Italian Wine Podcast

Welcome to Episode 2790 of the Italian Wine Podcast. In this episode of the Masterclass US Wine Market, Barbara Fitzgerald is joined by Susan R. Lin MW to explore how Italian wine producers can build stronger narratives in the US market and connect with one of the industry's fastest-growing audiences: Asian-American consumers.

Susan also shares five key elements of a strong wine narrative and insights from her work combining storytelling, music and wine, including the examples of wineries from the US and Italy.

Key Takeaways:

Price matters, but your narrative matters more.

Memorable experiences are the key to building presence.

Asian-American wine consumers represent a fast-growing, high-value market segment in the US.

More about the guest:

Susan R. Lin, MW, is Head of Wine Expertise for San Francisco-based boutique retailer Belmont Wine Exchange and President & Co-Founder of the Asian Wine Association of America. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Piano and Musicology, and in her independent consultancy she specializes in music and wine pairings and experiences grounded in academic research and brand strategy. Susan previously worked in tech as a program manager for Google Search and Maps quality and has lived and traveled extensively in East Asia. She was named a Master of Wine in 2021 after her research paper on the influence of classical music on the perception of Champagne.

Connect:

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/susanrlin/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanrlin/

Website: https://linsusanr.wixsite.com/susan

More about the host:

With a career of nearly two decades in the wine industry, Barbara Fitzgerald specializes in D2C marketing and business development. She's led roles from entry level to senior management, combining her extensive experience with data analysis, critical thinking and storytelling while driving revenue growth and brand recognition for California wineries. As a part of the 4th generation of an Italian-American family among the California wine industry pioneers, Barbara has spent her life around wine growing, production, marketing, distribution and hospitality. A Syracuse University graduate, she returned to California to gain diverse industry perspectives from a range of wineries.

As an Italian Wine Ambassador, she brings her expertise to the Italian wine market, known for its authenticity and consumer demand. Barbara now runs Apri La Creative Consulting, coaching wineries in Italy and the US to strategically develop their D2C channels in line with their brand values. Together with her husband, Barbara also owns and operates a boutique wine production company, and a small import company specializing in Italian wines to the US.

Connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbarajeanfitz/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbara-fitzgerald-iwa/

Website: https://www.aprilacreative.com/

More interviews on US Wine Market: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/episodes_category/masterclass-us-wine-market/

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Until next time, Cin Cin!

Welcome to Episode 2789 of the Italian Wine Podcast. In this episode of On The Road Special Edition, Stevie Kim visits Castello ColleMassari to discover Montecucco with Giuseppe Di Gioia, CEO of ColleMassari.

Discover the history of the ancient estate where the winery is located, the development of this extraordinary family winery, and the winemaking techniques involved in producing its famous wines.

More about the winery:

The history of the ColleMassari winery began when siblings Claudio Tipa and Maria Iris Bertarelli set out to revive an overlooked corner of Tuscany's Maremma region, just south of Montalcino. They acquired the estate and immediately converted the existing vineyards to organic farming, with all new plantings organic from the start. In 1999, the family purchased the 13th-century castle and hamlet of Montecucco, expanding the property's hospitality offerings. The winery itself, a striking work of contemporary architecture built into the hillside, opened in 2005, won the Fassa Bortolo International Prize for Sustainable Architecture in 2006, and was later named Gambero Rosso's Winery of the Year in 2014. Today the estate spans some 1,200 hectares, the majority left as wild habitat, with vineyards dedicated largely to Sangiovese and Vermentino. Giuseppe Di Gioia joined the group as CEO in September 2021, bringing prior experience from Zonin 1821 and Bertani.

Connect:

Website: https://collemassari.it/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/collemassari/



More about the host Stevie Kim:

Stevie Kim is an Italian Wine Marketing & Communication Expert, Brand Positioning Specialist, and Public Speaker based in Verona, Italy. As Managing Partner at Vinitaly, she leads key initiatives, including OperaWine, Vinitaly International Academy, wine2wine Business Forum, and 5StarWines. A passionate Italian Wine Evangelist, she harnesses social media and education to promote Italian wine on a global scale.

The Italian Wine Podcast is part of Mamma Jumbo Shrimp, a brand Stevie launched in 2020 to make wine more accessible through books, maps, videos, and the Italian Wine Travel with Stevie YouTube series. Stevie often joins Professor Scienza in his shows to lend a hand keeping our Professor in check!

Connect:

Website: https://www.vinitaly.com/en/events/operawine/stevie-kim/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steviekim222/?hl=en

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Let's keep in touch! Follow Italian Wine Podcast on our social media channels:

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If you feel like helping us, donate here: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/

Until next time, Cin Cin!

Welcome to Episode 14 of Study Smart and Episode 2787 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Gill Gordon Smith.

Ep. 14: Austria and Hungary

Study Smart for your WSET Level 3 is a new series of audio learning resources specifically created for wine students. This new series consists of 30 episodes, each focusing on a particular wine region, with the objective of equipping listeners with the knowledge and expertise they need to prepare for industry-standard courses such as WSET.

With exam strategies and techniques also included, the "Study Smart" series is designed to help wine students achieve their learning objectives in an accessible and engaging way.

This new series has been designed in partnership with the Italian Wine Academy, a Verona-based, internationally recognized wine school founded in 2017 that provides WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) certification courses and specialized training.

