While lockdowns and quarantine have been a disaster for the international economy, they have been a boon for online wine retailers and home cooks everywhere, as people turn to food and drink to cheer themselves up.
And now, thanks to an Italian initiative, people can see directly into the homes and lives of Italian producers, to see how they do it.
Every Monday at 2.30pm Central European Time, Italian wine icons will join “The Lockdown Series”, a new YouTube programme from the Italian Wine Podcast. For 15 minutes, they will open their virtual doors to share their food and wine knowledge with the world.
“The podcast format allows a transparent, easy and seamless use: there is no filter between audience and interviewed,” says Monty Waldin, who has hosted the Italian Wine Podcast for the past three years. “For this reason, it gives a feeling of intimacy in listening to family stories, wines, innovation and branding, sales or marketing trends.”
The first episode went live on 13th April 2020 and featured Valpolicella producer Marilisa Allegrini. Hosted by the irrepressible Stevie Kim, managing director of Vinitaly International, the episode showcased Ms Allegrini giving step-by-step instructions on how to make pasta.
Future episodes will feature Eataly’s founder Oscar Farinetti; Matteo Ascheri of the Consortium of Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani; Luca Giavi, director of the Prosecco Consortium DOC; Lamberto Frescobaldi of Frescobaldi wine; and Giancarlo Gariglio, curator of the Slow Wine Guide.
The series was conceived by Stevie Kim, the founder of the Italian Wine Podcast, and Gino Colangelo of Colangelo & Partners, a US communications agency.
It went live on 13 April and will run through, both via the Italian Wine Podcast and on YouTube.
