Making natural wines right out of university, Arianna Occhipinti, founder of Azienda Agricola Occhipinti, has quickly built a strong following globally, particularly in the US. Discovered by Louis/Dressner at a natural wine show around Vinitaly, Occhipinti’s focus on expressing terroir through natural farming and winemaking and doing everything with passion has led to continued success.
Detailed Show Notes:
She finished university in Milan, started making wine in 2004, and is interested in natural wines that speak of terroir
Based in Vittoria, Sicily, she makes wines from reds (Frappato, Nero d’Avola), whites (Albanello, Zibbibo, Grillo)
- Started w/ 1ha farm in Fosso di Lupo (Frappato, Nero d’Avola)
- Cultivates a pluricultural farm for biodiversity - vineyards, orange, pear, wheat, vegetable garden
- 2006 - built a small winery
- 2013 - moved to another farm in Bombolieri
Terroir - limestone (lots of fossils), red sand, 250m above sea level, 8 km from the sea, 8 km from mountains, windy and dry -> lead to low pH wines
1st meeting with Louis/Dressner in 2006 at a Vinitaly adjacent natural wine fair
- 1st presentation of wines
- Kevin McKenna tried the wines and got Jules Dressner to try them, where they immediately asked if they could import them
- Still working together, they are “very pure people”
- One of the 1st Italian producers that Louis/Dressner represented
1st trip to US (“Real Wine Tour”) - Louis/Dressner organized a young group of producers, with a lot of energy that toured the US
Traction partly from being an early mover in the natural wine movement
At the time, San Francisco (and Paris) were leading the world for natural wines
- Natural wine bars (e.g. - Terroir Wine Bar)
- Leading restaurants (A16, Bar Agricole)
- LA (Domaine LA) and NY followed
- Sommeliers promoted the wine and created strong relationships
Traction was a combination of wine quality and consistency, restaurant promotion, and good communications
Convincing people who know a lot about wine (e.g., sommeliers) helped
In the US market ~1x / year
Louis/Dressner did a great job of selecting wine producers and having good relations with their clients
Advice for others - do everything with passion, potentially spend more time on trips to spend more time with people
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