Angelo Gaja: “For Americans, drinking wine is a lifestyle. For Italians, wine is life”

Angelo Gaja, the “Artisan” of Italian wine par excellence, and one of the most admired Italian wine producers in the world has returned from the USA after participating in the “Wine Spectator” event, “New York Wine Experience”, one of the most prestigious events dedicated to wine in America, fundamental for promoting wine in the United States. Gaja was a star player on stage at the event (the only producer in the world to appear for the 8th time in 43 editions, ed.), for an exclusive, “one on one”, interview with the wine editor, Marvin R. Shaken, and founder of the publishing group that owns the American magazine, in front of more than 1.500 participants (this is the second part, the first part was published in the April 2024 issue of “Wine Spectator”, where Gaja was on the cover for the third time). Angelo Gaja said, “for Americans, drinking wine is a question of lifestyle, for Italians, wine is life, as it is so deeply integrated into our culture”, because “wine is consumed at the table in the company of friends, and Italy is the only Country in the world where wine is accompanied by the different Regional cuisines from North to South. I have never managed to make friends by offering only mineral water at the table, not even the best”, he said, because “there is no other drink as rich in culture as wine, which has roots in humanity, the landscape, history, tradition, and religion. It is the cultural drink par excellence”. The USA is the number one market for Italian wines (though 2024 has not been brilliant, but our wines still lead in volume and are improving in value, at 1.11 billion US dollars in the first half of the year, more than +5% compared to 2023, ed.).
Gaja’s speech, according to WineNews, clearly explained the value of Italian wine a “medium” to narrate the beauty of Italy through its territories, and the bond to their history, nature, culture and communities. Gaja said, “Italian wine has shown that it knows how to play on two levels. There are International varieties that in Tuscany have produced excellent results”, like the “most famous Italian Cabernet in the world, the most sought-after Italian wine on International markets: Sassicaia”, from Tenuta San Guido, in Bolgheri. “The strength of Italian wine”, he emphasized, “is also found in the wines produced from the 350 varieties of indigenous/native vines, specific to each Region”, therefore, wine is a “part of the Italian dream, an expression of craftsmanship, design, and culture”. “This is why I am optimistic about the future of Italian wine”, Angelo Gaja said, “indigenous/native varieties offer an extraordinary incubator of diversity, i.e., wines with a “sense of place”, not to be confused with wines of International taste. They are our “Fort Knox”, which we will continue to draw from, in the future, to give them International fame”.
“I wouldn’t dream of denying that great wines can be produced in the plains”, he explained, “though indigenous/native varieties from vineyards located on hillsides offer the best results. The Italian hillside is a treasure chest of quality for Italian DOC and DOCG wines. It creates a landscape full of great charm. In my life, I have always refused,” Angelo Gaja concluded, “to put my nose in the glass. Many other producers know how to do it in an exemplary way. I have always preferred to draw from all angles, from the immensity of news-stories-anecdotes-oddities about wine that is outside the glass”.
In the past, Marvin R. Shaken has interviewed legendary figures in the wine world, such as Chuck Wagner of the prestigious Cayman Winery in California, Christian Moueix of Château Petrus, a legend in Bordeaux, Piero Antinori of Marchesi Antinori, the historic family of Italian wine, and Angelo Gaja of Gaja, the undisputed symbol of the craftsmanship of Italian wine. “Italy”, as he told WineNews in regard to the interview with the wine editor, “beats California and France 2 to 1 …”.