Episode 40: Life’s Too Short Not to Live the Wine
From Tuscany with Massimo
Jan 14, 2016:
Steph: “Welcome Wine-Two-Five listeners! Thank you so much for joining us for Episode 40! I’m Steph, and I’m here with Val and our guest this week, Massimo Coppetti.”
Val: “Hey Steph and hello everyone! Let’s all welcome Massimo who is joining us from Florence, Italy. Welcome Massimo! Massimo, what are you drinking?”
Massimo: “I’m drinking a refreshing Lambrusco Grasparosso de Castelvetro.”
Steph: “Matifoc Rancio Sec de Roussillon IGP Cote Vermeille (16.5% abv) and only $17. This oxidized style of wine is made from 100% Grenache Noir and it is unfined & unfiltered. It comes from southern France, right on the border of Spain, not far from Banyuls. Tastes similar to amontillado sherry – walnuts, preserved lemon, curry spices, leather…”
Val: “I’m drinking a Prieur de Meyney Saint-Estephe Bordeaux. It’s a 2008, which is interesting because the excellent 2009 vintage is going for about $10/bottle more than this one. Of course this one is a Cabernet & Merlot Blend.”
Discussion Topic & Introduction
Massimo Coppetti
Val: “As we mentioned, Massimo Coppetti is a sommelier and faculty member of Apicius Food & Wine Studies at Florence University of the Arts (FUA). He is a combination of savvy and classy Florentine style when it comes to food, wine, and restaurants. His life in the gastronomic world commenced practically at birth – son of the owner of the historic Florentine establishment Sabatini, his knowledge of food and wine comes first hand from some of the best Florentine chefs as well as Tuscan wine producers who collaborated with the restaurant. Massimo as a restaurateur founded and managed locales such as Cavolo Nero, Accanto a Mattonella, and Dolce Vita. He was also involved in the startup of Ganzo, the restaurant and creative learning lab of Apicius. He has taught at workshops around the world including in the US, Brazil, Taiwan, Estonia, and Japan, as well as Apicius events at JBF from 2005 to 2009. Massimo has served as a wine studies academic coordinator at FUA and is currently the PR coordinator for the institution. He is a professional sommelier certified by A.I.S. (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) and continues to serve as a faculty member for Apicius wine studies and culture courses. Thanks to Massimo, the Apicius Friends group of esteemed wine producers adds prestige and professional collaboration to the Apicius’ School of Food & Wine Studies.
“His unique way of teaching, combining classical methods and contemporary appreciation for wine is an important element of the hospitality academics offered by Florence University of the Arts. As Massimo states, he is “an educator of wine culture and believes in a balanced concept of moderation and appreciation as an important lesson and philosophy of life.”
“In May of 2014, together with Ivka Markovic, Massimo founded Coppetti & Mark, a branding and design agency which today is based in Florence and London. The agency brings together a number of international professionals in its mission to create strategic global brand identities through an advanced network of international professionals using creative and digital systems.”
We chatted with Massimo about how he got into teaching and what he loves most about it. First and foremost he enjoys the experiences and exchanges with other cultures, as FUA is an international school. “It’s always interesting to learn,” he says, “how other cultures approach a glass of wine.”
Massimo believes in “living the wine,” which is something he has passed onto his students. It was the first thing he said to classmates Hsin-Yu Hsiao (or Serana, now the owner of VinItalia Taiwan and published author) and Val over five years ago on the first day of Wine Studies: “Here in Tuscany, we live the wine.” Val went back to her Florentine flat and blogged it and has been pretty much influenced by that philosophy ever since. By living the wine, he means that it’s part of his life, more than an just alcoholic beverage – the same thing Steph and Val believe. You’ll have to listen to Massimo express this in the podcast to get the full effect … and perhaps swoon. Just a little.
Perhaps our favorite question was this: Can a wine be sexy? Why, yes at absolutely freaking can! That wasn’t his response, but he did confirm that, yes, indeed, wine can be sexy. The way we relate wines to the human personality, can provoke or stimulate appetite, fantasy and even creativity. Full-bodied, nervous … these are not only wine words, are they? We describe wines the way we describe people. With Barolo, for example, there is “the need to understand, the mystery.” In fact, he’ll be teaching a new class soon called The Mystery of Wine. Steph and Val would really like to take that class, wouldn’t you? In the meantime, the text they will be using is entitled, Wine: A Cultural History by John Varriano. If you think Val didn’t just click clickety click this e-book into her iPad just now from Amazon, think again. And you can too!
Factoid
Steph: “One of my FoCo friends, Margarita, invited me for dinner the other night and wanted to share a special bottle with me that she brought back from one of her bike trips to France. Sadly I couldn’t make it for dinner and missed out on the wine.
“The wine I’m talking about is from the appellation Fronton from SW France. I wasn’t familiar with AOC/AOP Fronton, or at least I’ve never tasted one and could not for the life of me remember studying it. That’s why I thought it would be a good factoid and a tasty morsel for the wine geeks listening.
Fronton is permitted to be red and rose, and must contain 3 sanctioned red grapes:
Negrette (50-70%) of the blend, the rest could be: Gamay, Merille, Cinsaut, Mauzac up to (15%)
Cot/Malbec, Fer, Syrah up to (25%)
Cab Franc, Cab Sauvignon up to (25%)
The particular bottle she was serving, and sent me a photo, was a blend of Negrette and Cab Franc. Man how I missed out. Now I think I’ll hunt one down. Funny thing is though, I’ve had a bottle of 100% Negrette before from CA. It was wonderful. I found it in Phoenix at AJ’s Fine Foods – produced by Kenneth Volk Vineyards. It was not expensive either!”
Booze-infused cupcakes
Shoutout
Val: “My shoutout goes to The Cupcake Doctor, who crafts boozy cupcakes, including the Cupcake Wars-winning port wine. It is owned by Dr. Desirae Leipply, a biophysicist (if I’m not mistaken) and last week I had her Amaretto (my favorite) and Colorado Mud Slide booze-infused cupcakes. I’m counting these for my #W25Challenge this week – booze-infused cupcakes. Shoutout also to Nick who really knows his way about the store, products, etc. … and with a smile!”
Wino Radar
Steph: “The Somm TV Show on the Esquire Network called Uncorked is on my radar. Sadly though, since I don’t have cable, I can’t watch it. Not even online. Boo! I listened to the latest GuildSomm podcast where they discussed Uncorked.
“Have you watched it, Val?”
Val: “No, haven’t seen it. Been a little wrapped up in my own studies right now, but W. Blake Gray gives a … well … interesting account. Of course won’t judge until I see it for myself.
“However, moving on to NEXT WEEK …We are talking about the Sangiovese grape next week and all its many expressions!
“Cheers until next week and don’t forget two send us pics on facebook or tweet out your new finds using the #W25Challenge!”
You can listen to the entire episode in its entirety here: