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Issue 538 - August 16th - 20th 2021 - Expressly created for 4.250 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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While in the touristic resorts of Italy people are toasting to summertime, with bubbles among the protagonists, it is right from one of the hearts of Italian sparkling wine production that starts the Italian harvest 2021, at a territorial level. That is from Franciacorta, where “harvesting has begun, starting from the vineyards of the southern side of Mount Orfano, where the harvesting of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc is always earlier than in more central areas”. Harvest will be lesser in quantity, compared to 2020, because of some spring frosts and hail at the end of July, however, this did not compromise the quality of grapes, explains the Consortium. |
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Between a first part of the year characterized by lockdowns and restrictions which forced wine lovers to drink and bottles of their hearts at home, and a restarting summer in which they went back to toasting in company, many will probably be thinking about replenishing their cellar’s stocks. And if among wine shops, a more and more qualified mass merchandisers and e-commerce which is growing impetuously, the channels and the tools to do it are not lacking, the doubt may come on what to buy, in front of an almost endless choice. A help, in this sense, can come from one of the many Italian and international rankings related to wine. Such as the one of the “Must Buys” of the UK portal “Wine Lister”, which through its algorithm takes into consideration the quality and the value of wine within its vintage and its appellation, as well as the latest information about the sector by the main actors of the global trade of fine wines. In a list periodically updated, at the top of the list, at 100 points according to the “Wine Lister Score”, there are a rare gem of French wine, such as Domaine Armand Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Premier Cru Clos SaintJacques 1964, and a classic of Italian wine such as Castello dei Rampolla’s Alceo 2013, Igt Toscana that originates in Chianti Classico, in Panzano in Chianti. As is the second Italian wine on the list, Fontodi’s 2015 Flaccianello della Pieve, at 99 points. Following, with 98 points there are gems such as Antinori’s Tignanello, with 2015 and 2016 vintages, but also Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Cascina Francia 2016, as well as Castello dei Rampolla’s Sammarco 2016, San Giusto a Rentennano’s Percarlo 2013 and 2015, Tenuta Masseto’s Masseto 2007 of the Frescobaldi group, as well as Castello di Ama’s Apparita 2013, Isole e Olena’s Cabernet Sauvignon Collezione de Marchi 2010 and Vietti’s Barolo Rocche di Castiglione 2014. There were also many Italian wines with 97 points from producers such as Romano dal Forno, Roberto Voerzio, Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera, Domenico Clerico, Luciano Sandrone, Galardi, Gaja, Masseto, Isole e Olena, Bartolo Mascarello, Bruno Giacosa, Castello di Fonterutoli di Marchesi Mazzei, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Montevertine, Elio Grasso, Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio, Le Macchiole, Roagna and La Cerbaiona (see more). |
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The route that takes wine from France to the USA, which in 2020 moved 1.8 billion dollars, followed by the one that goes from Italy to the States, with a value of 1.7 billion dollars, and then the Paris-London axis, which moved 1.3 billion dollars of wine, just ahead of the one between Rome and Berlin, which generated 1.2 billion dollars for Italian wineries: these are the most important “flows” of wine exchange, in terms of value, according to the analysis of Tridge. This is a curious analysis that, in the context of an increasingly vast and complex world of wine, tells of the bilateral axes that move the most value, and that tells, in its own way, when, from where and towards where wine moves in the world (the complete analysis in the in-depth article). |
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Cantina Valpolicella Negrar, a historical cooperative reality from Verona, is, for the fourth time, at the top, Cantina Tollo, one of the reference points of Abruzzo’s wine, is the first among cooperatives of Central Italy, La Guardiense, a symbol of Sannio, is at the top in the South: here is the best of Italian wine cooperation according to the authoritative German wine magazine “Weinwirtschaft”. On the podium of the top 20 there are also Cantine di Verona and Cantina Terre del Barolo, which were in the first place a year ago. Focusing on Central Italy, in second place there is MarcheDoc (Colonnara), with Vignaioli del Morellino di Scansano, a reference point in the area (170 members and 700 hectares, with a turnover of 13 million euros), in third place. In the South, instead, to complete the podium there are the Sardinian winery Santadi, a colossus for the economy of the Island of Nuraghi, with almost 1.8 million bottles, and Cva Canicattì. Cavit, Cantine Leonardo Da Vinci and others are also at the top of the list (see the complete list for more details). In the “Weinwirtschaft” ranking, cooperatives in Alto Adige are a story unto themselves, with Cantina di Terlano, a pioneer in the production of white wines for long aging, at the top, followed by Andrian and Tramin, with only one new entry, at number 4: San Michele Appiano, led by Hans Terzer. |
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More and more often, wine territories and their protagonists choose the language of cinema to tell their story. And now the Famiglie Storiche, the association that brings together 13 of the most important names in Valpolicella and Amarone, such as Allegrini, Begali, Brigaldara, Guerrieri Rizzardi, Masi, Musella, Speri, Tedeschi, Tenuta Sant’Antonio, Tommasi, Torre d’Orti, Venturini and Zenato, is ready to do it with the docufilm “Famiglie Storiche - A tale about Amarone” by young director Michael Gasparini. |
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For some people, it is an obsolete model, but La Place de Bordeaux, the complex distribution system which brings together Chateaux, négociants and wine merchants from all over the world, proves to be still useful. And not only for Bordeaux wines. Here comes the first Spanish: Telmo Rodriguez. And many Italians, including, since 2008, the legendary Masseto, to which Massetino was later added. Ornellaia, Ornellaia Bianco, Serre Nuove, Le Volte and Poggio alle Gazze also passed through the Place de Bordeaux. So did Solaia, Tignanello and Cervaro della Sala from the Antinori family, along with Colore by Bibi Graetz, Galatrona by Petrolo and Caiarossa. In 2019 it was the turn of Luce della Vite wines from Frescobaldi, followed by the first Etna Rosso, the one from Giovanni Rosso. |
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35 Italian gold medals from the “USA Wine Ratings 2021” signed by Beverage Trade Network, ranging from realities such as Mezzacorona Group, with three awards thanks to Rotari’s Trentodoc Brut 2015, Nero d’Avola 2019 and Stemmari’s Pinot Noir 2018, to Pasqua Vigneti e Cantine with the Famiglia Pasqua Amarone della Valpolicella 2016 and the 11 Minutes Rosé TreVenezie Igt 2020, from Giovanni Sordo, with the Barolo 2017 and the Barolo Ravera 2017, to Schenk Italian Wineries, with the Masso Antico Primitivo Igt Salento 2019 (all the award winners in the in-depth analysis). |
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