WHEN THE “FLYING WINEMAKER” IS ITALIAN: RICCARDO COTARELLA AND HIS PROJECTS OUTSIDE HIS COUNTRY’S BORDERS. “THE HUMANITY THAT IS ENCOUNTERED IN COUNTRIES THAT ARE EXPERIENCING WINE FOR THE FIRST TIME CREATES THE DESIRE TO NEVER RETIRE”

By and large, even with a good dose of provincialism, the Italian wine sector press is fascinated with foreign enologists, the ones who come to work in Italy’s wineries. But the opposite phenomenon also exists, that which takes Italy’s experts around the world. The examples of this are not that frequent, but there are cases that exist, like that of enologist Riccardo Cotarella, one of the most important experts in the Italian winemaking world, and who has assumed a notable international role. Cotarella is currently involved in four distinct projects in Russia, France, Israel and Palestine, and the United States.

The last, in terms of time (2008), is the consulting job that the Umbrian enologist and owner of Falesco together with his brother Renzo has with Chateau Ste Michelle, possibly the most important winery in the Columbia Valley, producing on over 2,000 hectares of vineyards.
“The company distinguishes itself especially with its white production” – explained Cotarella – “but also the reds have found their own particular expression, including those obtained from Italian varietals. The climatic conditions are very extreme, we are in a desert zone, mitigated only by the water of the great Columbia River. The company is very stimulating, especially from the research point of view. I collaborate, in fact, with a team of 12 enologists and the exchange of experiences is truly very stimulating”.

Possibly the most engaging experience, at least at a human level, is that which Cotarella began recently in Palestine and Israel. In the first case, he is doing a consulting job for the winery Cremisan, located in Bethlehem and run by Salesian monks. It is a winery with a grand history behind it, reaching a production of up to 700 bottles in the past, a notable number for such a particular productive reality. Cotarella has rediscovered and kept in production the indigenous varietals like the white Handani and Yandali and the red Argman. “It is decidedly the experience that has touched me most deeply” – explained Cotarella – “it is a project of historic, religious, and profoundly emotional character, rich with humanity. The people who work in the winery are all Palestinian, which, especially in a period like this one, represents small but solid hope”.

The other project in the holy land is one that is being created at this moment in the region of Afula, not far from Nazareth, at the Hashool company with 60 hectares of vineyard. “Here, my consultation is centered around Italian varietals, more precisely those from Campania - Fiano, Greco, Aglianico, Piedirosso - which seem to adapt marvellously to the climate of the area.

Even with this experience, however, apart from the technical factor, great humanity has emerged: my collaborator for Israel is an Arab technician, Algerian to be precise, who is dedicating himself with great passion to this company…”
Another project in the works (the planting and construction of the winery are currently underway) is that which Cotarella is developing in Russia, near the Black Sea. It is a 130 hectare vineyard in the Anapa region, owned by the Russian businessman Andrej Dodko. “An experience that takes me back to where it could be said I started from” – explained Cotarella – “and where I thought of introducing varietals like Greco, Fiano, Aglianico, as well as Nero d’Avola and Primitivo”.

The consulting jobs in France go back a bit longer, with Cotarella starting in the 1990’s in the case of Chateau de Frausseilles a Gaillac, “a zone characterized by a particular climate that is very favorable to varietals like Merlot, Syrah, and Brocol, with characteristics very similar to our Gaglioppo”. Since 2001 he is also consultant for three Bordeaux winemakers, Chateau Rollan de By, Chateau La Clare, and Chateau Tour Seran, located in Haut-Medoc, “where some of the most particular Bordeaux varietals, like Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, find great expressiveness”.

In short, a multiplicity of professional experiences that are all over the map, one could say, but which Cotarella prefers collecting within the universalness of what is humanity: “it is truly banal to emphasize the importance of these experiences from a technical point of view. But what really attracts me, without subtracting anything from the other aspects, are the people, their culture, their characters that are so different yet so similar. The curiosity, the desire to discover and learn especially from those who get close to wine for the first time without, let’s say, being ‘tainted’. It really creates the desire to never retire”.