The mission for 2024? Foresight, respect, and love for the territory. We asked Pier Giuseppe D'Alessandro, General Manager of Poggio Antico, to share his perspectives for this new year.
Pippo, how was the beginning of 2024?
Not the easiest: just like last year, we are experiencing a dry and warm winter. We will, as always, move forward step by step, without excessive worries. What I have seen in recent years gives me confidence: even in a truly complicated year like 2023, we managed to come out with excellent results – even exceeding expectations.
As anyone who has worked in the vineyard knows, making predictions is a bad practice – partly for superstition, partly because of the unpredictability of an everchanging climate. We'll see how it goes; as for expectations, I like to answer paraphrasing the great Enzo Ferrari: the best vintage we've ever had is the next one!
With the changing climate, challenges seem to be multiplying. How does Poggio Antico approach them?
Climate change has shed light on the true meaning of a territory's vocation: the unpredictability and extreme events of recent years have unfortunately put many production areas to the test, and if this trend continues, plants and territories will need an innate resilience to guarantee a qualitative output.
Since my arrival here, I have been in constant awe of Poggio Antico: despite the difficulties, there hasn't been a single bad vintage. We cannot take this inclination of our soils for granted: preserving it is a responsibility that must underlie everything we do.
In the vineyard, this translates into flexibility and presence – with many continuous, small attentions directed towards understanding the behavior and requirements of each plant, providing assistance in critical moments.
Do you have specific goals for this year?
As I said before, I'm not inclined to make predictions; I’d much rather adapt to what the vineyards ask day by day. One thing, however, I am certain of: we don't want to approach the future by conforming to trends. Poggio Antico is carving its own path, and we aim for it to be increasingly distinctive.
The goal, as I see it, is actually very simple (though anything but easy): it's not about making the best wine in the world – a concept that often depends on fickle preferences – but about making the best wine these vineyards can produce, the most honest and respectful expression of our microcosm, always ensuring that the plants we care for thrive, grow, and age in good health.
Surely, this approach must depend on research and observation.
Certainly. Since we arrived, we have done a great job of collecting the agricultural heritage of this place. We observed, studied, understood. We delved into historical records and local memory and conducted in-depth analyses to understand which plots yielded the grapes for the Riserva in the past; we defined our Units of Soil, by dividing the vineyard into micro-terroirs with similar pedological characteristics, and we vinified and studied the diversity.
At this point, we are ready to take a step forward, which will involve translating this ever-evolving knowledge into a method for handling the exceptional heritage we're fortunate to have in our hands. We would like to find a replicable interpretative system, a flexible yet well defined approach that could evolve into genius loci, not exclusive to any particular management or winemaker but belonging to Poggio Antico.
We are taking care of these hills today but we must understand that we aren't but a moment in the history of the territory: it is our duty to work with the utmost respect. A lasting method will allow these vineyards to age healthily and will help those who produce – and will produce – the wine of Poggio Antico to continue expressing its potential.
So, the goal for 2024 is to look ahead.
Indeed – our aim is to construct the future of Poggio Antico. The development of a method serves precisely that purpose: it's not just about creating a replicable approach but also about fostering foresight. In the vineyard, the team isn't solely engaged in today's tasks for this year; they're primarily laying the groundwork for the 2025 harvest. It's essential for us that the entire team extends their vision: it's only by looking ahead, in unity of purpose, that we truly grow fond of what we do. Especially in vineyard work – once you understand the vineyard, witnessing its changes and navigating through different seasons is the most fun part of the job!