I was on the fence about attending RAW wine this year. I was having a hard time validating the ticket price of $120 – struggling to see how a couple of hours of wine sipping could be worth so much. But let me tell you – it was worth that and then some. I feel re-energized and a fiery passion within me reemerging.
Part of the reason I tend to pair travel with a visit to a wine making region is because of the winemakers. Visiting their homes, seeing their pride and tasting their wines from the source is an experience that is simply unmatched (especially for a wine enthusiast). Learning a winemaker’s story, seeing their face when you take a sip of their hard work and sharing a smile or a giggle after is a feeling that adds to the complexity in the glass. I drink wine for this feeling.
I hadn’t realized how much these encounters fueled me. It had developed an appetite within me that was demanding subconsciously (perhaps hinting heavily) that I should perhaps attend the biggest traveling natural wine event that happened to be taking place in my own city. Thank you RAW Wine for taking over my social media and convincing me to attend.
I’ll focus on my new friend, Andrea Bruschi, from the Montepascolo Winery. Andrea and his wife, Paola, took over the Montepascolo vineyard in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in 2020. Their philosophy is one that many natural winemakers adopt “let’s go back to the roots”. Let’s focus on making sure our vines are healthy and our grapes juicy by treating the land with the care and precision of previous generations.
Andrea was alone at his RAW wine table – and I was on the hunt to taste as many Italian wines as I could, having not visited my absolute favourite country this year. There’s always that awkward giggle when you walk up to a counter coupled with light pleasantries – but the awkwardness can be amplified when there’s a language barrier involved. Despite what he’ll say, Andrea’s English is incredible but I definitely picked up on a timidness that felt misplaced. Maybe it was the liquid courage but I decided that halfway through our tasting I would let on “ok, posso parlare un po d’italiano” (Ok, I can speak a little bit of Italian). Immediately, he softened and started teasing me saying (in Italian) – “you made me get this far in the tasting in English and you could speak Italian this whole time?!” I laughed and said I’m really not fluent and my husband knows very little, to which he replied “that’s fine you can translate for him!” We then shared stories about my other favourite producers in the Emilia-Romagna region whom he happened to know (Vittorio Graziano & Motessisa Emilio) and my past travels to winemakers’ vineyards in Tuscany and Puglia. I was brought back to those moments that made my heart feel so warm then.
Andrea’s wines at the start of the tasting were already incredible, but as we moved down the line and started to share stories, I started finding that feeling I didn’t know I was chasing. His wines in the second half of the tasting took on a whole new complexity. Every sip felt more familiar – like reminiscing yet also discovering something new. I felt myself smiling uncontrollably and felt like an ambassador to Montepascolo – I wanted everyone to feel the way I felt. Newcomers to the table had a few questions about the bottles and I found myself answering or helping to reduce the language barrier – immediately becoming a hypegirl. These wines had a story that I was starting to learn and I wanted to help share it.
It was that simple interaction that flipped a switch. It was more than understanding the composition of the grapes in the glass. It was understanding that Andrea was coming to Montreal for the first time, showing his wine with a timid proudness, trying to share a story that started in 2020 back in Italy and now being sipped on a larger stage. Thinking about the hardships and work that must have gone into those bottles and then meeting one of the faces behind it can change the whole tasting experience. The wines take on a personality – a new identity. Andrea mentioned that should we ever want to visit the winery, we should shoot over an email and he’ll schedule a great tour – you better believe that’s what I’ve been thinking about all day. Knowing myself, I will certainly be taking him up on this offer – in due time.
I walked around the show thinking about that encounter. How the other winemakers at the show are so special – pouring wine after wine, sharing their story to a captivated audience. This is why I explore the bottles I do and avoid repurchasing the same wine again and again. There are so many stories behind that hard pressed liquid that are just waiting to be uncorked. Call it travel research?
My husband and I decided that our last glass of the event would be from Andrea. We paid him one more visit where he poured us each a final glass & gifted us the remaining half bottle of Montepascolo’s orange wine, Solata. The name is inspired by the word for sun in Italian, sole – as the description on the back label translates: “Wine is nothing other than sunlight held together by water”. Sunlight in a bottle – what a stunning image. Sunlight is everything that wine gifts us – it’s warmth from those with whom we are fortunate enough to share a bottle, it’s the lifesource of juicy grapes, it’s the sign that today will be ok – the sun is out. For me, sunlight will now tickle a memory of an at first awkward giggling encounter turned new friend at RAW Wine Montreal. Thank you for reigniting the sunlight within me, il mio nuovo amico, Andrea. We’ll always be your amici del Quebec. Hoping to sip wines with you in Emilia-Romagna one day.
All that to say, it was worth it. Saluti 🥂
Vin, Enfin 