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Issue 548 - October 25th - 29th 2021 - Expressly created for 4.298 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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In order to make great wine, one needs vines that are carefully tended and under the strict control of the producers, on suitable land. An assumption that has always guided the Antinori family, one of those that has most marked “the Renaissance of Italian wine”. And that, with Tenuta di Biserno, a pearl near Bolgheri, owned by the brothers Ilaria, Piero and Lodovico, led by Niccolò Marzichi Lenzi (son of Ilaria and grandson of the two legendary producers), continues to invest. According to WineNews rumors, Tenuta di Biserno has acquired 140 hectares of land (15 hectares of vines) in Maremma, near another historic estate, Castello del Terriccio (Rossi di Medelana family). |
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The fine wines market, like any other market, follows a very specific logic. In some respects, it is similar to that of other luxury goods, while in others it follows its own rules. Rare items and the market demands obviously play a fundamental role, but the quality of the vintage - witness Bordeaux - constitutes another essential variable, in addition to the judgment of the critics and the prestige of the brand, which can radically change within a few years’ time. These data and aspects are very difficult to objectify, as they are sensitive to different interpretations upon which, in the end, it is almost impossible to build the right price for a bottle. This is true especially if we are referring to a niche market for a few, closely linked to the prestigious British wine merchants, who in the past have literally built the fortunes of entire territories, from Bordeaux to Champagne, and from Marsala to Porto. Briefly, this was the state of the art of the secondary market for fine wines until just over twenty years ago, when two Australian stockbrokers in London’s City, where billions of Sterling pounds, US dollars and euros are exchanged every day, and who were passionate about wine - James Miles and Justin Gibbs - decided to organize the category. Since then, the Liv-ex (which stands for London International Vintners Exchange) has become the reference point for every single collector or investor. This is where the exchanges happen, and this is where the real-time quotations of over 16.000 wine labels from all corners of the world, are made. They basically used the same financial tools; namely, data analysis, entrusted to a team of 40 young analysts, who work in the offices of the new headquarters, in the modern Metal Box Factory, an incubator of digital companies, only a stone's throw from Tate Modern, in London’s South Bank. WineNews met Justin Gibbs here, and he told them the story of the creation and growth of Liv-ex. It is now a privileged observatory on the fine wines market, which embraces investors and enthusiasts of all kinds and wines for almost every pocket. An absolute revolution: “we brought digitalization and transparency to the fine wines market” (full interview in the in-depth article). |
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He has been fully acquitted “because the alleged fact does not exist”. This is the end of the case involving Orlando Pecchenino, at the helm of one of the historical family-run wine companies in the Langhe, founded at the end of the 18th century. In 2016, he was accused of a serious offense in the wine world; that is, bottling a prestigious DOCG like Barolo outside the area. More so, especially for someone who, like Pecchenino himself, was president of the Consortium of Barolo and Barbaresco at the time. “It’s a great satisfaction, but no one will ever repay the damage”, Pecchenino writes to WineNews (see the in-depth). |
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Among Trentodoc, Franciacorta, but also Prosecco Docg of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, passing through the world of Lambrusco and more, Italy is the noblest land in the world for quality sparkling wines. More so than France or Champagne. And Ferrari, the reference winery for the “mountain bubbles” of Trentodoc, is once again the best producer of sparkling wines in the world. This is confirmed by the results of “The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2021”, the “world championship of bubbles” created by Tom Stevenson. Italy and Ferrari triumphed in a record-breaking edition: 139 gold medals in all, of which 58 for Italy (22 thanks to Trentodoc, the most awarded terroir and one that “never fails to amaze!”, said Stevenson, followed by Franciacorta with 15 and, a few lengths behind, Prosecco Docg, with 10), and 12 thanks to the Lunelli family winery, the most awarded of all. Italy, which overtook France (52 golds), also saw the Franciacorta brand, Cà del Bosco, and the Sicilian Azienda Agricola G. Milazzo shine with 5 gold medals. But among the wineries with the most award-winning wines were also Altemasi, Andreola, Borgo dei Posseri, Cantina Settecani, Lantieri de’ Paratico, Maso Martis and Nino Franco. |
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After raising €600,000, from 279 funding partners, “Jamin Portofino Underwater Wines”, a start-up founded in 2018 in Portofino, led by Ceo Emanuele Kottakhs, and specialized in the refinement of “underwater wines”, staged the largest wine and spirit immersion in the history of underwater cellaring, depositing over 20 types of wines and spirits into the sea, in a project unprecedented in terms of variety and scientific and research content. |
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The first nomadic artistic residence in Italy will be held among the vineyards of one of the most important wine regions in Italy and the world, and its historic winery. It is the winery Planeta’s “Journey to Sicily #9”. This ninth edition of the brand’s project has recently seen the artists Bea Bonafini (Bonn, 1990), Gili Lavy (Gerusalemme, 1987), Emiliano Maggi (Roma, 1977) and Diego Miguel Mirabella (Enna, 1988) traveling and visiting the beautiful and greatly diverse Sicilian territories that host its wine Estates, getting inspiration for their artworks that will be shown in a collective exhibition in Palermo, in 2022. A journey into lesser-known Sicily among the Tenute Ulmo in Sambuca di Sicilia, Dispensa in Menfi, Dorilli in Vittoria, Buonivini in Noto, Feudo di Mezzo on Etna and La Baronia in Capo Milazzo, accompanied by photographer Matteo Buonomo and writer Chiara Barzini. |
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In 10 years, 1.1 million kWh have been saved and over 2.3 million kg of CO2eq emissions avoided, the equivalent of planting 3,300 trees from scratch during their life cycle. These figures, in a nutshell, describe the first decade of life of Salcheto, Italy’s first off-grid winery, inaugurated in 2011 by Michele Manelli, in the land of Nobile di Montepulciano. The first to be self-sufficient in energy, a pioneer in environmental and social sustainability, and the driving force behind a change that has involved the territory and beyond. |
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