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Issue 505 - December 28th 2020 - January 1st 2021 - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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The discovery actually dates back to excavations made over the last few years, choosing to reveal its existence during this new lockdown is perhaps not accidental, or so we would like to think. The re-emergence of the thermopolium in the Regio V, submerged by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE in Italy, reveals all the antique beauty of that conviviality that we now must do without. A place in the square that was the center of life for the neighborhood, where the frescoes of the stand with the sign and dishes served, amphorae that contained local wine and traces of food in the jars and earthenware pots, testify to the habit of our ancestors to consume “out of home”. |
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More than just saying good-bye to 2020, we would like to sweep it away and forget it. Yet, the wine world, even through the challenges it faced, has continued to look ahead, thanks to wineries and producers capable of not giving up, and that the Wine Lister portal wanted to celebrate with seven different rankings which measured the performances of wine brands in as many categories, limited to great wines from the best territories of the world, including Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piedmont, Tuscany, Alsace, Germany, Spain and the New World. The first list was dedicated to “Quality Consistency”; that is, taking into consideration the last twenty vintages, of the top wines for average quality, which have undergone the fewest deviations in terms of scores, with three Italian wines: Barolo Monfortino Riserva by Giacomo Conterno in position number 6, Elio Altare’s Barolo Brunate at number 18 and Sangiovese Soldera - Case Basse, one of the symbolic wines of Montalcino, at number 19. Among the “Biggest Movers”, the wines that climbed the highest number of positions in the ranking of online searches, there are Il Poggione’s Brunello di Montalcino and Bartolo Mascarello’s Barolo. The “Hidden Gems” are those undervalued or off-the-radar wines that are not very popular online, but critics really like, such as Renato Corino’s Barolo Arborina, Barbaresco Riserva by Sottimano and Anfiteatro Vecchie Terre by Montefili. Among the “Value Picks”, those wines that can boast the best quality/price ratio, Barbaresco Valeirano by La Spinetta (Rivetti) and Barbaresco Tulin by Pelissero. The “Buzz Brands” are wines that are on the crest of the wave, sought after, on the wine lists, popular, even coveted - truly wine icons, such as Barolo Monfortino Riserva by Giacomo Conterno, together with Masseto, Sassicaia by Tenuta San Guido and Tignanello from Antinori. Thinking about the wallet, among the “Investment Staples” there are Gaja’s Barbaresco, Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Monfortino Riserva, Antinori’s Solaia and Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia. Finally, you can give your imagination free rein with a selection of 21 wines to bring to 2021, including Gaja’s Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn 2004, Giuseppe Rinaldi’s Barolo Brunate 2010, La Cerbaiona’s Brunello di Montalcino 2007 and Soldera’s Sangiovese 2008 Case Basse. |
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Among the most awaited rankings of the end of the year, there is the “Top 100 Most Searched-For Wines” by Wine-Searcher, which lists the most searched online. In the imagination of wine lovers, a lot, a lot of France, but also the most iconic labels of Italy. It is here that the super quoted champions of auctions and investments find their place, with the most famous Champagne, Dom Pérignon, on the highest step of the podium, followed by the Premier Cru of Bordeaux. The first Italian wine is Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia, at position 8. Just out of the top ten, there is Marchesi Antinori’s Tignanello. In the “Top 100” there are Ornellaia, Masseto, Solaia, Monfortino di Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, Fontodi and Il Poggione, the last Italian wine in a ranking dominated by France, with 55 wines out of the 100 most searched wines on Wine-Searcher. |
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The toasts of this New Year’s Eve were, without a doubt, less cheerful than usual. More “intimate”, forcibly, without the possibility of sharing them with friends, in restaurants, in the squares. Maybe they were not many less, it seems, despite the lack of everything outside the home (-70/-75% during the holiday season, according to Federvini, with an almost total loss given the closures imposed on New Year’s Eve), because Italians have not given up the ritual of greeting each other. But they were definitely different, and they made people turn over less money (Ovse-Ceves, the Osservatorio Centro Studi Economici Vini Speciali, talks about volumes similar to 2019, down just -2%, in line with the overall estimates for the holidays made by Unione Italiana Vini, with a loss in turnover, for Italian bubbles, of -35% on consumption, while many wineries heard by WineNews speak of losses in turnover between -15%/-30%, ed). Between the need to save money, but also because conviviality has been missing. And may it return soon, is the wish of WineNews, to which you can toast with the bubbles you like best, whether a Franciacorta or a Prosecco Doc, an Alta Langa or a Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Docg, a TrentoDoc or an Asti Docg, an Oltrepò Pavese or a Durello, just to name a few. |
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“Wine-Searcher” draws up “The World’s Top 10 Best Value Wines”, divided by 10, 20, 40 and 80 dollars per bottle. If in the first two “win” the whites, such as Soave and Lugana, in the $40 range are Barbaresco 2016 by Produttori del Barbaresco and Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Castello di Fonterutoli 2016 by Mazzei. At $80, Fattoria Galardi’s 2006 Terra di Lavoro, Le Potazzine’s 2015 Brunello di Montalcino, Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona’s 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Pianrosso and Elio Grasso’s 2015 Barolo Vigna Gavarini Chiniera. |
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At the top of the ranking of the most expensive wines of the world according to “Wine-Searcher” there is Dom Pérignon Rosé Gold (56,978 dollars). By limiting the selection to Italian wines only, at position no. 1 there is Giuseppe Quintarelli’s Amarone (1,068 euros), followed by Giacomo Conterno’s Barolo Riserva Monfortino (1,030 euros) and Nonino’s Acquavite d’Uva “Collezione Nonino” (811 euros). At position no. 4 the Barbaresco Crichet Pajet of Roagna (722 euros), then Barolo Riserva of Bartolo Mascarello (716 euros), Masseto (710 euros), Brunello di Montalcino Riserva of Case Basse - Soldera (687 euros), Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli “Calvari” by Miani (578 euros), Barolo Le Rocche di Castiglione Falletto by Bruno Giacosa (539 euros) and Barolo Monprivato Ca d’Morissio by Giuseppe Mascarello e Figlio (527 euros). |
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No taxes and no quotas: the agreement on the exit of Great Britain from the European Union protects one of the most precious pieces of Italian export, wine, from bad surprises. By value, in 2019 - according to Istat data analyzed by WineNews - exports to the UK touched 770 million euros, but in the first 9 months of this year the drop was 9.2%. The main category is sparkling wines, essentially Prosecco, which were worth 373 million euros in 2019. The decline, for shipments of bubbles, is more sustained: -20.6%. |
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