Breaking from the image of Veneto wines as being overly traditional, Pasqua Wines aims to gain market share among potential young drinkers.

The wine barrel aging room at the modern winery of Pasqua Wines in Veneto.

The most familiar wines of Veneto have long been Bardolino, Valpolicella and Soave, with sparkling Prosecco soaring in popularity. As such, few vintners in Veneto have garnered the attention and reputation as have colleagues in Tuscany, Piedmont and Campania. Pasqua is an estate dating back to 1925 that hopes to change such perceptions and to do it at very reasonable prices with wines of small production.

I had dinner in New York with Alessandro Pasqua, 39, president of Pasqua USA LLC, who has been in charge of sales and marketing for the North American market since 2016. As the youngest member of the family, Alessandro has always been keenly aware of the need to speak to the 21- to 35-year-old demographic that has been drinking less wine worldwide than their parents. He has targeted language and wine projects that meet this age group’s expectations of inclusion, sustainability and innovation, supported by investments of 6 million euros in the technical area in the past year.

Alessandro Pasqua is president of the company in charge of marketing.

All studies show that the younger generations are drifting away from wine in favor of other beverages. What are the reasons for this?

Millennials and Gen Z have very different buying habits from their parents when it comes to both products and values. This is partly due to the generational gap that has always pitted younger generations against older ones and is connected to how lifestyle habits have changed over the years. Let’s think about diet, for example, social behavior or how social media have changed our approach to daily life, including today’s buying experience. In order to explore Millennials and Gen Z’s choices and better understand the reasons behind them, earlier this year we partnered with Toluna, a market research company. Together, we’ve carried out a survey on Millennials and Gen Z in three different markets: Italy, which is our domestic market, along with two other important markets for us, the US and UK. The study has involved over 800 people in each country. The results have highlighted how sustainability is a crucial value for both these groups when buying wine, with Gen Z paying huge attention also to inclusion. Gen Z is also very keen on the intersection between art, digital art, and products they buy. They want the wine to be relevant to their other interests. Also, young generations look for brands which they can trust and which are able to offer quality and innovation. We believe that by tackling these topics, we can address young consumers and their specific demands, and make wine relevant to their daily habits.”

You refer to Pasqua’s “winemaking approach to their long-lasting intersection with the art, design and literature environment .” How have you done this in the past and currently?

Riccardo and Alessandro with their father Umberto in the Pasqua Wines vineyards.

With a long history behind us dating back to 1925, we have always embraced innovation as a key element, first in the vineyard, then in the cellar, and, finally, within wine communication. We are deeply rooted in the territory and strongly projected into the future. For us winemaking is deeply intertwined with wine-reinventing and this has become even more important with the third generation now leading the winery, as represented by my brother Riccardo and me. The company's ambition is to bring all the grape growing and winemaking experience we have developed over a century of history into the future through renewed stylistic codes, in order to honor the interests of the consumers, especially when it comes to the next generation. This is why we have also presented the Pasqua: House of the Unconventional manifesto, which describes our vision to be a research laboratory and a creative hub. The aim is to combine our century-old experience and full understanding of the potential of the Valpolicella terroir with innovation in winemaking style and communication strategies deeply intertwined with the art and design scene. At Pasqua Wines we strongly believe in art and its universal creative language. Over the years we have been working with artists all over the world, from our hometown Verona to London and New York. We have collaborated with names such as UK poet Arch Hades, Havana-born artist CB Hoyo— a self-taught young wünderkind who has been creatively questioning the authenticity of some great works of art—and then the Italian collective fuse* that produces mesmerizing video projects, along with local projects such as 67 Colonne per l’Arena, which aims at preserving the Arena in Verona, and the New York Fashion Week. We want to be a space of research, exchange and dialogue, a house open to everybody, where quality and creativity are protagonists.

An Italian vendor serves a tasting of white wine at the first day Vinitaly wine exhibition in Verona ... [+] on April 3, 2008. Vinitaly (3-7 April 2008) will welcome 4,300 exhibitors coming from more than 30 countries over a net area of almost 87 thousand square metres. 150,000 visitors are expected, 30% coming from more than 100 foreign countries. AFP PHOTO DAMIEN MEYER (Photo credit should read DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images)

What was Luna Somnium by fuse* you presented at Vinitaly?

We presented a brand new wine, Fear No Dark, which belongs to our iconic Mai Dire Mai line and further focuses Pasqua Wines' commitment to innovation beyond the traditional and the familiar. Positioned in the ultra-premium segment, Fear No Dark is a high-end blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Oseleta, which will be released on the market at the end of September 2023. The grapes come from a single parcel of 5.1 hectares located in the most secluded part of the Montevegro vineyard facing north-east. For us, having “no fear of the dark” also means “being brave enough” to believe in a vineyard located in one of the shadiest, coldest, and inaccessible areas of the extraordinary Mai Dire Mai vineyard, which the family has been farming since 2010.

To launch the wine, we wanted something that could embody all these concepts and to do so we worked with fuse*. Luna Somnium is the site-specific installation, redesigned by fuse* for the space of Gallerie Mercatali in Verona, representing an ever-changing moon suspended inside this industrial space and suggesting a new vision of reality through the emotional power of art, urging the observer not to remain anchored to prejudices, to what is already known, but to be open to changing point of view and modifying their perception, evaluation, and judgment on reality. Luna Somnium thus becomes an invitation for free experimentation, a dream come true with human creativity, capable of combining vision and technology. An ideal similarity with the very vision of Pasqua Wines, which Fear No Darkand Mai Dire Mai embody to perfection: a lab of constant research, open dialogue and discussion, unafraid of the unexplored and the new.

