A Biweekly Podcast
Sotto Voce
Conversations on Italian Wine
Two voices, one bottle, the stories you won't read anywhere else.
About the Show
Where the Notes End and the Conversation Begins
Sotto Voce started as an honest admission: some of the most interesting things we know about Italian wine never make it into the written notes. The argument in the car on the way back from a winery. The producer who said one thing in the cellar and another at lunch. The appellation that makes no sense on paper but everything in the glass.
Each episode pairs two of The Italian Connection's writers around a bottle they've chosen together. There's no prepared script, no tasting notes read aloud, and no consensus required. The wine opens; the conversation follows wherever it goes.
If you've been reading Appunti and wondered what the writers actually think when they're not writing, this is it.
Elena Marchetti
Contributor
Covers Alto Piemonte and the north. Trained as a geologist before turning to wine; reads soil profiles the way other people read tasting notes.
Giulia Renard
Contributor
Franco-Italian, Barolo-obsessed. Brings a comparative sensibility to every conversation - always asking what a wine would look like if it had been made somewhere else.
Catherine Ashworth
Contributor
Arrived at Italian wine through Burgundy, which means she asks the questions an outsider would ask, and notices the things the rest of us have stopped noticing.
Marco Bellini
Contributor
Focuses on Umbria and indigenous varieties. Skeptical of fashion, interested in survival - the grapes and regions that persisted before the market noticed them.
Episodes
Elena Marchetti & Catherine Ashworth
The Barolo Pricing Trap
Elena and Catherine examine why top Barolo costs what it costs, and whether the premium is actually justified. From $35 village Barolo to $400 Monfortino — they trace how prestige pricing got built, who benefits, and what a buyer who cares about wine rather than labels should actually do.
Listen to Episode →Marco Bellini & Elena Marchetti
Organic vs Biodynamic: What Really Happens at Di Filippo
Marco and Elena unpack the real difference between organic and biodynamic farming, using the Di Filippo estate in Montefalco as their case study. Is biodynamics a philosophy, a practice, or something harder to define? And does it matter what's in the glass?
Listen to Episode →Catherine Ashworth & Marco Bellini
The Tannin Question: Is Sagrantino Too Much?
Catherine and Marco debate Sagrantino di Montefalco - Italy's most tannic grape. Is it a masterpiece of structure or an exercise in endurance? They explore what makes Sagrantino unique, how Umbrian producers are rethinking extraction, and whether the grape's reputation is its greatest asset or its biggest obstacle.
Listen to Episode →Elena Marchetti & Giulia Renard
The Alto Piemonte Renaissance: Why Ghemme Is Having a Moment
Elena and Giulia explore why Alto Piemonte - Piedmont's forgotten north - is suddenly the most exciting wine region in Italy. From Galloni's 98-point Ghemme score to the glacial moraine soils that make these Nebbiolos unlike anything from the Langhe.
Listen to Episode →New episodes drop every two weeks. Subscribe via RSS to catch them as they arrive.
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Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Overcast listings coming soon.
Prefer reading? The same writers publish long-form notes on Italian wine in Appunti, our editorial section.
Browse Appunti