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Issue 720 - February 10th - 14th 2025 - Expressly created for 3756 wine lovers,
professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world | |
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| | | “It is now usual to compare wine with spirits and aperitifs solely because of the alcohol component they have in common. It is an abuse that has lasted for too long”, but “it is not a matter of establishing hierarchies or fomenting competition between different products”, but rather “to offer maximum clarity to the users”, because to say “that the consumption of wines, spirits or aperitifs is similar or even just similar is misleading and incorrect precisely because of the purposes and different ways of consumption”. Here is the speech by Angelo Gaja, the “artisan” of Italian wine par excellence, to shed light on a crucial crux of the Italian culture we export to the world. | |
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| | Wine Paris consecrated as the great international trade fair to speak to the world, with France at the center, but Italy increasingly the protagonist (and whose presence, already doubled this year, is destined to grow even more); Vinitaly is Italy’s cornerstone, and a privileged showcase for the wineries of the Belpaese; ProWein put to the test by French growth, with Italian (and French) exhibitors expected to drop sharply, but destined to remain as a bridgehead in a key market for so many Italian wineries, such as Germany. This is the scenario that emerged loud and clear from Wine Paris, from the voices of hundreds of companies and producers, large and small, from many different territories, met by WineNews at the Parisian fair (who expressed great appreciation not only for the logistics that a big city like Paris can offer, net of a few details that can still be improved, but also for the online platform that allows companies and profiled buyers to get in touch before the fair, favoring the meeting between supply and demand). And from where the world's wine seeks the shot in the arm to return to growth, with a desire to look beyond today's difficulties. In a framework in which Wine Paris, signed by Vinexposium, therefore, is a candidate not only to be the center of gravity of world business, but also to the role of “influencer”, lobbying against world politics, as evidenced by the birth of the “Voice” project, not only a magazine but a platform that gathers contributions and visions from opinion leaders and protagonists of the sector, “a voice of the sector for the sector”, as explained, by Rodolphe Lameyse, ceo Vinexposium (in the coming days the video interview, together with the voices of Italian producers, on WineNews): “we are happy with this edition of Wine Paris, we see that business is really happening, there is a great positive energy. Today we are an international fair, there are exhibitors and buyers really from all over the world. And if Italian producers ask for more space (there are many companies present, with almost 1,000 exhibitors from Italy, but many also on the waiting list, ed.), we are ready to think about how to accommodate them, and that goes for everyone in the world. But it has to be something that suits everyone, exhibitors and visitors”. | |
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| | After a “Buy Wine” that confirmed the great interest in the wine of Tuscany (in the first 10 months exports at +4.8% in volume and +10% in value, Ismea data), the Region, yesterday with PrimAnteprima (in Florence), officially opened the “Week of the Previews of Tuscany”. And if the protagonists, between Florence and the territories, are the most emblazoned and emerging appellations, including Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Chianti Classico, Chianti & Morellino di Scansano, L’Altra Toscana and Valdarno di Sopra Doc, also in the spotlight is the great Igt Toscana, a cornerstone of the region’s wine system: 89 million bottles produced in 2024, 69% destined for export, with 15,000 hectares claimed, an all-time record, for a production value of around half a billion euros, according to the consortium led by Cesare Cecchi. | |
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| | | Picture an evening at dinner surrounded by VIPs such as Donatella Versace, couple David and Victoria Beckham, actors Helen Mirren, Stanley Tucci and Sienna Miller, singer Rod Stewart, producers Lamberto Frescobaldi and Chiara Soldati, fashion designers Brunello Cucinelli, Angela Missoni, Patrizio Bertelli (Prada), Renzo Rosso (Diesel), Remo Ruffini (Moncler, Maurizio Marinella, Roberto Bolle, but also Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food, chefs Carlo Cracco, Davide Oldani, Giorgio Locatelli, pizza maker Franco Pepe, Federico Marchetti, chairman of the Fashion Task Force, entrepreneurs such as Emma Marcegaglia, Andrea Illy and Guido Barilla, architect Stefano Boeri, Italian Ambassador to Britain Inigo Lambertini and British Ambassador to Rome Lord Edward Liewell: all hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the Highgrove Estate to celebrate the relationship between Italy and the UK. An event that, between ravioli and Gavi, porchetta and Barbaresco, Recioto and zuppa inglese, in recent days, sealed the announcement of the sovereign’s official visit to Italy in April. And if Lamberto Frescobaldi awaits, sooner or later, King Charles’s visit to Tuscany, to see again an olive tree he himself planted back in 1986, as he told WineNews, Chiara Soldati of La Scolca, emphasizes the great work that has been done for Made in Italy.
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| | | Reinvent product portfolios, focus on high-growth segments such as low or “zero” alcohol, functional beverages and so-called “premium experiences”, but also use advanced analytics to forecast demand, improve shopper engagement. Strengthen retail partnerships to align sustainability initiatives and innovate in the ready-to-drink alcohol segment. These are some of Circana’s suggestions from Wine Paris 2025. | |
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| | There is Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia 2021 at the top of the “Top 100 Italian Red Wines” 2025 ranking compiled by Gentleman, the monthly magazine of MilanoFinanza. Next on the podium is Marchesi Antinori’s Solaia 2021, and in third place is the “one-two” Barbaresco signed by Angelo Gaja, Sorì Tildin 2021 and Sorì San Lorenzo 2021. At No. 4 is Masseto 2021, followed, at No. 5, by Brunello di Montalcino 2019 Poggio di Sotto, ex aequo with Montiano 2021 Famiglia Cotarella and Gianfranco Fino’s Es 2022. In position No. 6 Dedicated to Walter 2020 Poggio al Tesoro, at No. 7 the San Leonardo 2019 Tenuta San Leonardo, at No. 8 the Ornellaia 2021 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia and at No. 9 the Lupicaia 2019 Castello del Terriccio. At No. 10 three labels: the Kurni 2022 Oasi degli Angeli, the Montefalco Sagrantino 25 anni 2020 Arnaldo Caprai, and the Tenuta di Trinoro 2021 Tenuta di Trinoro. | |
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| | Antonio Massucco, Banfi Piemonte winemaker-manager, for “Best Sparkling”, the Alta Langa, with the 2012 Cuvée Aurora Riserva 100 Mesi; Mirco Balliana, Andreola winemaker in Cartizze, for “Best Prosecco”, the Dirupo Valdobbiadene Docg Brut 2023; Gianfranco Gallo, winemaker-manager of the Vie Di Romans family winery in Friuli, for “Best Pinot Grigio”, the Friuli Isonzo Dessimis 2022; and David Landini, gm and ceo Villa Saletta in Tuscany, for “Best Sangiovese”, the Chiave di Saletta. Here are the best Italian “Master Winemaker 100” 2025 by “The Drinks Business”. | |
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