Name: Leon Femfert
Winery: Nittardi
Town/Country: Castellina in Chianti/ Tuscany / Italy
1. Which spot in your vineyard is the most special and why?
This is really a difficult one, but in the end I like most our Vigna Alta, where we grow Sangiovese for our Nittardi Riserva. It is beautifully surrounded by forest on 500 meters with a great south exposure. The soil has lots of rocks and schist, something that gives a great minerality and freshness to our Nittardi Riserva.
2. If you link the dots in your life, which experience was the most crucial relating to how you make your wine today?
My first experience outside of Italy was in Napa Valley, at Frogs Leap. There I learned that it is possible to create hedonistic and ripe wines that at the same time are elegant and fresh. Very influential was also a harvest in the Cote d’Or. The attention to details and respect of the terroir people have there is unique and showed me how tradition and culture are lived every day.
3. What kind of music do you enjoy listening to when making wine in your cellar?
On my playlist right now are: Devendra Banhart, Arcade Fire, Tunng, Bill Callahan, Bon Iver, Broken Social Scene, Radiohead, Sigur Ros and many more.
4. Name a regional dish from your area, which matches best with one of your wines.
A dish I love to prepare is “Peposo all’imprunetina” the Tuscan slow cooked version of “Boeuf bourguignon” with an extra dash of black pepper and of course Chianti Classico. Our Sangiovese wines go perfectly with it as the edginess of the wines combine naturally with the fleshiness of the dish.
5. Name a restaurant from your recent travels around the world, which changed the way you thought about food and why?
Joia in Milan, the only vegetarian Michelin stared restaurant in Europe. Creative Mediterranean with eastern influences. All dishes are based on an accurate research that reflect a philosophical approach to food. I enjoy eating vegetarian sometimes, and at Joia one can discover flavors one didn’t even dream of. Praiseworthy by the glass wine selection.
6. If your wine would die, who or what would it come back as (person/animal)?
It would be great to think our wine as one of these Satyr painted by Michelangelo and imagine him wandering around our forests in Chianti.
