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Issue 593 - September 5th - 9th 2022 - Expressly created for 4.376 wine lovers, professionals and opinion leaders from all over the world |
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An icon also of the “noble” passion for the countryside, with a flavor of yesteryear, and the love of agriculture and its fruits. Starting with wine, and Italian wine in particular, which in her 70-year reign she helped introduce to the world, when our labels certainly did not have the celebrity they have today, becoming the most famous wine lover, from the wines served at court to those donated and uncorked on her visits to Italy. WineNews traced Queen Elizabeth’s connection to the world of food and wine, underlying which is an interest in nature, to be cherished for the future and passed on to the young, which also makes her the most “pop” icon. |
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Agricultural entrepreneur, producer (also of wine), historic supporter of Slow Food, lover of Italian wine (thanks to his family’s historical connection with the Frescobaldi family, recounted in depth by Lamberto Frescobaldi), and also sommelier ad honorem: this is also his majesty King Charles III of England, who ascended the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. A king, Charles of England, who has always been attentive to agricultural issues. Not only as an organic food producer, farmer and winemaker on his Highgrove House estate in Gloucestershire. But also as a supporter of British farmers, for example, with “The Prince’s Countryside Fund”, launched in 2010, as Prince of Wales, to support farming families in the United Kingdom. But King Charles has long been a lover of Italy and its wine, agricultural and gastronomic heritage, as told by so many things that WineNews, over the years, has reported. Starting with the Windsor family’s historical friendship with the Frescobaldi family, which, for seven hundred years, has had relations with the British Crown, of which, for wine and oil, it is a historical supplier, also thanks to the personal acquaintance of Bona and Vittorio Frescobaldi, with the royal house, who were among the very few Italians among the guests at the wedding of William, Charles’ son, with Kate Middleton, to whom they donated the Brunello di Montalcino Riserva di Castelgiocondo, not forgetting Charles’ visit to Tuscany in 1986. A bond, then, that had already blossomed in the 1980s, and was also strengthened in 2017, when as Prince of Wales, together with his consort, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, in Florence, he met personally met many protagonists of Italian wine, from Jacopo Biondi Santi, at the time at the helm of Tenuta Greppo Biondi Santi in Montalcino, to Giovanni Manetti (Fontodi), in Chianti Classico, from the Antinori family to Vittorio Moretti, patron of the Moretti group, as well as, of course, the Frescobaldi family, in the meeting organized by Franco Ricci, patron of the Italian Sommelier Foundation (Fis), who, on that occasion, presented Carlo and Camilla with the diploma of Sommelier of Honor. Not forgetting his friendship with Carlo Petrini and Slow Food, of which he was among the major promoters in the Uk. |
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With just 366,000 euros of Italian wine imported in the first 5 months of 2022, Cuba is certainly not a market to focus on. Yet, for the Chianti Consortium it has now become a must-see stop. Havana, for years, has been celebrating the 55th anniversary of the legendary Cohiba, the flagship Cuban cigar of the Habanos brand, a historic partner of Chianti, with an event that has made “the island the destination of choice for the international jet set, with 1,200 arrivals expected”, as the president of the Chianti Consortium, Giovanni Busi, tells WineNews. “That’s why it’s important to be there, to enjoy a showcase of the highest level, which allows making acquaintances and agreements with entrepreneurs arriving from all over the world”. |
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Wine, with its prestige and added value, and with an increasingly pronounced export propensity is, for a long time now, the main product of Italian agribusiness. And so it is not surprising that, among the agricultural lands of Italy, it is the vineyards, in general, that are the most valuable. Starting with those of the most prestigious appellations and the most valuable wines on the market. According to Crea’s study on the “Land and Rental Market in Italy in 2021”, the highest-valued vineyards remain those of Barolo Docg, which reach 1.5 million euros. On the podium, they are followed by the very rare ones of the Alto Adige Doc in the area of Lake Caldaro, which touch 800,000 euros per hectare, and the Docg vineyards of the hills of Montalcino, the land of Brunello, which reach 700,000, while the Docg vineyards of Valdobbiadene, the cradle (along with Conegliano) of Prosecco Docg, touch the 600,000 euro maximum quotation. Peaks of 500,000 euros are still touched in Alto Adige (in the lower Venosta Valley and the Isarco Valley), they reach 480,000 euros per hectare in the Bolgheri Docg. Also among the top (in more detail) are the vineyards of the Asolo DOCG, the vineyards of Collina Bresciana, Chianti Classico, Pantelleria, Chambave, in Val d’Aosta, Valtellina and Castelli Romani. |
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“Love in the villa - Falling in love in Verona” is the latest romantic comedy produced by Netflix, set in the city of Romeo and Juliet, in which there is no shortage of wine. Which, in fact, flows in spades. Especially in one of the mother scenes, filmed among the barrels of Amarone made by Tommasi, one of the landmarks of Valpolicella and beyond, whose labels - from Amarone Riserva De Buris, Brunello di Montalcino Casisano to Synthesi Aglianico del Vulture by Paternoster, to Lugana Le Fornaci - appear at various times in the film. |
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International tensions, the gas crisis and inflation also seem to be cooling enthusiasm in the market for collecting and investing in great wines. According to August 2022 data from the Liv-Ex, the benchmark for this niche of the wine market, the Liv-Ex 100 is seeing a mixed performance. Because, as the Liv-Ex itself explains, it is up +1.3% in August over July 2022 when measured in pounds, but actually down -1.8% when measured in Euros, and down +3.4 % when calculated in dollars. And, since the beginning of the year, fine wine prices are down -3.2% in euros, and -14.1% in dollars. In any case, among the top performers, among Italians Masseto 2017 stands out, and in the “top 10” for price growth is also Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia. |
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The first event to present the wine production of Tuscany, which will go on the market in 2023, has started from Bolgheri, Italy’s top wine territory. At “Bolgheri DiVino”, under the direction of the Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini Doc Bolgheri and Bolgheri Sassicaia, the protagonists are the Bolgheri Superiore vintage 2020 (and the Bolgheri Doc 2021), and which come from a vintage that allowed winemakers to bring to the cellar grapes with balanced ripeness with good levels of acidity, with wines marked by elegance and finesse. |
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