Behind the vine

Marta Peloso - Auriel - Monferrato, Italy

When do you think you fell in love with wine, enough to make a career of it?

I grew up in the Veneto area, where a love of wine is part of the culture. The first wines I loved were those of Valpolicella and also those of Trentino. I remember as a child visiting a family vineyard and sitting under the pergolas of the vineyard, gazing up in amazement. Over the years, I cultivated a love of drinking and enjoying wine, but deciding to work with grapes myself began after I attended a tasting by Leonello Anello - a biodynamic agronomist. It was a three-day "blind" tasting of many wines of different natures and origins. During this tasting I learned to recognize characteristics that helped to form a vision that guided me towards what I wanted to create in a wine.

What story does your wine tell?

My work as a winemaker began in 2005 when I arrived at Cascina Boschi, overlooking Monte Rosa from the hills of Ponzano Monferrato. After two years of preparation, I planted the Barbera and Grignolino vineyards with my husband Felice and started following them step by step. With the collaboration and friendship of Anello, I began to understand the fundamental principles of vineyard management and winemaking according to the principles of modern biodynamics. Through this, the Auriel agricultural company was born.

I do not own this land, and tomorrow, there’s a chance I will not have it. I don’t feel a permanence here. I move like a being of fire, in a flow in the vineyard - instinctive, perhaps a bit reckless. I know the land has its own roots and ways. I want to capture the energetic quality of the bond between vineyard and wine. In my vineyard, you struggle to find reception for your cell phone, so I have become an antenna for different energies and frequencies that lead my vineyards to fruit.

What misconceptions about wine do you think people should forget?

That there is a style or way to go about making wine. A misconception has been built in which wine still remains strongly linked to an idea of "naturalness" even when the wine is industrially produced. When we talk about ‘natural’ wines or actions in the vineyard, it seems like a paradox to be compared to big commercial wineries. Unfortunately, consumers and most of the professionals share this false and misleading opinion that all wine is natural.

What great things about wine do you think people should remember?

Biodynamic wines have greater integrity, vitality, wholesomeness, durability, and digestibility. I hope that scientific research on biodynamic wines and their characteristics will develop more and more and be shared in an accessible way so that these learnings become irrefutable and consumers begin to choose these wines.

What is a piece of advice you would give to a woman interested in breaking into the wine world?

Be yourself, follow your intuition and trust your ability to perceive what needs to be done and make decisions. If you are true to yourself in this job, you will be satisfied and happy, however things go!

Where can women find your wine?

In Italy they can find it in some cities such as Milan, Turin, Pesaro, Pistoia, or check their local option online. Otherwise I will be happy to send it directly, if they contact me by phone or email.

Auriel flies or goes by sea to various countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, the United States. Look here to find your local options!

Who is a women in wine you think everyone should know about?

I really like the style and consistency of Stella di Campalto wines from Podere San Giuseppe in Montalcino. I share the strength and bond of experience as a female winemaker with friends like Marta from Podere Anima Mundi and Deirdre from Cascina Val Liberata