Angelo Peretti, Wine Writer and Wine Strategist (Lake Garda, Verona, Italy)

Years in the Industry:
My first published (short) text about wine dates back to 1986, just a couple of months before a big scandal in the Italian wine sector, that caused 23 deaths among consumers. At that time, I used to write for local newspapers, but writing was not my job: I worked in a bank. My real turning point happened in the mid-1990s, when I founded the Lake Garda Convivium of the Slow Food movement. I became more and more involved in the wine Industry, as a writer, critic and strategist. In 2003 I founded an online wine magazine, InternetGourmet.it. In 2019 I left the bank activity. Nowadays, as a strategist I deal with four Italian appellations (Chiaretto, Bardolino, Asolo Prosecco, Montello).

My Three Top Challenges to Wellness:
Finding time to run or walk. Running or walking more could help me clear my mind and burn calories. (Yes, I love food and wine not only from a cultural point of view. I am Italian! I can’t think of wine without also thinking of food.)

Finding time for “non-professional” writing. That is, short stories. I love writing according to the “sound” of words: Italian is a very rich language, it allows expression of a concept in many different ways, by “playing” a variety of linguistic sounds. I must find more time for this, in the future.

Ignoring slanders. I should always remember that envy is a typical Italian sentiment and if someone says lies about me, this is a problem of him/her, not mine.

How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
Observing simple moments of beauty. Observing without a specific reason, letting me be surprised by the beauty that I can find in simple things. Observing a new leaf on a tree in my garden, an ant transporting a seed that’s bigger and heavier than she is. Observing a stone shining while I’m walking, the changing gray of the asphalt on the road where I run. These simple beauties help me to restore and restart, because they reassure me that beauty is everywhere, if I want to see it.

Sipping a glass of wine while I am cooking pasta for lunch, when my only thought is how to invent a new way to season and flavor the pasta by using what I have in my fridge and in my garden. That’s the way to set aside my work (and the opportunity to turn off my phone: no calls during lunch and dinner).

Having dinner on my terrace, looking at the continuous changes of the blue, green and white colors of the lake and of the sky (and the red and orange ones in autumn). It’s very relaxing. Yes, I am a lucky person, because I live in a wonderful place.

What Inspires Me:
Reading. When reading a book or an article, I can find inspiration in a sentence, in a single word. (Words are powerful.) Often, after a couple of lines I stop and read them again and again, because of their inspiring power. This is the greatness of good literature and good writing.

Searching for alternatives. I'm strongly convinced that every problem has two solutions, at least, because you can look at the problem under a lot of different points of view. Not necessarily mine.

Thinking through the “worst case." If you have a solution for the worst case, then everything’s easy in all the other cases. I find it an inspiring exercise, because it helps in cultivating doubts.

Quotes I Love:
Carpe diem. It’s a Latin motto, taken from the poet Horace’s Odes. To me, it means that we should live every single moment of our life as it was our whole life. Living completely my present time is my philosophical goal, my way of paying a tribute to the Epicurean philosophy. Yes, I wish I was a modern Epicurean.

Panta rei. Everything flows. It’s an ancient Greek motto, possibly credited to the philosopher Heraclitus. I think these two words perfectly explain life. Life flows, moment by moment, and we flow with life. Life is a continuous change and we don’t have to fear change. Change happens.

You can connect with Angelo at info@angeloperetti.it , www.internetgourmet.it, Facebook, Instagram @internetgourmet, Linkedin: Angelo Peretti and Twitter @internetgourmet