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Issue 769 - January 19th - 23rd 2026 - Expressly created for 3679 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | The iconic brand of Bolgheri, Sassicaia from Tenuta San Guido, and one of the symbolic products of the Langhe, Barbaresco, produced by one of the finest examples of virtuous cooperation and quality in Italian wine, Produttori del Barbaresco: these are the “champions”, the former in terms of value traded, the latter in terms of trading volume, of 2025 on Liv-Ex. A complex and still negative year, in general, for the secondary market of fine wines on the most famous dedicated platform, as analyzed by WineNews, but one that ended on a positive note. And from which interesting insights emerge (in more detail). | |
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| | Not only to reward the same wine: there is not even a unanimous opinion on the same winery among the 9 “national” guides selected by WineNews in its usual end-of-year comparison, offered by Italy’s most important publications in the genre (with Terlano, Ca’ del Bosco, G.D. Vajra, Boscarelli, Petrolo, and Ferrari awarded by 8). The same lack of unanimity is evident when it comes to individual labels (the best, and only one with 7, is San Leonardo 2020 from Tenuta San Leonardo), confirming a now well-established trend. This seems to indicate a certain degree of “confusion”, almost a loss of the comforting “certainties” gained in the past, even by wine critics, at a particularly critical time for the entire wine world. The result (in more detail the list of other wineries and wines that have received the most awards, in addition to the best ones already mentioned) emerges from WineNews’ classic comparison (edition no. 21) of the several hundred awards (net of any possible errors that, with such a large and heterogeneous database, could slip through, ed.) from the 9 “national” guides, 2026 edition, which include the “classic” ones with the longest “service record”: “Vini d’Italia” by Gambero Rosso, “I Vini di Veronelli” by Seminario Permanente Luigi Veronelli, “Bibenda” by Fondazione Italiana Sommelier-Fis, “Guida Essenziale ai Vini d’Italia” by Daniele Cernilli, “Vitae” by Sommelier Ais (with the “Gemma”, which symbolizes all those labels that deserve a score of 94 or more points out of 100), “Vite, vigne, vini d’Italia Slow Wine” by Slow Food, which, to complete the picture, have been joined in the comparison by three guides with a distinctive character, namely the “Vinibuoni d’Italia” guide by the Italian Touring Club - TCI (which, by editorial choice, mainly considers wines from native grape varieties), “I migliori 100 vini e vignaioli d’Italia” by “Corriere della Sera” (a guide edited by the deputy editor of the Via Solferino newspaper, Luciano Ferraro, and James Suckling), and “La Guida ai 1000 Vini d’Italia” by “L’Espresso,” edited by Luca Gardini (also from a very selective list of award-winning wines). | |
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| | Why and how wine is a strategic asset for Italy and how the territory is the element that acts as a “cornerstone”, understood both as origin and uniqueness, as a “brand” synonymous with production quality and scenic beauty, but also as real estate value at the business level. WineNews asked these questions to Alessandro Profumo, one of Italy’s most successful top managers, former head of banks such as Unicredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and companies such as Leonardo, now at the helm of Rialto Venture Capital. When asked what aspect he would analyze first if he were the manager of a winery (his son Marco Profumo produces wine with the Mossi 1558 winery in Colli Piacentini, ed.), he did not hesitate: “First, I would analyze the value of the territory”, he said, “because the value of wine is linked to the value of the territory”. | |
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| | | Piedmont wine is holding its own overall and looking to the future with confidence in the widespread quality of its products, recognized worldwide by critics and the market. And with many scenario analyses predicting it will be among the best-performing regions in 2026. Piedmont is increasingly working as a system, speaking with one voice to further enhance its many distinctive features, including lesser-known appellations, for example, with the Extended Geographical Indication “Piedmont”, to be added to DOC and DOCG wine labels, now approved by all the Consortia. A region that alone accounts for more than 14% of national wine exports (€553 million in the first six months of 2025, according to Istat data), and which will be in the spotlight at “Grandi Langhe e il Piemonte del vino” 2026, the 10th edition of the professional exhibition, created on the initiative of the Consorzio di Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe, and Dogliani, and the Roero Consortium, and now also supported by the Piemonte Land of Wine Consortium, to be held at the OGR in Turin on January 26 and 27. With over 500 wineries from all regions and an overall positive sentiment, as explained to WineNews by Francesco Monchiero, president of Piemonte Land, and Sergio Germano, head of the Barolo and Barbaresco Consortium. | |
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| | | From Yoko Ono to Günter Grass, from Igor Mitoraj to Dario Fo, from Corneille to Eduardo Arroyo, from Mimmo Paladino to Emilio Tadini, from Pierre Alechinsky to James Ivory, these are some of the world’s greatest artists who have signed the labels of Casanuova di Nittardi’s Chianti Classico, one of the most important art and wine collections, which is enriched by the artwork commissioned for the 2023 vintage from Chun Kwang Young, a South Korean artist and one of the most famous contemporary names in Asia, by the Femfert family, owners of the estate that belonged to Michelangelo. | |
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| | Faced with major difficulties that remain unresolved, but also with projects that look to the future, focusing in particular on the Metodo Classico and the new name “Classese”, Oltrepò Pavese looks ahead, aware of a characteristic that makes it unique: it is the most important territory in Italy and the third largest area in the world, after Burgundy and Champagne, dedicated to Pinot Noir. According to the director of the Consortium, Riccardo Binda, “it is one of the Italian wine regions with the greatest potential for development, and the only one based on Pinot Noir for making Metodo Classico sparkling wine”. Reflections from Vino Visioni Oltrepo, during the launch of “Visione Vino”, the “community” forum dedicated to the sector by Teha-The European House-Ambrosetti, which will present a preview of the “Visione Vino Strategic Report” 2026 in Oltrepo (October 16-17). | |
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| | A new entry that strengthens the role of wine within Altagamma: the historic Abruzzo winery Masciarelli, founded by Gianni Masciarelli and now run by his wife Marina Cvetic, joins the Foundation which, since 1992, has brought together the best Italian companies in all sectors. With many wine producers, such as Allegrini, Bellavista, Bertani, Biondi Santi, Ca’ del Bosco, Ferrari Trento, Feudi di San Gregorio, Frescobaldi, Livio Felluga, Masciarelli, Masi Agricola, Ornellaia, Pio Cesare, and Tenuta Luce, but also spirits, with Nonino, Segnana, and Campari, and more. | |
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