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‘There is misogyny in the Italian wine industry’

Hande Leimer, from Turkey, abandoned her career in Germany to work in the Italian wine industry. She talks to The Local about opening her wine tasting studio - Vino Roma - and her battles against misogyny and misunderstandings.

Published: 5 June 2014 14:59 CEST

'There is misogyny in the Italian wine industry'

Hande Leimer opened Vino Roma in 2008. Photo: Vino Roma

How did you launch your career in wine education?

I studied business administration and started my career in advertising in Germany, before moving into the IT sector. Wine was my the-time passion, then one morning I decided to quit everything and really take it seriously.

I started doing my certification at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in Germany and spent some time studying wine in Liguria in Italy.

I did not want to be a winemaker or a sommelier in a restaurant; I knew from the start I wanted to be a wine educator.

Since I love Italian wines the most, it was clear from the start that I wanted to come to Italy.

How did you open your business in Rome?

I moved to Rome in December 2007 and it took four months to open Vino Roma.

I didn’t speak perfect Italian when I came to Rome; because I had lived in Liguria for a while I was really good in food and wine-related Italian and everyday conversations, which I thought would be enough to start a business.

I quickly saw that it was not enough – I was lost in all the bureaucracy and formal requirements and documentation; it was over my head.

Did you face any other big challenges?

What I wanted to do with Vino Roma was something completely alien to Italians.

I provide wine education for normal people who want to be a bit more knowledgeable about Italian wines.

Whenever I said I wanted to offer wine tastings they thought I wanted to open a bar; when I said it was like a school, they thought I wanted to train sommeliers. It wasn’t clear to anyone, even my accountant!

In the bureaucratic channels I ran into problems such as the authorities not knowing what kind of permit to issue; making people understand was very difficult at the beginning.

How did you overcome this?

One of the best things I did was to hire a facilitator, to whom I can slowly explain what I want to achieve. Then he deals with the bureaucracy and takes care of things.

I started working with him two years after coming to Rome; looking back I would try to find someone like him as early as possible because it has definitely helped me a lot.

How did you build your reputation and find contacts?

First I had to find local contacts in Rome to buy wines from; at the beginning a lot of wineries didn’t understand what I wanted to do and so did not want to sell me wines. This made me go to a wine shop in Rome and buy wines there at consumer prices.

I also had to find, for example, tourism agencies to explain what I was doing so that they would send their clients to me and book tastings.

Hande Leimer Vino Roma

Hande Leimer hosting a wine tasting. Photo: Vino Roma

What helped you attract clients?

The internet was the most important tool for finding clients; without the internet my job would not be possible.

Websites are rare for businesses in Italy; a lot of them just have Facebook pages. But I hired a web designer I knew from Munich.

It was extremely important to have a nicely-designed but also well-functioning website, as easy as possible for the client to use and with good English.

In the six and half years since I’ve been here social media has become very important. A lot of wine communication is now over social media – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and blogs are definitely very important.

What type of clients do you have?

There are a lot of Scandinavians, a lot of English guests, in addition to people from the US, Canada and Australia. We all sit around the table and sometimes it’s like the United Nations!

I have 16-year-olds who come with their families who want to learn; their parents also want them to learn responsible drinking from the Italian wine culture.

There are people between the ages of 25 to 45 who realize they enjoy wines more if they know more. Then there are very old people who think they already know everything there is to know and now want to go into Italian wines in a little bit more detail.

All my tastings are, by default, in English, but if someone asks for one in German or Turkish we offer a private tasting.

What’s the difference between Italian and foreign wine experts in Rome?

There are two separate communities, with cross-over touching points.

At the moment I see us expats as better ambassadors for Italian wine. I’m not claiming that we know more than the Italians, but we are better at communication.

Wine is so much about communication, doing this in Italian is just not enough for a non-Italian speaking market.

I am representing Italian wines; it is best to do that in English, and good English.

What advice do you have for a foreigner who wants to work in the Italian wine industry?

Be ready to have a difficult time as a foreigner; especially if you’re female.

There is overall misogyny and some unacceptable behaviour.

Whenever I go to a wine tasting, if the winemaker or agent doesn’t know who I am, and I’m with my husband or my male employee, they will automatically start talking to the man.

