Episode 389 of I’ll Drink to That! was released recently and features Corrado Dottori of the La Distesa winery in the Marche of Italy.
Lots of times we talk about wine as a voyage of personal discovery, but with Corrado Dottori its not even a stretch: that’s what it has been. Dottori is characteristically open in his discussion of Cabernet Sauvignon: “it was my first mistake,” he says in this interview. Corrado returned to Marche, where his family was from, found an abandoned farmhouse that hadn’t been inhabited for two decades, and began planting vines for La Distesa in 1999. That’s when that Cabernet mistake happened, when Corrado planted a row of the grape variety that he now regrets. This interview is also a chat about the learning process, as Corrado opens up about the changes of mind he has had since deciding to pursue wine. There was the early winemaker, still a friend by long since separated from the winery. There was the sales process, which started to feel a lot like the world of finance that Corrado had purposefully left behind. And there were the conventions in the Marche area, most all of which Corrado has sidestepped. Verdicchio unblended by itself? No thanks. Clean and clarified wine? He’ll pass on that too. How about a focus on whites only? Not for Corrado. Towards the end of this interview Corrado admits that he is someone who is never happy, and that he frequently changes his mind. Lucky for us, he remembers exactly why each time, and his lucid answers can help us better understand the challenges for wines and wineries in the region.
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I’ll Drink to That is the world’s most listened-to wine podcast, hosted by Levi Dalton. Levi has had a long career working as a sommelier in some of the most distinguished and acclaimed dining rooms in America. He has served wine to guests of Restaurant Daniel, Masa, and Alto, all in Manhattan. Levi has also contributed articles on wine themes to publications such as The Art of Eating, Wine & Spirits magazine, Bon Appetit online, and Eater NY. Check out his pictures on Instagram and follow him on Twitter: @leviopenswine.
