Sfusobuono and the restyling of bulk wine by Alessandra Costa, alumna UNISG
Tell us about your path and what brought you to Pollenzo for your two-year Graduate Degree in Sustainable Food Innovation and Management:
A quite strange journey indeed: I had an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and, between a symposium and an aperitif in the “Milano da bere” (=Milan to drink, the so-called nightlife) wine stole my heart (and perhaps a piece of my liver!). I wrote a thesis focused on the relationship between wine and philosophy, I enrolled in the Sommelier course and then landed in Pollenzo. I came to UNISG with the idea of emproving and transforming my passion for wine and communication into a job. I found much more: I found people, connections, new experiences, tales of the world, country anecdotes. Pollenzo was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Looking at your career, a question arises: are you more passionate about wine or about communication and marketing? How did you combine the two worlds?
Before arriving to Pollenzo I was passionate about wine, but I didn't know how to communicate it properly: at UNISG I started to interpret wine in a different way, thanks to the innovative approach of prof. Nicola Perullo and thanks to the internship at Slow Wine I have started to write about it. I gradually realized that I was more interested in communicating the story behind the glass, in particular the story of the women winemakers - the subject of my graduate thesis. This love for storytelling has opened the doors for me to the world of wine communication and marketing: I communicate wine and wineries online and on social media, trying to express their fascinating work through written words.
Sfusobuono/Good Bulk Wine: where did you get the idea for this project and why did you want to change the image of a product considered 'not good'?
The idea was born in March 2020 in the middle of the first lockdown, a winemaker friend of mine asked me: "Is there a place to sell quality artisan bulk wine?" That place did not exist and now it does! Sfusobuono is the first online store entirely dedicated to the sale of artisan wine from small producers and was created for consumers that wish to drink a good and well-made product every day. I am Piedmontese DOC and I grew up seeing my dad who got his daily Barbera in demijohn directly from the cellar; today for my generation this is complex (for example in Milan I don’t’ have a cellar or balcony where I could bottle wine!) and the bag in box is a super practical solution. Making the packaging ‘Fresh and pop' was fundamental to rejuvenate the idea of a low-quality product that is often linked to this packaging, but it is certainly the wine itself that has convinced the most skeptical! The claim of the project is “Try It Tap It” it speaks to everyone (even the most uncompromising Sommeliers!).
What feedbacks are you getting about this project and how do you imagine it will evolve?
The trend of online wine sales is growing and Sfusobuono currently represents a niche in this macro world. Italy has a very strong and ancient tradition linked to wine, just think that some people are still reticent to the screw cap compared to cork, let alone the bag in box! The idea is to educate the customer about a new packaging in which to find a genuine, everyday product at the right price. The opening of the foreign market and the expansion of the online range with artisanal products (we have vermouth, American and myrtle in bag in box!) are the next big challenges, but in the meantime we can only thank those who have believed in Sfusobuono from the beginning!
