In Vino Päritas – Vinolio’s Passion For Italy

Pär Strömberg
Posted June 26, 2018 in Food & Drink

Vinolio

“The idea of finding a way to work with Italy grew in me and the idea of importing organic olive oil led me to a sommelier class at the Restaurant Academy, and the rest, well, is history, ha ha. I took one step into the wine world and never got out again”. As a small player on the growing scene of wine importers in Sweden, Pernilla Nilheim of Vinolio has what it takes to gain a reputation and a rapid growing number of followers and customers. Her love for Italy hit her as a 15-year-old. The people, the scents, the food, the culture – everything appealed to her and as a 22-year-old she moved to Siena and Florence for three years. She studied to become a skin therapist, working at a restaurant in the evenings, learned the language and came closer to everyday life in Italy. After she returned home, the longing for Italy was hard to deal with, so Pernilla and her friend Sandra decided to open a small Italian place on Södermalm. ”We took over a small taxi cafe on Erstagatan and we turned it into an Italian 50’s style café. I was very busy at lunchtime serving all the freshly grilled focaccias and pastas with homemade pesto. This was 1998 and those dishes were hot stuff back then”. Quickly outgrowing the café, they found a dream location just around the corner, at Borgmästargatan 7 (Caffé Nizza today) where they opened up the renowned spaghetteria Zucchero! ”We went all-in from the start. And we did literally everything, from searching for furniture at flea markets to making pasta sauces from scratch, to taking care of guests and going through all the red tape. Finally, we also stayed open in the evenings too, received a liquor license and hired evening chefs and staff. It went well, it was a great time, but after seven years we felt that we had achieved our goal and decided to sell the place”.

With her experiences from Zucchero in her backpack, Pernilla had learned the ropes and gained knowledge from the restaurant business, something she brought with her in coming years. ”I learned to not rush things. When we had Zucchero everything happened so fast, we really should have made some more thought-out choices. Once it started rolling everything happened at once and we did everything to keep up. In the end, we couldn’t really keep up with the pace and lost some of the feeling for what we had built up. So now I take it step by step, because there are many pieces to keep track of and I want to build something that will last in the long run.

The Vinolio wine portfolio today has grown to be impressive, with producers like Stefano Amerighi and Carlo Tanganelli in Tuscany, La Distesa in Le Marche, Nino Barraco in Sicily, Camillo Donati Emilia-Romagna Cascina Roccalini/Paolo Veglio, Piemonte, Barbacàn in Lombardia and Cantine Guttarolo out of Puglia, something Pernilla looks at with pride and joy. ”I’m really proud of my amazing wine farmers with whom I cooperate and what makes me happy with Vinolio are my trips to the vineyards and when a restaurant owner, wine taster or just ordinary wine-loving person understands and appreciate my wines. I strive to be consistent and have a common thread in my wines – that it is genuine. My wine farmers do not compromise, they do not adapt to anyone else. They make wines that have their own expression, just for that area, even for that particular farm. They all work in the vineyard and I’ve got their confidence in conveying their crafts. That’s actually my job – to make the customer feel that there’s actually someone behind the bottle. It’s the real deal”.

With a broad portfolio, but solely focusing on Italian wines, she’s not to eager to look further and beyond. ”You should never say never, but Italy is very exciting. Many wineries choose to take a step back and defend the originality. They rediscover old forgotten grape varieties, mix blue and green grapes, make colfondo and spumante in all sorts of regions with all sorts of different grapes, so-called orange wines are everywhere. It happens a lot, it’s creative and exciting and I’ve just started my journey. My strength in Italy is that I have mastered the Italian language, many do not speak English and with the help of Italian I feel I get a better understanding of who they are. Some people do not even get in contact with if you do not speak Italian. The only way to make contact may be to call their landline at lunchtime when they are sitting near the phone with a plate of pasta. Once you do get hold of the wine maker and manage to book a vineyard visit, it’s the best feeling. The visit often lasts for several hours in the vineyard and wine cellar, salami and cheese are offered as well as of course wine tasting. That’s wonderful! Just meeting the wine maker and his or her wine. I’m really not an expert sommelier, but I think I’m a pretty good detective and I spend many evenings reading wine articles, wine blogs and various wine forums, all in Italian, to really understand the small-scale and craft-like world of Italian wines. The whole world’s wines are too many for me to master, life is too short, so I choose to bet on Italy, and to do it well”.

With focus on ecological producers, there are also a few other aspects that play a role when it comes to those Vinolio want to work with. It’s especially important that they care for the environment and nature. “None of those I’m working with use chemical pesticides in the vineyard. In the wine cellar they use their skill as the sole additive and very little sulphites or none at all. They all have great respect for the environment, but many of them lack organic certification. For the small farms it’s too expensive and I am the one vouching for how they work. I choose to work with farmers where I not only find good wines, but also a common long-term thought behind the operation. I cannot buy large quantities. I have a small bunch of highly credited and established producers in my portfolio and they have given me this opportunity. It’s all about building and maintaining trust and relationships, and having an open dialogue”.

Vinolio

Many restaurants today have changing wine lists, which is a great opportunity and fun for small importers. ”It opens a window for us. In Stockholm I have since this winter delivered wine to Centan in Bagarmossen, Pizzeria 800 degrees, Restaurant Volt, Bodegan, Tyge & Sessil, Ambar, Nofo, Punk Royal, Carl’s deli in Hötorgshallen, Vinbaren Combo, Restaurant Torsgatan 21 in Bonnierhuset, Eriksson’s meat and charkbod, gluten-free and vegetarian Fröjdas in Hammarby Sjöstad and soon to Bistro Bio Capitol, Trattoria La Strega in Gothenburg, Pizza and wine kiosk in Piteå and Drink and Food in Uppsala. But perhaps most important of all was when I, after many attempts, managed to sell my wine to Caffé Nizza, in Zucchero’s old premises. Then it felt as a full circle”.

Having producers all over Italy, it might be hard to pick out a favourite appellation, producer, grape or wine, but Pernilla has still her heart in Tuscany and a passion for the Tuscan cuisine. “Since I have lived in Tuscany and always return there, I would say Tuscany. And if I would choose a wine in my own portfolio, I’d pick Rosso di Montepulciano 2016 from Poderi Sanguineto. It is a Sangiovese, Prugnolo Gentile from Montepulciano in southern Tuscany. It’s a wine from my first female wine maker, Dora Forsoni. She is 70 and has been out in the vineyard since childhood, where she learned the craft of her father. None of her eight older brothers were interested so she took over the farm. She has two passions – the vineyard and hunting, and she is Italy’s only female hunting champion. She knows what she’s doing and her wine is the kind I like. A wine that you never grow tired of and that works on almost every occasion, especially with Italian food, which is what I cook most of the time. Outside my portfolio I am very fond of the Nerello Mascalese grape, from Etna”.

Yet, forced to pick out one of her own favourite wines and what would to pair it with for an exceptional taste sensation, her answer is clear.”Paolo Veglio, Cascina Roccalinis Barbaresco 2014 is pure pleasure and I would serve it with rabbit in red wine, with cooked tomatoes and olives, rosemary risotto with proper parmesan”.

The wines from Vinolio can be bought by Private Import via Systembolaget, see all available wines at: vinolio.se

Photos: Pär Strömberg

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