Bonsai master · UBI and IBS instructor · FISAR sommelier
Matteo
Dal Lago
The elegance of patience. Shaping time: one tree, one glass, one handshake at a time.
Attention to detail, measure, elegance.
My name is Matteo Dal Lago. I have been growing bonsai for almost thirty years, I have always loved wine, and for over twenty-five years my work has been about relationships.
I like to present myself with care, out of respect for people and for things: the same respect a tree living in a pot asks of you.
Three soulsA passion that became a discipline, a pleasure cultivated with method, a profession made of people. Three paths, one style: attention to detail, measure, elegance.
It all began with a Chinese elm.
It was 1997: a charity stall, a small elm and the curiosity to understand how to care for a tree that lives in a pot. That elm is still with me.
Years of self-teaching followed, made of trials, mistakes and seasons. Then study with Maurizio Rovida, a pioneer of bonsai in Italy, seminars with Marco Invernizzi, and my path as a student of Mauro Stemberger, an internationally renowned master, at his school Italian Bonsai Dream. I have travelled to Japan several times to study up close the gardens and collections that shaped the history of this art.
Today I teach as an instructor of the Italian Bonsai Union (UBI) and of the Italian National College of Bonsai and Suiseki Instructors (IBS). I sit on the board of the Marostica Bonsai Club, which I have helped grow over the years.
A bonsai is never finished.
It is accompanied.
- 1997
The first tree
A Chinese elm and the start of a passion that became a discipline.
- Study
Masters and Japan
Student of Mauro Stemberger (Italian Bonsai Dream); study with Maurizio Rovida and seminars with Marco Invernizzi; study trips to Japan.
- 2016
Italia Bonsai Museum
Co-founder of the museum in Marostica (Vicenza), a permanent collection open to the public.
- 2018
UBI Vice-President
Appointed vice-president of the Italian Bonsai Union, then re-confirmed on the national board.
- Awards
Merit award, UBI National Congress
A recognition reserved for the best trees in competition. Students awarded at national level.
- Today
UBI and IBS instructor
Board of the Marostica Bonsai Club. Courses and demonstrations in Italy, Spain and Germany.
Observe
Read the tree before touching it: its history, its direction, its character.
Leave space
Emptiness is part of the form. Every cut is a choice that stays for years.
Wait
Time is the real material. Patience is the most important tool.
Courses for beginners, and for those who want to grow.
Teaching is the most rewarding part of bonsai for me: passing on the gesture, not just the technique. I guide newcomers and those who want to strengthen their foundations, with hands-on work on their own trees.
I run beginner courses for those taking their first steps in bonsai and, on request, I work with enthusiasts as a private teacher, side by side on their trees. I am also available for demonstrations and meetings with clubs and associations.
Ask for informationFor the club’s activities and members-only courses, visit the Marostica Bonsai Club website.
- Beginner coursesFor new bonsai lovers: cultivation, seasonal care, first styling
- Private teacherOne-to-one lessons on request, on your trees and your collection
- DemonstrationsFor clubs, associations and events
At the table, every glass tells of a place.
I am a FISAR sommelier and a true lover of wine and food. I taste a wine the way I look at a bonsai: slowly, searching for the hand of whoever guided it.
For me, wine and food belong together. A traditional dish and the wine of its land tell the same story: the climate, the soil, the work of those who grow and those who cook. I look for that meeting in the cellars I visit, in the trattorias I keep going back to, and at the stove with friends.
I love pairings that surprise yet make sense: acidity that refreshes the palate, tannin that finds its match, the season suggesting both the dish and the glass.
Listen
Aroma comes before the sip. A wine reveals itself with time, in the glass.
The season
Every ingredient has its best moment. The same is true of a bottle.
Harmony
In a good pairing nothing dominates: dish and wine complete each other.
A good bottle is not only to be judged:
it is to be told, and above all shared.
A profession of trust and keeping one’s word.
A law graduate, after my legal traineeship I worked from 2001 to 2026 at Wolters Kluwer Italia – CEDAM, a historic Italian legal publisher, as area manager leading the sales agent network across Italy.
Training and leading a sales network, looking after key clients, from notary offices to law firms: work built on long-term relationships, precision, listening and style, always presenting yourself with care and respect for the person in front of you. The same qualities a tree asks for.
Contact
Let’s talk about trees, wine and time.
For courses, demonstrations, advice on your tree, or simply a chat, perhaps over a good glass.
Write to me