The series is delivered by the acclaimed wine educator Gill Gordon Smith. Gill is a VIA certified Italian Wine Expert, an artisan wine producer, retailer, writer, judge and educator based between Australia's McLaren Vale Region and Verona and Tuscany in Italy.

Look out for new episodes every week wherever you get your podcasts!

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Let's keep in touch! Follow Italian Wine Podcast on our social media channels:

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If you feel like helping us, donate here: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/

Until next time, Cin Cin!

Welcome to Book Club and Episode 2787 of the Italian Wine Podcast with Richard Hough. In this episode, Richard is in conversation with the wine writer, researcher, and author, Dr Susan H. Gordon. Susan is the author of “The Story of Prosecco Superiore”.

This conversation explores Susan’s background and career as a wine writer, the origins of her fascination with Prosecco, the factors that shape the current success of Prosecco internationally, and her approach to wine writing.

Further reading:

“What a Little Hilltop in Abruzzo Can Tell Us About Words for Place” published in Gastronomica (University of California Press).

“A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce” by Massimo Montanari

“Gastronativism: Food, Identity, Politics” by Fabio Parasecoli

“The Power of the Terroir: The Case Study of Prosecco Wine” by Diego Tomasi (Autore), Federica Gaiotti (Autore), Gregory V. Jones (Autore)

The Book Review by Richard Hough:

By the author’s own admission this is a complex piece of writing that will challenge its readers to move beyond the superficial. The book tells the story behind Prosecco Superiore, its roots in Italian languages and cultures, the key historical figures and local producers who have shaped its development, and the scientific and agricultural innovations that have allowed Prosecco to become the global phenomenon that we know today. With 57 pages of detailed footnotes, the author has taken a profound dive into the subject matter to produce a unique account of one of Italy’s most iconic wines.

About today’s guest:

Susan H. Gordon is a wine writer, researcher, and author specializing in Italian wines, known widely for her deep-dive coverage of Prosecco Superiore and regional Italian winemaking. Born in Rome, Italy, and raised in New York City, she holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in fiction from The New School and a PhD focused on creativity, culture, and the technology of wine zones from the University of the Arts. Certified as an Italian Wine Ambassador through the Vinitaly International Academy and holds advanced Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) credentials. She is a regular contributor to Forbes’ online platform where she writes about Italian wine.

“The Story of Prosecco Superior” by Susan H. Gordon is published by Bloomsbury and is available in both hardback and paperback at: https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/story-of-prosecco-superiore-9798216494102/

Connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsusanhillaryg/



More about the host:

Richard Hough is the editor, translator and project curator behind The Art of Wine Storytelling, Wine Democracy and Vine and Prejudice. He has also published several books about life in Verona, chronicling the city’s history, culture and daily life, not forgetting, of course, its wine, including Verona Campione, published in May 2025. With a long-standing passion for whisky and beer, he’s a relative newcomer to the world of wine and is now desperately trying to make up for lost time! He is the host of Book Club on the Italian Wine Podcast.

Connect:

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rickhough.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verona_campione

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickhough/

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Let's keep in touch! Follow Italian Wine Podcast on our social media channels:

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If you feel like helping us, donate here: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/

Until next time, Cin Cin!

Welcome to Clubhouse Ambassadors’ Corner and Episode 2786 of the Italian Wine Podcast. In this episode, Artem Lebedev IWA is in conversation with Stefania Pepe.

Stefania shares her lifelong connection to wine and her journey from working alongside her father in the vineyards to establishing her own azienda agricola. She discusses her philosophy of biodynamic winemaking, traditional methods and the dedication behind creating authentic, artisanal wines.

These sessions are recorded from Clubhouse and reproduced here for the Italian Wine Podcast.

More about today’s host:

Artem Lebedev is an international wine specialist and communicator (DipWSET, DipASI), with over a decade of experience in wine education and events. A VIA Italian Wine Ambassador, he is a judge for top competitions like Mundus Vini and 5StarWines and a speaker at global forums such as Wine2Wine.

As the founder and first president of the Kazakhstan Sommelier Association, Artem has been a trailblazer in advancing wine culture in the country. He co-owns IWINE and CAWU educational projects and leads the Wine Department at Alma Wine, a major import and distribution company.

Connect:

Website: https://iwine.kz/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headsomm/

More about today’s guest:

Stefania Pepe is an organic and biodynamic winemaker from Abruzzo, and the daughter of legendary natural wine pioneer Emidio Pepe. She grew up pressing grapes with her father at the age of four and started her own estate to focus fully on modern organic and biodynamic methods. In 1989 she helped found Le Donne del Vino, a prominent association for women in the wine industry. Her winery is based in Torano Nuovo on the Teramo hills of Abruzzo.

She manages about 8 hectares of land using strictly natural methods and produces classic local varieties like Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Trebbiano d'Abruzzo.

Connect:

Website: https://www.montepulcianodabruzzo.it/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefaniapepe_vini/

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Let's keep in touch! Follow Italian Wine Podcast on our social media channels:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/italianwinepodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ItalianWinePodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/italianwinepodcast

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mammajumboshrimp

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mammajumboshrimp

If you feel like helping us, donate here: https://www.italianwinepodcast.com/donate-to-show/

Until next time, Cin Cin!



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