10.01.2012

My Master Sommelier Thesis: " Josko Gravner's Ribolla gialla and the orange wines in the U.S. market"

I'm proud to announce that I' ve recently got my Master Sommelier diploma, after attending the Master Sommelier Alma Ais at the International Culinary Academy Alma (Colorno- PR) directed by the famous Italian chef Gualtiero Marchesi. It has been almost a year full of commitment, studying, great experiences, great people, wonderful tastings. As part of the learning activities I had the chance to make an Internship of about two months at Domaine Select Wine Estates, a wine and spirit importer in the U.S. based in New York City. I can never thank enough Mr Paolo Domeneghetti, Founder and Ceo of DSWE, for the opportunity he gave me to dive in the U.S. wine market thus continuing my research about orange wines, the topic of my Master Sommelier thesis. Thank to this thesis I made another great experience I will never forget: the meeting with Josko Gravner and the visit to his winery tasting his incredible wines directly from the amphoras and barrels. Indeed my thesis is a journey which starts in the Collio, where, beside the traditional wine growing, a new wine philosophy has developed in the 90's, the so called "school of natural wines" or "Oslavia school". The founder is indeed Gravner, who in the aim of reaching the total perfection in his wine making, has decided to devote himself to the Ribolla gialla (the queen grape variety of the Oslavia cru) which he produces with a very unique technique, using clay amphoras. His teachings, based on a great respect for nature, the long maceration with the skins and the long aging in barrels have created the movement of "orange wines", whites so defined by the Americans for their amber and orangish color. Today, this type of wines are produced all over the world, from France to California, from New York State to Australia, from Georgia to of course Italy. But what is their market? Thanks to the Internship I made at Domaine Select Wine Estates (which imports Gravner and other orange wines in the U.S.), I could study the promotion policy of these wines in the American market and the opinion of consumers and wine experts about them. My journey ends  in New York, where I also interviewed Paolo Domeneghetti, several sommeliers and wine directors of prestigious restaurants.
Click on the link below to read my thesis, which is written in Italian. And after...my hard-won diploma!!

Master Sommelier Alma Ais Thesis: 










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