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Issue 376 - July 9nd - 13th - Expressly created for 11.897 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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“In recognition of the professionalism and competence demonstrated through years of intense work in the world of information in general and the wine sector in particular, which communicates every day, on different levels, news from Italy and the world, at the service of the entire sector”. This is the motivation of Assoenologi, led by Riccardo Cotarella, who, at the Conference in Trieste, awarded the “Targa d’Oro” to the staff of WineNews (founded in 1999 by Alessandro Regoli and Irene Chiari). It is one of the most prestigious in the Italian wine world, and in the past has been given to great names of culture and wine journalism like Veronelli and Soldati. |
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Culture is an essential condition for the growth of a sector, specifically, that of the Italian food industry, which will be able to guarantee a future only by learning to know, defend and protect its own unique qualities and roots. These are the words of Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, who shook up the wine world at the Italian winemakers 73rd Conference held recently in Trieste. “Wine and food”, said Petrini - has a holistic dimension, in which everything is included: environment, health, biodiversity, culture, history, anthropology and identity. If this is not our vision, we will not be able to understand the times ahead of us, and wine, which is the spearhead of this world, must fully understand that evolution will be radical, also in respect to the future of agriculture. We do not want to remain in an antiquated vision. Mutagenesis, which the EU will allow starting on July 25th, is a revolutionary process that speeds up the processes of nature, and it will allow us all to respond to climate change as well as reduce the use of chemicals”. As I said before, a revolution will be possible only if there is awareness at the base of the importance of culture, which goes beyond wine. “We talk a lot about markets, but the what is missing is the pride for one’s culture, on the whole, from wine to music, literature to landscapes. How is it possible that a Tuscan producer does not know about the Renaissance, or that a winemaker from the Langhe has never read Fenoglio? A country cannot grow without culture behind it. It is disappointing that the accent always falls on the commercial aspects. We must link the cultural thread to work, even that of the oenologist; otherwise nothing will happen. Take for instance, the Chinese market. If we think we can conquer it using only the sensorial characteristics of wines, we have missed the point. We must stimulate curiosity for Italy and for its treasures. We are full of villages that are being abandoned, parish priests are leaving, shops are closing, villages are become dormitories, and Tintoretto paintings remain segregated in country churches that nobody ever opens. This is where you need to invest in culture, especially because those who make wine pay very few taxes, so it is appropriate that they reinvest in the territories”. |
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“It is impossible to think of influencing and changing the food system and everything in it by remaining alone, isolated on our positions and maybe even afraid of being contaminated, crossing other paths that are not ours, or listening to different voices. We must have the strength and fortitude to open up and include the many people with whom we share fundamental objectives such as the fight against waste, overcoming inequalities, protecting biodiversity and climate change”. These are the words of the president of Slow Food Carlo Petrini at the Conference in Montecatini, for the future. Food, once it is definitely “good, clean and right, also becomes healthy, because healthiness is essential, and when we talk about health we are more often referring to what we eat and the environment”, said the president of Slow Food Italy, Gaetano Pascale. |
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Following a long and continuous period of growth, in the first five months of 2018 American wine imports recorded 6.8% decrease compared to the same period of the previous year, according to numbers reported by the Italian Wine & Food Institute. The slump in quantity, however, was accompanied by + 9.7% increase in value which, according to the IWFI, is principally due to a widespread increase in prices and, as far as Europe is concerned, also from the not very favorable Dollar-Euro exchange rate. US imports, in the first five months of the year, amounted to 3.89 million hectoliters, for a value of 1.92 billion US dollars, compared to 4.17 million hectoliters for a value of 1.75 billion dollars, in the corresponding period of the previous year. Italian exports rose from 1.06 million hectoliters, for a value of 546.67 million dollars in 2017, to 1.064 million hectoliters for a value of 608.72 million dollars in the first five months of 2018, recording + 0.6% increase in quantity and +11.3% in value. Sparkling wines did very well, reaching 313.730 hectoliters, for a value of 177.9 million US dollars, + 19.5% increase in quantity and + 33.3% in value. |
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Bubbles are the driving force on markets, and even in this segment, the fight for the top position is as always between France and Italy that dominated at “The Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2018”, the “world championships” created by Tom Stevenson. The French have won a total of 83 medals, and Italy’s total 71, including 34 gold medals. Trentodoc is the absolute star at 22 top awards (9 signed Ferrari and 7 Rotari-Mezzacorona), followed by Franciacorta 8, Prosecco DOCG 3, and Prosecco DOC that received 1. |
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The University Federico II Department of Agriculture, in Naples, which is the first in Italy dedicated to the subject and the first Gastronomic Sciences for the Campania Region, has instituted the first Bachelor’s Degree in Mediterranean Gastronomic Sciences. It offers subjects ranging from agricultural production, food and gastronomic technologies, history, sociology, communication, marketing and economics. The degree was “baptized” yesterday at the Bourbon Palace of Portici, by Gaetano Manfredi, Rector of the largest University in southern Italy, with the participation of starred chefs and great pizza chefs like Alfonso Iaccarino, Gennaro Esposito, Gino Sorbillo and Franco Pepe, the Minister for Education Marco Bussetti, who underlined that “Federico II is a candidate to become the international point of reference in the sector. Made in Italy is the calling card of our excellences”. |
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Italian “know-how” in the vineyard on top of the world: “Guide pratique de la taille Guyot: Prévenir les maladies du bois” by Marco Simonit (Editions France Agricole Gfa), is the best book in the “Viticulture” category of the 2018 edition of “Prix de l’OIV”, the recognition of the International Organization of Vine and Wine, which is a kind of “Nobel Prize” in wine-grape literature. Another success for Marco Simonit and Pierpaolo Sirch’s Pruning School of Vines project, which has brought the two men to the most prominent wineries in Italy and France. |
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