Antonio Cesari 赞扬与 Shinsegae 的合作

Antonio Cesari 是意大利百年酒庄 Brigaldara 的老板。他表示，气候变化带来了他父亲 Stefano Cesari 在 1979 年开始分销家族葡萄酒时不曾面对的挑战。

Brigaldara's Cavolo Vineyard in Grezzana, Italy / Courtesy of Shinsegae L&B

Cesari 说，意大利知名葡萄酒产区 Valpolicella 的天气状况正变得愈发极端。对于一家依赖自然条件的传统酒庄而言，他表示，席卷欧洲的热浪和野火令人难以忽视，即便其中一些灾害今年并未以同等规模波及意大利。这种压力对 Brigaldara 这样的生产者尤为相关，因为葡萄园工作以及酒庄所酿造葡萄酒的风格都与季节条件密切相关。

“Still, it has been warmer than Korea in Italy and it has been like that almost all summer. The quantity of water is now almost zero and it’s going to be quite difficult. In January, meanwhile, the cold was so extreme we got 10 days under zero degree Celsius. That wasn’t normal for Mediterranean,” Cesari said at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.

“The last vintage that literally hasn’t been problematic due to the climate change was in 2021. Yes, I am scared and I think the future of my job is terrible. Everything is extreme.”

Antonio Cesari, the new owner of Brigaldara in Valpolicella, Italy, poses with a bottle of his wine from their vineyards while in Seoul on Tuesday. Courtesy of Shinsegae L&B

尽管面临这些条件，Cesari 说他仍致力于维持位于 Veneto 地区的家族酒庄。促成他此次首尔之行的原因之一，是 Brigaldara 与 Shinsegae Group 旗下酒类业务 Shinsegae L&B 持续开展业务往来。他将韩国称为“one of the best markets we can get”，凸显出口关系对欧洲酒庄的重要性，因为它们试图在他所说的萎缩的本土市场之外维持影响力。

“We were quite shocked when Shinsegae contacted us in 2018. I cannot complain. We’re very happy,” he said.

Cesari 表示，与 Shinsegae 的合作是他的成就之一。他还将自己的处境与父亲作对比，称 Stefano Cesari 必须从零开始为 Brigaldara 建立商业环境，之后酒庄才得以建立像与 Shinsegae 这样的合作关系。

“Valpolicella became famous because of wine experts from my father’s generation. Back then, local wine markets in Italy were completely free so my father drove everywhere, including Munich, to where he drove three hours from Verona to sell everything. They were the ones who grew up the market,” he said.

“We, on the other hand, were born richer. We could study and graduate universities. Our challenges are different from our fathers because the market is now opposite. They don’t drink and the market is decreasing. The market is now looking for fresher wines, easier drinking wines and different styles. Both generations, however, have the same goal — growing the grapes in the best way possible.”

Brigaldara 在意大利共拥有 47 英亩葡萄园，并继续专注于传统葡萄酒和葡萄品种，而不是迎合国际消费者要求的混酿。Cesari 也表示，整个葡萄酒行业都在面对年轻一代饮酒量下降的问题，而无酒精和低酒精产品正在市场上扩大空间。

“Non-alcoholic products are coming to the market. Maybe the future market will be dominated by non-alcohol or low-alcohol products. Somewhere along the line, alcohol became a public enemy,” he said.

“So we focus on how good and not dangerous the wine is. My grandparents and my father always got one glass of wine every day. It was part of the diet and a way of life. Brigaldara doesn’t want to make wine that kills you. We want to make a wine that you can enjoy and can be part of your life.”