Also, where to be depends on exactly what you want to do.

If you are more interested in winemaking, Rome is definitely the wrong place.

I needed to be where all the tourists are and can’t necessarily go to a winery easily. If you want to offer winery tours, you should be in the countryside.

Visit the Vino Roma website for more information about Hande Leimer's work.

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If you work remotely, can you just move your life and laptop to Italy? Photo by Persnickety Prints on Unsplash

All you need is a computer and an internet connection for many jobs, meaning that living in Italy while working for a company based in the US, Canada or the UK, for example, is technically straightforward.

In fact, it’s easier than ever before after the pandemic created a worldwide shift to working from home – including in Italy, where the concept was practically unheard of before.

Dubbed ‘smart working‘ in Italy, remote work is widely seen as an opportunity to boost economies outside of the main cities and reverse ‘brain drain’ in the south. It has even kickstarted much-needed efforts to improve the country’s internet speeds and accessibility.

Some of Italy’s many depopulated towns are also offering incentives to remote workers who could help revive the area.

But while it’s becoming increasingly feasible to work remotely in Italy, foreign nationals taking this option need also to consider how it affects their residency, work permits and tax status.

Here’s what you need to know before you pack your laptop and passport.

Digital Nomad or Italian resident?

Digital Nomad is a term used to describe people who work from their laptop or smartphone and move around, from country to country.

It usually involves spending a short time in each place while doing some short-term tech-based work, like blogging or publishing content. Instagram influencers are counted among such type of workers.

Some countries including Spain are even offering Digital Nomad visas to tempt people to head to under-populated areas of the country.

Remote working in Italy — Photo: Helena Lopes on Unsplash

While Italy doesn’t specifically have a Digital Nomad visa, there are tax breaks on offer for people moving to Italy to become self-employed – see below for how to obtain this type of visa.

What you need to do depends on how long you intend to be in Italy for. If you want to live in Italy rather than just pass through for a short while, working digitally as you go, you’ll need to get some paperwork in order.

It’s important to have a strategy if you’re planning to work remotely in Italy, according to Nicolò Bolla who runs finance firm Accounting Bolla. His advice is to create a rigorous plan regarding immigration and tax.

“If you fail to set up a proper immigration and business strategy, it could cost you time and money. Make your calculations before making any decisions,” he said.

Working in Italy

If you come here for a short amount of time and continue working for a company in your home country, does that count as working in Italy?

Firstly, you need to consider where your home country is as that has an influence on your first step.

If you hold a passport of any EU country, including Ireland or a Schengen zone country, then you are covered by the European Union freedom of movement rules and can move to Italy with much more ease than is the case for non-EU nationals.

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In fact, EU citizens and also nationals from Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland don’t need a permit to work in Italy.

However, if you belong in this category you will need an Italian residence permit for stays longer than three months.

If you’re from a country that doesn’t benefit from EU freedom of movement, such as the UK, New Zealand, Canada or the US for example, you can take advantage of the 90-day rule, which means you can travel to Italy visa-free for up to 90 days in every 180.

This may be enough if you’re a digital nomad and only want to spend some time in Italy before returning home. However, if you want to stay longer, you’ll most likely need to work out which visa you’ll need.

Work visas

If you’re planning to move to Italy outside of these parameters you’ll need a work visa. Let’s look at non-EU citizens, as work visas apply to this group.

As a non-EU citizen, there are three main documents you need to live and work in Italy:

a work permit
a work visa
a residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) within 8 days of arriving in Italy.

If you’re working remotely, you may choose to be self-employed or, if you have a really understanding boss who’ll let you live abroad, you may continue working for a company in your home country.

Let’s look at the self-employment route first.

If you’re planning on working for yourself, with potentially various clients, but you want to do so while living in Italy, you’ll need a self-employment visa.

The process can be tricky and take months, so it’s best to ensure you account for long timescales before transferring your life to Italy.

It’s also far from guaranteed, even if you’re ready to take on the bureaucracy. Tax advisor Bolla warned that this visa has one of the highest rejected application rates.

What’s more, there is a cap on how many foreign national workers are allowed to come into Italy each year, which is determined by the so-called Inflow Decree, or ‘decreto flussi’.

This only opens for a few months every year and it’s the only time non-EU nationals can apply for all kinds of work visa.

