vinitaly guide 5StarWines - the Book, the fashion tycoon Rosso introduced a wine tasting of red and white wines produced in his winery near Vicenza and recorded an interview with wine writer and Italian Wine Podcast host Monty Waldin.
Renzo Rosso is generally known for being the “denim genius” who founded Diesel Jeans and a number of global fashion and lifestyle brands like Maison Margiela, Viktor & Rolf, and Marni. Albeit traveling internationally for his business, Rosso is deeply attached to his home region, Veneto, and in the mid-nineties purchased a winery in Marostica. Rosso’s winery, Diesel Farm, features over 100 hectares on the Marostica hills at 300 meters of altitude and grows Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Nero. In the interview (available on https://soundcloud.com/italianwinepodcast/monty-waldin-interviews-renzo-rosso-of-diesel-farm), Rosso speaks about his humble beginnings, growing up on a farm and helping his father with the land and the animals: “My father taught me values like how to be loyal to the people, how to respect the people, the kind of education that it is hard to find nowadays in the new generations.” Rosso also discusses his lifestyle and his love of simplicity: “I travel all over the world all week so at the end it is very nice to be home. I live in a very simple way. I like staying at home, I invite my friends, I spend time with my family, my children.”
Rosso’s personal story told wholeheartedly to Monty Waldin is a fitting example of the great communicative power of the podcasting medium, whose beginnings date back to the early 2000s, when MTV VJ Adam Curry and IT programmer Dave Winer pioneered a way to sync audio content to portable players through RSS feeds. When the method was perfected in 2004, Curry launched his own show, which was initially categorized as audio blogging. The coinage of the word “podcast” is generally attributed to BBC journalist and broadcaster Ben Hammersley shortly afterwards. A recent survey on media usage in the U.S. conducted by Edison Research and Triton Digital established that “four in ten Americans listen to podcasts.” Podcast listening is growing steadily in the U.S. with an overall 40% rate of podcast listeners (estimated 112 million) (Source: http://www.edisonresearch.com/infinite-dial-2017/). Despite not being a mainstream medium, podcast practitioners have created communities of loyal aficionados, who regularly listen to podcasts on various devices and faithfully subscribe to their favorite shows.

In the wine world, various podcasts both instruct and entertain professionals and amateurs. However, unlike these shows which generally cover wines and wine cultures all over the world, Italian Wine Podcast is the first podcast which focuses solely on the Italian wine universe. With the largest number of native grape varieties in the world concentrated on its national territory, the Italian wine biodiversity is a story worth telling. So is the growing popularity on an international scale of Italian wine. This increasing appreciation is undoubtedly linked to the fact that wine in Italy is inextricably connected with Italian culture, from its centrality in Italian cuisine and lifestyle, to its prominence in Italian agriculture and in shaping distinctive Italian landscapes. Through engaging conversations with key protagonists of the Italian wine scene, Italian Wine Podcast illuminates the milieu in which the Italian wine culture takes shape. Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International speaks highly of Monty Waldin’s broadcasting and interviewing skills: “I am not very spiritual but I believe in destiny. When I chose Monty I had no idea that his father was a radio broadcaster and he had been exposed to recordings since he was little. I think the Italian Wine Podcast is right up his alley because he can relate to the interviewees in such a likable and accessible form, it must be in his DNA.”
Renzo Rosso’s podcast officially launches Italian Wine Podcast second series, in which Monty Waldin will uncover additional compelling stories from wine producers, leading figures in the wine business, but also broader issues affecting wine-making such as global warming and zoning. Stay tuned for more passionate storytelling about Italian wine.

03/09/2017.
Italian Wine Podcast: Cin Cin with Italian Wine People, the podcasting project which showcases the unique Italian wine-making tradition in conversation with some of its key protagonists, was finally launched this week with the publication of the first of 13 series of interview carried out during OperaWine 2016. Wine writer Monty Waldin interviewed 13 Italian wine producers and chatted about fine wines, life on the vineyard, and more. These interviews are available to listen on Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/italianwinepodcast, iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/it/podcast/italian-wine-podcast/id1211622570, and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ItalianWinePodcast/.
In the interviews on Italian Wine Podcast, Monty Waldin unearths wine-making traditions, family and personal histories of renowned producers of Italian wine. The episodes take listeners on a journey across Italy and its finest wine traditions. Monty’s guests discuss the art of wine-making between tradition and modernity, sustainability and landscape conservation. These ‘Italian Wine People’ offer curious anecdotes about their families, their favorite wines and recipes, and what wine making means for them.
The series opens with Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini, owner of the Altesino, Borgo Scopeto, Caparzo, and Doga della Clavole wineries. Elisabetta talks about her commitment to sustainability and energy-efficient production, and of her love for tortellini. All the interviewees share a great passion for the land and the art of wine making. They all emphasize the uniqueness of wine culture in Italy and how Italian wine culture is intrinsic to values such as friendship, family, and community. “In Italy, we do live wine… We are trying to export not only the bottle of wine but what goes around that bottle of wine, so sitting down before lunch, before dinner, popping up a bottle of wine and tasting it with friends, because a good part of Italian wine is that when you pop a bottle you are never alone,” explains Francesco Zonin of the Zonin Family Winery. Emilia Nardi of the Tenute Silvio Nardi in Montalcino speaks of the rhythms of wine-making and the need for patience and respect in order to understand what nature offers. Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita of the Tasca d’Almerita Winery in Sicily tells Monty about his love for Sicily, its “deep culture and deep roots,” and his “mission” to make it a “fantastic place for visitors.” Lamberto Frescobaldi of the Frescobaldi Wineries recalls with fondness his childhood memories growing up on the Nipozzano estate, his experience in America, and his recent wine-making project with prisoners of the Gorgona Penitentiary on the island of Gorgona off the coast of Tuscany.

“These brilliant interviews with prestigious Italian wine producers were recorded last year during OperaWine 2016 and we are now thrilled to launch them on Italian Wine Podcast. It has taken us almost a year to publish them, but good things, good stories, come to those who wait, as they say, so we do hope you will enjoy them even more and will stay tuned for more wine stories after OperaWine 2017!” explains Stevie Kim, Managing Director of Vinitaly International.
Other wine producers interviewed by Monty Waldin include: Francesco Marone Cinzano of Col d’Orcia in Montalcino; Federica Mascheroni Stanti from Castello di Volpaia in Chianti Classico; Chiara Lungarotti of the Giorgio Lungarotti Winery in Torgiano, Umbria; Maria Sabrina Tedeschi from the Valpolicella Wine Company; Giuseppe Mazzoccolin from the Felsina Berardenga Winery in Chianti Classico; Meri Tessari from the Suavia Winery in Soave; Virginie Saverys from the Avignonesi Winery in Montepulciano; Alessio Planeta of the Planeta Wineries in Sicily.
The Italian Wine Podcast host is Monty Waldin, the first wine writer to specialize in organic and biodynamic wines. Monty was filmed making biodynamic wine by the UK’s Channel 4 for his TV series “Chateau Monty”. In the podcasts, Monty’s expert hosting creates a relaxed and intimate atmosphere that makes these interviews feel like amiable conversations between old friends. During Vinitaly 2017, Monty Waldin will record and host a second series of Italian Wine Podcast.
Tune in to Italian Wine Podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, and Facebook to discover the unique Italian wine-making tradition from the voices of its protagonists.