He speaks with remarkable authority and his presence is as cleared as the best bubble. When relaxing sparkling flashes arise and the conversation takes a more intense, passionate and crystalline color. Ana Paula Bartolucci Create the best sparkling in the country and represent them perfectly.
He was born in San Martín, Mendoza, in a landscape framed by the fertile land of the vineyards and the respect imposed by the mountain. He studied oenology at Don Bosco University, his profession took it to destinations such as South Africa and Spain, but despite traveling around the world he knows that his root is in Argentina. In 2023 and with only 32 years, Ana Paula Bartolucci became the first Woman chef of Cave of Argentine Chandon. That is, in the mind, smell, palate and the master hand of our celebrations. The incredible international boom of the Apéritif Chandon, the foamy inspired by the tradition of Spritz, but with the artisanal seal of Chandon, is his work. In Europe it is known as Chandon Garden Spritz and allow me to tell you that this citrus and addictive sparkling is the messi of the snacks. Ana Paula Bartolucci knows how to convert when she is in front of the arch.
News: What is the best drink and why wine?
Ana Paula Bartolucci: Without a doubt (laughs) also within the item, the best drink that I can think of is a sparkling one made with Pinot Noir, I will always choose that. Why wine? The wine speaks of its origin, of the earth, of all the work behind each bottle, is the expression of a place.
News: What does our wine talk about? Is there an Argentine differential?
Bartolucci: In Mendoza we are basically marked by the Andes mountain range, so our great differential in base or sparkling wines is precisely the freshness one feels in the mountain and also austerity. We have heterogeneous soils, there are a lot of places that contribute different things, but Mendoza is synonymous with super fresh chardonnay wines, the same goes for the Pinot Noir. Somehow in all aromatic expressions and in the mouth we will always find that freshness and that very crispy fruit that differentiates us as to the origin of the wine.
News: Among the myths of Argentinity they say that we have the best audience in the world and that our wine is very elegant. If so, what is that elegance?
Bartolucci: I confirm, it is not a myth, that elegant bearing comes from the hand of some places that have a differential, we know that in certain areas we obtain prolix, elegant, very fine wines like the Chardonnay of El Peral, which is a very clear example. But I also think about the care that as made of the New World wine we have with the fruit, the intention that the processes lead to enhance that fruit expression that we naturally find in Mendoza. The fact that we take care of all these characteristics causes our wines to be delicate, being in every detail, thinking about it, designing it. If something has in common the new trends is the search to express the fruit that reaches the winery, that is our main challenge and hence elegance can come.
News: Both the wine industry and the media are standing in a place where it is necessary to keep the clientele captive and at the same time go to conquer other niches, young consumers. What language are spoken to these new groups to get excited?
Bartolucci: With Chandon we work a lot the new trends, in innovation and mainly to understand how these new consumers are reached that turn to other product styles, which opt for much more expression. We talk about Beyond Grapes, such as the Apéritif, where we not only made a wine but macerated with different ingredients. I think that language is much simpler and more direct, they are products that you probes and you already understand them. That is what we try, that there is not necessarily a person telling an entire story behind, but those new products are a concept that speaks on its own.
News: Does the wine look like art, rather than understand it, you have to live it and the work is complete?
Bartolucci: I believe that the wine must be lived because it is a product for enjoyment, we work for that, for pleasure. Once you start getting into the wine world and try different things you are more and more interest. Perhaps the entrance door for a new consumer can even be the label, but if taking it arises a genuine interest can open to interpret already feel something different. The context also makes the difference, perhaps we sit on a Friday night, we have some glasses and have a hard time that this wine will remain in our memory. You have to give the opportunity to interpret the wine, to give value and meaning to the experience.
News: A perfumer told me that our favorite fragrances are usually related to loved people. Is there also emotional memory? There is a lot of pleasure, but how important is smell?
Bartolucci: It is a super personal opinion, but for me the aroma weighs the same as the taste. The aromas operate as you said, refer you to something familiar. It happens to me promptly with some red wines that take me directly to my grandmother doing Sunday’s tuco, they immediately connect you with the memory. Also the Sauvignon Blanc makes you relate memories, you bring your nose and the aroma of the recently cut grass appears, it transports you to one morning at the bottom of your house, that memory is activated and it seems fantastic. The best part of Qatar A wine is to go through smell, taste and memory, open the emotion that can generate.
News: The porteños maintain that we have the best pizzerias, there is a historic dispute between Salta and Tucumán for the best empanadas, but why do the Mendoza speak with so much passion of wine? Note that San Juan didn’t even be named for doubts …
Bartolucci: (Laughs) Let’s see, as a good Mendoza I think that the one born in Mendoza loves his land and making wine is part of history, of the identity of all families. If he is not the grandfather who had the Fine, he is the father who still works in the sector. It seems to me that we have that feeling of belonging to the earth quite marked and at the same time in a particular context: the weather is dry, it is very hot in summer and very cold in winter, but it is still a privileged place, I love Mendoza! We have beautiful landscapes, you go to the mountain and disconnect, there are places where you really feel silence. We grow there, we learn to value it. How will the wine not be passionate!
News: When a woman is a film director, the common place is to expect her films to be sensitive and loving. What is expected of a Cave chef?
Bartolucci: (He smiles) The other time we had a beautiful internal talk on the subject, I think I love the world of bubbles because I also find a very feminine side in this. I do not want to sound bad, but perhaps we are accustomed to women who arrive at these positions appealing to their most masculine part to mark the court, due to the history of the industry. In my case, and I think also in the new generation of winemakers who are occupying command posts, we already have the court marked. We do not need to impose with a male energy to make our way, it happens naturally and that is wonderful because it is not the story that women who preceded us have probably lived. As Cave chef, which is something much more specific in the world of bubbles, it seems great to me that even in the champagne there are women in charge and is very nice because the way in which the final product is reached is based on waiting, on patience, in knowing how to handle anxiety and choose the indicated moment. All of that is the history of life itself! It seems to me that this side has a lot to do with women, with calm and harmony to accompany the processes. That temperance is what is expected of a cave chef.
News: The last. Suppose you organize a special event for a single person. What prepared him to eat, with what drink would surprise him and most importantly, who would be the entertained?
Bartolucci: Mick Jagger comes to mind, it would be a dream come true. Let’s go a couple of years ago where I was a little more rocker to feed and drink (laughs) first and main to roast myself in the middle of the mountain. To take today I choose Cave Pinot Noir who is worldwide! With that experience we break all the schemes.