This year’s cap has still not been released, but for 2020 the government decree set the limit at 30,850. Very few of those are allocated to self-employed workers – just 500 in 2020 – so you’ll need to be tenacious and quick to get hold of one.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that, among other documents, you’ll also need to show proof of accommodation, funds exceeding €8,500 and a police check.

If you do manage to claim one of these elusive self-employment visas, you can enter Italy.

Once you’re in the country, you have eight days to apply for a ‘permesso di soggiorno’ (a residence permit), which will be issued by your local Questura (the provincial police headquarters).

The visa is valid for two years initially and can be renewed.

What about being an employee for a company in another country?

In this case, you’re still on a payroll somewhere and don’t count as self-employed in Italy.

As stated above, provided you are an EU national, there will be no requirement to obtain a visa or work permit.

If you’re not lucky enough to be in this group, it gets tricky.

EXPLAINED: How to get an Italian work visa

How to work remotely in Italy. — Photo by Hannah Wei on Unsplash

If you are British and covered by the post-Brexit Withdrawal Agreement (for people resident in Italy before December 31st 2020) – the carta di soggiorno maintains your right to work in Italy.

However, the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement does not contain any provisions to allow new remote working arrangements in the way that UK citizens may hope is possible.

EXPLAINED: What Brits need to know about visas for Italy after Brexit

Employees are entitled to stay in Italy for a maximum period of 90 days without needing to apply for a visa or a residence permit.

Beyond that, it’s currently not possible to stay working in Italy for any longer under these conditions – that is, remotely and without a work visa.

For everyone else, Italy’s official visa portal has created a questionnaire which shows the visa requirements that may apply to you, depending on your reason of stay and how long you intend to stay.

Furthermore, the EU guidelines on moving and working in Europe have provided this advice: “As a basic rule, you are subject to the legislation of the country where you actually work as an employed or a self-employed person. It doesn’t matter where you live or where your employer is based.”

Living and working in Italy

If you decide to make the move and live and work in Italy, what do you need to do?

Once you’ve figured out which work visa is right for you (for those who need one), you’ll then need to apply for residency.

A work visa is a type of long-stay visa that allows you to enter Italy only. After that, you will also have to get an Italian residence permit (permesso di soggiorno) in order to be allowed to stay for longer than 90 days.

READ ALSO:

There are a few different types of permit to stay in Italy and it must correlate with your intentions and with the conditions of your visa.

The permesso di soggiorno is usually processed in about three to six months, and the duration varies according to the type. Having the permit will give you full access to public healthcare, social assistance and education.

After five years of residence in Italy a non-EU citizen can apply for a permesso di soggiorno per soggiornanti di lungo periodo (permission to stay for a long period), which can be renewed less frequently. But you’ll need to meet certain conditions like having a minimum income and passing a language test.

Tax and social security

This is often an area that trips people up if they work for international clients but live in Italy. Where do the taxes get paid to?

“If you live in Italy, you pay taxes in Italy,” Bolla clarified.

If you’re a resident in Italy, as an employee you are subject to Italy’s income tax rates known as ‘Irpef’ (L’imposta sul reddito delle persone fisiche), which currently range from a minimum of 23 percent to a maximum of 43 percent.

The employer is also required to pay the social security contributions to Italian Social Security Authority (INPS) – even if the employer is based outside Italy.

READ ALSO:

This is currently equal to a minimum of 33 percent of earnings, of which approximately 9 percent falls to the employee.

Different tax rates apply for freelancers with tax breaks available to new residents – and of course, you’re responsible for paying social security contributions too.

You’ll need to file an annual tax return in Italy as stipulated by the worldwide taxation principle, which dictates that you must report your worldwide income and therefore file your taxes in the country where you reside.

You shouldn’t be paying your taxes twice, however, according to Italy’s Inland Revenue (Agenzie delle Entrate).

“Italy has bilateral agreements with many foreign countries to avoid double taxation on income and capital. These agreements establish the range of the power to set taxes of the two States,” the tax authorities stated.

The subject of tax for remote workers is complicated, so please seek professional advice based on your personal circumstances before proceeding.

Have you moved to Italy to work remotely? Please get in touch or leave a comment below to tell us about your experience.

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