Your rosato is a unique blend of several grapes. What are they and why?

11 Minutes rosé is a fine and fairly unusual blend created with the combination of two native varieties, namely Corvina and Trebbiano di Lugana, and two international grapes, Syrah and Carmenère. The wine’s name refers to the duration of the skin contact and conveys the identity of the four grapes and the Lake Garda terroir, with its distinctive minerality and freshness. The Corvina varietal, which dominates in terms of percentage, was chosen for the floral aromas as well as the significant acidity it gives to the wine. Trebbiano brings elegance and a long finish; Syrah gives fine fruit and spice notes to the glass and finally, Carmenère creates structure, ensuring stability over time. This is a fresh, enveloping rosé with an intense and complex bouquet, created to accompany spring or summer evenings and more.

Did you come up with the provocative wine label called "Hey French, You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t.” Wouldn’t that antagonize French wine drinkers?

We wanted to challenge ourselves with the production of a great Italian white, so we decided to craft a multi-vintage white, released on the market in 2019. The name of the wine refers to the fact that the French invented the idea of the cuvée but have exploited it only for sparkling wines not for still wines, which we did. The name intends to have a playful tone as it actually pays homage to a great French invention, and aims at intriguing the consumer. Hey French is definitely our bravest and boldest creation. The wine is made from different vintages and is now at its third edition, a blend of the 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 harvests. The wine is made mainly from Garganega, a native grape that provides acidity and long aging potential, along with minor percentages of Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc coming from the family’s single property on Monte Calvarina, one of Soave’s best volcanic spots characterized by eruptive basalt and located at 650 meters above sea level. The captivating label is a creation by CB Hoyo.

The grapes that go into Valpolicella are also the basis for the more illustrious Amrones of Veneto.

Tell me about your style of Amarones.

Amarone is a classic wine of Valpolicella, and we offer consumers several interpretations of this fantastic wine. Famiglia Pasqua Amarone and Mai Dire Mai Amarone represent two quality and stylistic peaks of this wine, but, while Famiglia Pasqua is a more classic interpretation of Valpolicella, namely Valpantena, with a very traditional aromatic profile and a rounder personality, Mai Dire Mai has a more vertical and incisive personality and is a wine coming from a specific area that challenges time and craftsmanship. Grapes for both wines are hand-picked and undergo the traditional drying process for three months, becoming more concentrated and losing about 25-30% of their weight. Whereas the grapes for the Famiglia Pasqua come from different vineyards we have across all Valpolicella; Mai Dire Mai bunches come from a 23-hectare single plot in Montevegro. The first vintage we produced was the Mai Dire Mai Amarone 2010, which we released in 2016. The current vintage on sale is 2013. This is an iconic wine characterized by elegance, complexity, and a unique long-lasting finish.

Tell me about the International Wine and Spirit Competition Award for the Emerging Talent in Wine Hospitality.

The International Wine and Spirit Competition’s Emerging Talent awards are an unparalleled opportunity for new and exciting voices within the industry to make their name and to build exposure and recognition for their work. We decided to sponsor the Emerging Talent in Wine Hospitality, which is awarded to professionals demonstrating a real dedication and passion within their role in the hospitality industry while disrupting the norms front of house, conveying to consumers a unique experience and redefining the way customers interact with wine—basically what we do with our productive and communication approach.

The vineyards of Pasqua Wines.

What is behind your decision to make wines from different vintages?

Multi-vintage wines express the identity of the terroir beyond the characteristics of a specific vintage. For us, terroir has always been a key concept and this was another way to highlight the great potential of our vineyards.

Tell me about your tasting room.

We want to offer consumers a unique experience when exploring our wines, be it either on our interactive website or at the winery, which is located in Valpantena, in a building where wine and art converge, where consumers can experience wine at a different level. Among the several experiences available at the winery, we offer the “Blend Your Wine Experience” that allows consumers to become “winemaker” for one day and create their own personalized bottle of wine.”

Mai Dire Mai means "Never Say Never."

What is the Mai Dire Mai project?

Mai Dire Mai is a project we had been nurturing for many years before it became reality. We had been looking for the perfect spot for a long time before finally finding it and the MaiDire Mai name, which means ‘never say never,’ pays homage to long-lasting dreams and commitments such as this one. Needless to say, time and excellence play a key role in the Mai Dire Mai label, the most powerful and radical expression among the different interpretations of Valpolicella wines produced by Pasqua Wines. Let’s just think of the fact that the current vintage on sale of Mai Dire Mai Amarone is the 2013. Montevegro is a hillside vineyard located at 350 meters, which overlooks the Illasi and Mezzane valleys. The volcanic Lessini mountains nearby protect the plot from cold winds, frosts and hail. The soil is basalt and chalk, allowing for great minerality. The first vintages we produced were a Valpolicella Superiore 2012 and an Amarone 2010. The characteristic that sets them apart from other wines from the region is the fact that these wines can be considered “classics” as far as grapes used, origin and appellation, but are definitely innovative in terms of vinification technique and market approach.

Realistically speaking, how do you think you can bring more young people into drinking more wine, or any wine at all?

Innovation both in the vineyard and communication is helping us fill that gap and communicating wine as a dynamic product which can add some fizz to their daily life.

What have you seen in climate change that is challenging in Veneto?

Currently, we are seeing more irregular weather patterns, such as longer dry seasons or more intense rain. To counterbalance these, the quality of the vineyard is key. Healthy vines with deep roots can resist drought better and allow for greater quality even in more challenging years.