The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Movia’s Genius

Posted on | June 3, 2010 | Written by Tida Lenoel | No Comments

When speaking about the estate and wines of Movia, you’ll without a doubt mention its famed producer Ales Kristancic. You simply can’t bring up the wine without the man, because they go hand in hand. Sadly, I’ve yet to have the opportunity to meet Ales, but I admit he’s such a fascinating figure that I’ve done some research on him (reading the Ales chapter in Sergio’s Passion on the Vine started my mini-obsession). Recently, I read Food & Wine magazine’s profile “Ales Kristancic: Wine Genius of Slovenia,” and what stood out to me the most was this passage:

Conversation is equally disorienting. This isn’t so much because Kristancic’s native language is Slovenian (he is also fluent in both Italian and English), but because his actual native language is Ales. To wit, cigarette in hand: “I need critics! I don’t need this wow-brow shiki-miki zak-zak!” Roughly translated, that means, “Hey, I need actual critics, not a bunch of useless hipster yes-men.”

I got the picture of a man who says, does and gets what he wants, and if it doesn’t exist, he will create it—including his own language. Ales’ unbounded need to create his own universe is especially evident for me in his choice to design his own crystal glassware collection made by Rogaska, Slovenia’s leading crystal producer. Hand-blown from one piece of crystal, these glasses are so time-consuming that one specialized artisan can make only ten glasses in a day. Ales doesn’t just have a glass for his red wine and for his white; he has several for each style. For example, he has a Champagne glass, but also a glass specifically for his sparkling wine called Puro. He also has a special decanter made for his Lunar—a wine named for the moon and crafted from 100% Ribolla Gialla.

If Ales puts this much care, dedication and precision into crafting the perfect vessel, I can only begin to imagine the intensity with which he creates his wines. Whether in his glassware or not, you really should try some of his wonderful wines, because while I’ve not met the man, I have drunk his wines, and they are amazing. And if you are interested in meeting him, we’re hosting a special winemaker dinner and tasting with Ales. (I’m pretty excited about the night.) We’ll be featuring a wide selection of Movia wines, some dating back to 1983, as well as the U.S. debut of the Chardonnay Lunar 2008.

As Ales himself might say, “Zak-Zak!”

Category: Italian Wine Merchants
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