Welcome to another delightful episode of The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast with Forrest Kelly! Today, we’re taking you on an extraordinary journey to Rome, Italy, as we chat with Lindsay from Rimessa Riscioli and the Riscioli Wine Club. Discover the hidden gem Rimessa Riscioli, a restaurant, wine bar, and tasting room that captures the essence of the Italian experience.

Learn about the fascinating origins of Rimessa Riscioli, which started as an illegal speakeasy in a warehouse, and how it evolved into a beloved wine destination. Lindsey shares her journey from growing up in Michigan to becoming a passionate wine enthusiast and sommelier. Hear about her adventures studying wine in London, traveling to Napa Valley and Santa Barbara, and eventually finding her place in Rome.

Whether you're a seasoned wine lover or just beginning your oenological journey, this episode offers a captivating look at the world of wine through Lindsay's eyes. From her early wine experiences to her romantic escapades and professional growth, Lindsey’s story is a testament to the power of passion and perseverance.

Your Host: Forrest Kelly is an experienced Radio/TV broadcaster who has interviewed some of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities, from Garth Brooks to Kevin Costner. A lover of wine who is fascinated by the science behind it.

Voted One of The Best Travel Podcasts and Top 5 Minute Podcasts.

Takeaways:

• The concept of Remasa Riccioli was born from a storage space repurposed into a wine bar.
• Lindsey's early experiences with wine began in Michigan, where wine culture was limited.
• Traveling to Europe opened Lindsey's eyes to the diverse world of wine appreciation.
• The term 'vin de garage' refers to small, artisan wines made in garages.
• Lindsey's passion for wine deepened through personal experiences and professional training.
• The journey from a casual wine drinker to a knowledgeable sommelier can be challenging.

Welcome. Welcome to the best five minute wine podcast with Forrest Kelly.

Sorry, I wasn't. I didn't know you were doing it right this second. But anyways, all good.

The best five minute wine podcast.

Hi, this is Lindsay Gabbard from Rimessa Roscioli Wine Club.

So to be clear, we're going to Rome, the capital city of Italy. And after you go to the Coliseum and the Pantheon, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican museums, your next stop is Ramesse Rossielli.

A restaurant, a wine bar, a tasting room, the epitome of the italian experience.

Yeah, so, Rimessa, actually, there's a. It depends on who you ask. If you ask Google to translate it, you're gonna get a different answer.

It can mean the boat shed, it can mean the warehouse, storage, garage. It's kind of got a variety of different meanings.

The way it was born was from the concept of garage, because we had done Anthony Bourdain's filming for Rimessa Roscioli in what your storage, you could kind of say in the warehouse of Richoli. It was just a room that was dedicated to storing some wines, kind of acting as a cellar.

It had a table in the center in case someone was sitting down, maps. On the walls, books on the walls.

And it was really just kind of like the garage or the concept of vin de garage is also a commonly used phrase in the wine world, which is kind of small, artisan made wines that are literally made in garages. So the idea was working with artisans, smaller producers, and then really Remese also kind of has the terminology of warehouse.

And that was where we ended up putting the first remasse. Richoli was actually opened in the warehouse of Rusholi, which was technically illegal, not allowed to be a restaurant in a warehouse.

They're not licensed, obviously, the same way. And so we got away with it for about six years, being kind of like a speakeasy in a warehouse, using a hot plate to cook the pasta.

But then after six years, or the municipality said, yeah, you can't really be a restaurant inside of a warehouse. So they kicked us out, and we found a new location.

So when you say speakeasy, was it really like that? It was just kind of word of mouth, and you had to, you know, say a word to get in?

Not exactly, because, I mean, it was organized through Richoli, but it was in the warehouse of Richoli. People would often go to the wrong Richole.

They would go to Salumedia Richole, which is our main restaurant, because most people didn't even know that this tiny little place existed behind a few streets. It's only about a three minute walk, but you have to make a ton of turns. And so it's kind of in this little secluded, little tiny alleyway. And so not really many people actually.

Even knew all the taxi drivers still, seven years later, ten years later, were dropping people off at Salumerir Sholi, not at Rimasa, because it really was, you know, kind of a word of mouth kind of place.

So let's rewind a little bit about and find out about Lindsay. You were born where?

Not far outside of Detroit, Michigan.

What led you to where you are now?

Basically, I grew up in Michigan. Obviously, there's not much wine around there, so I don't even know where my passion technically started from.

Except I do remember because I started drinking wine. I shouldn't say what age, because it was illegal in the US, but I started drinking wine at an early age.

Nothing too crazy, like 13 or something, or five. But anyways, I studied abroad in London, which I ultimately ended up tasting a couple of really good french wines, a sancerre, a viognier.

And I didn't know if those were places or grapes. I knew nothing about those wines. And so I looked them up, and I realized that there's kind of a whole world behind wine other than just the grape.

And so I got home from that trip, and having loved those wines, and I bought wine for dummies at 19 years old. It's actually quite informative. And just started. My passion just started snowballing bigger and bigger.

And then I started traveling to Napa Valley a couple of times in my twenties. Loved it out there.

Eventually moved out to Santa Barbara and met, if you've seen the documentary, some Brian McClintock, who was one of the four master sommeliers who was in that documentary, he had a wine bar focused on old World wines in Santa Barbara, and we became good friends. And I frequented that place at least three, four times a week.

And he said, you know, at some point he said, you know, about wine, why don't you study it more formally? So I thought, okay, that's the next logical step.

So I started studying with the court of masters, sommeliers, finished the level one, was studying for the level two, and. Really, the level two started making me.

Lose all of my passion for wine because it's way too technical. And I realized that nobody cares, not even us who are interested in wine care about a lot of these technical details.

And everyone I was speaking to about wine would just. My mom especially, would just say, Lindsay, can you just drink the wine and stop talking about it?

So I just realized that there was a disconnect between what I was doing, and I kind of was losing my.

The real passion I had for wine, which was being on vineyards, which was being in nature, which was understanding what affects the taste of a wine, and seeing that in person, speaking with the winemakers.

And so I decided to leave my job for ten weeks, and I went to Spain, France, and Italy by myself and got down to Rome, and I actually did the wine tasting as a client at Rimasa Riccioli, and then kind of had a little five day affair, fling style, with the sommelier at the time, who was Alessandro, who's now my business partner. And yeah, we had a little eat, pray, love story for about seven years.

We ended up breaking up about a year and a half ago, but nonetheless, we're still partners and still friends.

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