Editor’s Note
This article explores how Bulgari’s core aesthetic, “Roman glamour,” is more than a marketing term. It is a philosophy drawn from ancient Roman principles of balance, structure, and bold artistry, informing the brand’s identity across its luxury offerings.
Bulgari (BVLGARI) is an undeniable luxury brand. While there are countless adjectives to describe and represent Bulgari, the most representative one is Roman glamour. It takes boldness and balance from ancient Roman architecture and art, intense colors, structural beauty, and classical elegance as its core values. It refers to an aesthetic that combines the Roman obsession with quantifying, schematizing, and standardizing everything—a sense of balanced beauty—with the uniquely Italian free-spiritedness that seeks to break free from it.
This philosophy of Bulgari has recently extended to wine. Giovanni Bulgari, a direct descendant of the Bulgari family, started the winery Podernuovo a Palazzone on the hills of southern Tuscany.
Podernuovo is a compound of ‘podere’ and ‘nuovo,’ meaning ‘new vineyard.’ Giovanni, who was initially responsible for the Bulgari jewelry business, transferred the family’s aesthetic from gems to vineyards. Here, it is said that Roman proportion transformed into the structure and balance of the wine, bold color sense into the diversity of aromas and flavors, and artisan craftsmanship into the precision of winemaking.
What is the charm of Podernuovo, the challenging wine from the Bulgari family’s fourth generation, which recently began knocking on the domestic Korean wine market?
The brilliant legacy of Bulgari over four generations is also evident on the labels of the wines produced at Podernuovo. Most wines bear the names of family members like Nicoleo, Spiridio, and Sotirio, which can be read as an attempt to embody the Bulgari brand’s philosophy in wine.
First, the only Bianco (Italian for white wine), Nicoleo, combines the names of Giovanni’s two sons, Nico and Leone. While its refreshing and aromatic scent is excellent, the pleasant mineral flavor adds a sense of structure, giving it a slightly different weight from typical light-drinking white wines. It seems to carry hopes and wishes for the younger generation.
Spiridio is named after Spiridione, the son of founder Sotirio, who lived the most relaxed and cheerful life but passed away the earliest. Wild blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, and other fresh aromas are particularly emphasized, giving a bright, vibrant, and free-spirited feel.
Sotirio exudes a feeling of ‘stiffness.’ Made 100% from the Sangiovese grape variety, native to central Italy, it shows traces of aiming for a classic Sangiovese wine style. It has high acidity and strong tannins, but the light start that gradually deepens into red fruitiness, along with the elegant light rose and mushroom aromas that fill the mouth, reminded one of a well-dressed elderly gentleman.
They also incorporated terroir into the wine names. The wines were named by linking the characteristics of each grape variety with the terroir they best suit.
Therra is a blend primarily of Sangiovese, mainly grown in Tuscany, along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. True to its meaning of ‘soil/earth,’ they strived to capture the true aroma and flavor of Tuscan soil.
Argirio, derived from the Italian word ‘Argilla’ meaning clay, is a wine made from Cabernet Franc, which thrives in clay soil. It showcased a moist charm reminiscent of plums, black cherries, and chocolate.
The masterpiece is G33. It is a blend wine created after nine years of research on various grapes grown in the winery’s best vineyards. It displayed a balance and mature beauty that does not fall short compared to high-end Bordeaux wines. It is a wine that embodies the ultimate philosophy pursued by luxury brand Bulgari: boldness and balance, structure, and classical beauty.
When pouring Podernuovo’s wine into a glass, it is neat at first and relaxed later. The initial fruit aromas were very clear, but in the mid-palate, a solid and rich texture filled the mouth. The following finish also lasted long, repeating tension and relaxation.
The acidity stretched straight like Roman temple columns, the tannins were solid like stone but not cold, and the aromas were as colorful as the stained glass of a cathedral under the Italian sun…. What made this wine special was not because it was gorgeous, but because order was felt within that gorgeousness. Isn’t that another form of the ‘Roman glamour’ that luxury brand Bulgari speaks of?
Indeed, Podernuovo’s wines are evaluated as not flashy but dense. The straight line of acidity and the orderly texture of tannins are the vinous expression of the “bold but restrained beauty” that Bulgari has pursued. The sense of order and leisure felt in the glass reminded one of the balanced beauty of Bulgari jewelry.
Podernuovo is a wine containing the contemporary direct descendant’s interpretation of the question the Bulgari family has repeated over generations: ‘How to impose order on beauty?’
(Giovanni Bulgari)