Roughly one year ago I was in Sicily and I was fortunate enough to encounter – at the same time and place – two people whom were amongst the most influential of my journey. The previous several weeks had been difficult in the south of Italy, with researching and securing appointments at wineries in Puglia, Abruzzo, Marche and Umbria. My expectations were modest for the largest island in the Mediterranean, as I had similar issues finding information about wineries, and also contacting and locating them. Of significant help to me was the team at Planeta, who are at the forefront of promoting not only Sicilian wine but the indigenous grape varieties found there. Through Planeta I was introduced to Arianna Occhipinti who is quickly becoming the shining star of all Italian wine, and whom I hope to interview in the near future. Visiting her was the other person, and his name is Jacopo Cossater.
Jacopo writes his own highly visited blog and is one of the contributors to the most influential wine website in Italy, Intravino. At the time he was on his own journey of wine discovery, through the central and southern regions of Italy over a period of several weeks. He wrote specifically about his experiences attempting to discover wines of great authenticity and personality as it is an area he has great passion for. One of the most honest, humble and personable people I have met he engenders both respect and affection from producers and communicators alike. Over several meals we were able to share our philosophies (which aren’t that different), and I was able to tell him of my own trip. When I returned to Perugia where he is based with his wife Laura, I was lucky enough to be able to introduce him to my parents as we were travelling together at the time. I was honoured when Jacopo interviewed me for Intravino not long after I returned to Australia, and as someone who is on the pulse of exciting movements in Italian wines, I wanted to return the honour by interviewing him.
Jacopo Cossater on the job
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The Intrepid Wino 