Apr 15, 2025

Tyler Hill - Assistant Winemaker, Giornata

📙 My Story

I grew up in Santa Cruz. I got a degree in music. I worked in several michelin star restaurants in San Francisco. From there I moved to Paso Robles to get into wine. I worked my first harvest in 2017 at Caliza and stayed there for four years. I found Giornata through working at Il Cortile part time. In 2018, I came to taste Giornata. David opened some library Nebbiolo for me, and at that moment I knew that this was where I had to work. In 2021 I got my chance and haven't looked back.

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🇮🇹 Favorite Region in Italy

Piemonte because that's where Barolo and Barbaresco are.

🍴 Best Meal in Italy

Piazza Duomo

🤔 Florence, Venice or Rome?

None of the above, I'm a deep cuts kind of guy.

🚗 Off the Beaten path

More E Macina in La Morra

☝️ Pointers or Tips?

Ditch the tour bus, rent a car.

👀 Where do you still want to visit?

I think I would like to visit Abruzzo and Marche mainly because I enjoy the wines from both of these regions and the regions themselves are often not talked about.

😱 What surprised you the most when you first visited Italy?

Italy is so regional. It seems we think of Italy as being one unified country with one unified cuisine, but when you travel there, you realize that in one town or region you will have a cuisine that is completely different from a neighboring town or region. This follows for dialects and cultures as well.

❤️ What is it about Italy that really speaks to you?

I am most moved by how agrarian a lot of Italy still is. Running in the morning through the Langhe, I was moved by how many people were out tending their gardens. The gardens were beautiful, too, with grass everywhere and juicy tomatoes hanging off the vine. The vineyards don't use metal posts, they use wood. Most of them aren't tilled. It's things like this that reflect a deeper connection to--and respect for-- the land they occupy.

🌾🍷 How does this tie in to you working at Etto/Giornata?

In order to emulate Italian wine, you must understand Italian thinking. In order to understand Italian thinking, you must travel to Italy. It's as simple as that.