Italiano
An Open letter to Carlo Petrini
Daniele Cernilli talks to Carlin Petrini, remembering the birth of Arci Gola-SlowFood and Gambero Rosso. And he askes him (and to himself): how can we explain the 'integralist' attitude of Slow Food?
Yesterday, I was thinking back to when we first met in 1983, when I invited you to a radio program I was hosting on Radio Uno called “Viva il Vino”. At the time you were a 34-year-old leftwing intellectual who in the past had done volunteer work with the Dame di San Vincenzo association before creating the Nobile Associazione Amici del Barolo, which later was transformed into Arci Gola and then Slow Food. At the time no one could have predicted what would then follow with the birth of Gambero Rosso with you, me, Franco Azara and, above all, Stefano Bonilli. We were passionate about wine and topics related to the world of agriculture and food. This was all 35 years ago which means we know each other well and for a long time, having worked together for some 20 years. Together we put together the Guide to Italian Wines, coming up with the three glasses rating system and organizing big tasting events at the Lingotto in Turin and elsewhere. For some years now our paths have taken different directions, I am involved in a small thing called DoctorWine and you, and I say this affectionately, are “walking on water”, travelling the world over and dedicating yourself to Terra Madre and little, if anything, to Slow Food. And this is why I decided to write you this open letter as an old friend. I’m afraid I just don’t understand Slow Food anymore. I find its initiatives ideological and confusing, its battle cries contradictory and think that they are scolding others and taking the moral higher ground to then assume positions which are not that much different from those they criticize. I find they have a widespread anti-scientific attitude and a desire to a return to a past they have not thought much about or discussed. There is a nostalgia for a hypothetical and lost golden age while ignoring the fact that, for better or worse, life expectancy has risen and science has made great strides and not just in Italy. In our small sector, it seems for them that a winegrower is not a winegrower unless he “breaks his back” like the peasants did and that “tradition”, which often is only decades old, must the guiding light always and everywhere. And this makes me think back to when we used to visit Elio Altare or the late Domenico Clerico and were astounded to see the innovations they were introducing both in the vineyard and the winery. How they, these minor winemakers, were defying the blackmail of grape middlemen. And I remember how enthusiastic we were – you, me and Gigi Piumatti – about the Barolo Boys and how you were in the front line in supporting that movement. At the time, the innovative role, focused towards the future, of Arci Gola and “my” Gambero Rosso was without question. And today? How is it that only Terra Madre, the great global issues and no longer the small and many direction life takes, is the only important thing? I, obviously, do not have answers, only questions and I think the same goes for you. In the meantime, Slow Food has embarked down a path that I no longer comprehend nor share. But this is evidently only a problem for me. Nevertheless, I wanted to share it with you, even if I do not expect any answers. De mimimis non curat praetor.
