In this episode, we wrap up our engaging conversation with Lindsay Gabbard, co-founder and sommelier of Rimessa Riscioli, as she shares the obstacles she's faced in the wine industry. From financial challenges to mastering the Italian language, Lindsay opens up about the hurdles she's overcome to build a successful wine club and restaurant in Italy.

Discover how Lindsay's innovative idea of incorporating QR codes on wine bottles during COVID-19 has revolutionized the way customers access detailed information and videos about their wines. Learn about the collaborative dynamics of her team, blending American efficiency with Italian tradition, and the unique strengths each member brings to the table.

Lindsay also introduces a new venture: Wine, Food, Art, and Culture tours in partnership with experts from various regions of Italy. These immersive tours offer a rich experience, combining visits to artisan producers with historical and cultural insights. With tours spanning from Piemonte to Sicily, these curated experiences are a must for any wine enthusiast.

Stay connected with Rimessa Riscioli through their various platforms: Roscioli Wine Club for exclusive wine club details, Rimessa Riscioli for restaurant information, and their YouTube channel for enriching video content with English subtitles.

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, Top 5 Minute, and Top Wine Podcasts.

Welcome. Welcome to The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast with Forrest Kelly.

As we close out our episode with Lindsay Gabbert, let's talk obstacles.

Financial. If you love to throw that word out. The salaries in Italy are comical.

We're a very multifaceted group because we have a couple of Italians in the group. Me being the american, we think about different things, from efficiency to tradition. We just really try to make it a nice faceted.

We all have our different strengths.

I was the one that thought about the QR codes during COVID about putting them on the bottle, trying to make it as easily and accessible to get to the videos that Alessandro wanted to be promoting. So we all work together. We all work together. Really. No one can take all the credit, right?

Exactly. During the meeting, you mentioned QR code, and he fell asleep, and then you mentioned about videos could be attached to that. Then he woke up.

I could get behind that now. Okay, so the last question for you is just kind of biggest obstacle that, like, the.

Like, when you go to these wineries and these vineyards and you meet these people and you feel their passion and things, and you find out their story behind them.

So, in Lindsay's life and getting to this point and where you've got so much passion with all of these different things and you're so busy, so active, was there a big obstacle that you had to overcome to get where you are?

Financial. If you love to throw that word out, the salaries in Italy are comical.

You could almost say, I don't think I've ever earned as less as I have being the owner of a wine club and restaurant, as I have even graduating college and doing an internship. So we're not gonna talk about salaries.

Thank God I enjoy so much about what I do, and thank God this country doesn't cost so, so much to live and enjoy your life. And unfortunately, my job doesn't really feel it blurs.

I don't really know sometimes when I'm working or when I'm traveling and getting to go to vineyards. So I'm paid in other ways, we could say, thank God.

And then, of course, you know, like, the language, really, the thing is, when you come over here and until you really speak the language, you really. You really can't fully immerse yourself. You miss too much on the beauty of this culture.

So, really, I'm grateful that I had to kind of throw myself into the fire at one point because we had two employees that didn't speak any English, and I had to force myself to speak Italian with them because once you, once you understand the language, you're able. You just open so many more doors to really understanding and really diving into the beauty of this country. And still it's going.

There's another segment that we just started doing last year in our business, which is hosting wine.

They're kind of wine tours, but they're also, we partner with another group of three women who are experts on history and culture from various regions of Italy.

And we do kind of a wine, food, art and culture tour for about, on average, they're about six to nine or ten day vacation, not, well, vacations, wine tours, where we go to the artisan producers and they manage. I manage more of the food and wine part. Lily Pans manages the history museums and that portion of the tour, and they are absolutely incredible.

So we're gonna do about four to five of those per year in various regions, from Piemonte to Sicily to Puglia. And I think that's gonna be the ideal place that I get my mom to come visit.

Is there a website for that?

They're not launched on our website. They're on Lilypan's website, which is lilipans.com. and this year, I believe they are all full.

There might be a few spots left in this one of the first Sicily tours we're doing.

And then we'll launch the next year's calendar, probably in the next several months, because we wanna give the ability to book about eight months in advance. But if you're subscribed to our newsletter on risholiwineclub.com, comma, you can subscribe to the newsletter.

If you're subscribed there, then you'll get all the information. Yeah, so there's remesarascholi.com for the restaurants, richoliewineclub.com for the wine club, although we manage those side by side.

So if someone reaches out to the restaurant about the wine club, no problem, or vice versa, we can still flip flop. And then, of course, we're on social. But we also realize that social isn't necessary.

It's a little window to your, to your business, and that's about it. So we don't really post in a crazy amount on social, but we do have Instagram.

Probably the best, most enriching spot you can location you can find us on is our YouTube channel, which is Richoli is the name of the channel. And most of those videos are going to be in Italian, but they all have english subtitles, so those can be turned on in the settings.

And we also have the Italian or, excuse me, the english channel, which would be under Richoli Wine Club.

Are these videos kind of. Some of the videos that you're going to see on the QR code?

Exactly. All of those and a whole lot of other ones.

Thank you very much for your time. Oh, it's been a pleasure. Thank you.

My pleasure as well. I'm glad it worked out. Okay. Ciao. Ciao.

The Best 5 Minute Wine Podcast

Don't forget my favorite part.

Please, please.