Fabrizio Bucella is distinguished professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. He has a Master in Physics, a second Master in Science and a PhD in Science. He leads research programs focused on Architecture and Wine and teaches oenology. He is the wine columnist for the Huffington Post , France, and writes articles in la Revue du Vin de France and la Revue des Oenologues.
If your students were to introduce you to the IWINETC attendees how might they describe the person we were about to hear speak?
They would probably describe me as a highly self-motivated person, enjoying his passions to the fullest.
Do you remember your first love of architecture?
As an Italian, architecture has always been deeply rooted in my heart. I remember being stricken by the beauty of Assisi, a town built up-hill, with its Basilica of San Francesco (the patron of Italy) and its other architectural jewels of Roman Art. The splendour and serenity expressed by the walls and ceilings overwhelmed me.
Tell us about when you first decided to pursue a sommelier certification.
I discovered my love for wine during a school trip in Burgundy, France. I was about 17 years old and it was the start of a passionate journey in the world of wine.
What can smaller wineries and tour operators learn from your passions?
I have been teaching wine for more than ten years now and founded a Wine Academy in Brussels. I also spent much time travelling the wine regions and meeting with talented winemakers, small and big. Furthermore, I have the chance to be often invited as a Jury member in various wine contests. This broad experience helps me to connect small boutique wineries with tour operators, and finding a perfect match for their needs.
In the abstract for your talk, you point out a possible new correlation between architecture and wine. You also point to the Bordeaux 1er Cru example where architecture is part of the consideration in becoming a 1er Cru. How will you help IWINETC attendees distinguish between this correlation being a trend and a fad?
From a philosophical point of view, the difference between trend and fad is quite subtle. But the question is interesting. In other words: can people influence this trend or do they just observe it? Speaking about first classified growth in Bordeaux is leaning more towards the description of an attitude. The important element here, behind the scene, is that there are new ways of understanding wine, new ways of visiting wineries. Smaller winemakers for example, are starting to propose all included ‘wine tours’ and ‘wine weeks’ with visits of the wineries, journeys in vines, lunch or dinner, and so on. This is what I like to describe as a global wine experience, and it is certainly a trend for the future.
Fabrizio Bucella will be in the Paris Suite at Noon on Saturday, March 16th delivering a talk titled: Wine Tourism. Case study with new architectures in Bordeaux & Rioja
Wineries intereested in the topic of Wine Architecture may also be interested to know that SALA FERUSIC will be delivering a seminar titled Wine Tourism. Architecture & Territory which looks at key points in Architecture and Urban Design for wine tourism facilities, wineries or warehouses, from a very local scale up to its territorial influence.
Relja Ferusic & Carles Sala will be in the Paris Suite at 11.00 on March 16th.
