Gambero rosso (Firm) - Italian wines 2017

Despite our best efforts, its not easy to write our introduction to the 30th edition of Italian Wines without giving ourselves a big pat on the back. But those whove been on board from the start cant fail to feel enormous satisfaction for having reached this milestone. Three decades is a long time and the world in general, not only the world of wine, has changed completely. For instance, in the summer of 1987, as the first pages of the first edition were taking shape (on a typewriter!), the Berlin wall, although crumbling, was still standing. And winemaking Italy was strenuously seeking to dig itself out of one of the blackest holes of its recent history. Getting the guide off the press was a great act of faith, a commitment to the thousand winemakers who, even then, were trying to express Italys huge winemaking potential with enthusiasm and creativity. Above all, this was a service for a new generation of aficionados and gourmets including ourselves who were looking for guidance and suggestions in a production landscape in determined and tempestuous evolution. It was the Renaissance of Italian wine, as that moment in time was dubbed, a time of unbelievable excitement and news, when the foundations were laid for the international success of our wine industry. The success of the guide, then and now, is based on a number of factors we can try to sum up briefly. For a start, it is a group effort, where tastings are always undertaken by panels of at least three people, and where bottles are blind tasted, in other words the taster cant be swayed by the label. The 30-plus local panels, with over 70 experienced tasters, sample the most interesting wines, which are then reviewed by a commission including the guides editors and the head tasters of the various regions. At this stage, the Tre Bicchieri (an expression acknowledged worldwide to mean excellent wine) winners are selected from among 1,600 or so wines. This year we placed 429 wines on the top step of the podium, which are quite a few more than the 32 we chose for the first edition, but then we only had 1,500 wines to taste, whereas now we get through no less than 45,000 wines a year. And the wineries assessed have risen from 500 to 2,400. The first decade of the guide was dedicated to strengthening the organization and editorial framework, and right from the early years we commissioned translations of the guide into English and German, more recently adding Chinese and Japanese, to confirm the international mission of Gambero Rosso. Which has spent the last decade working to consolidate its international image, and now organizes more than 40 events around the world every year, where the star of the show is Italian wine. Over the years we turned a clever but small-scale publication for the Italian market into a handbook for international wine lovers, but it is also a formidable tool for international wine professionals, to the point that our Uno, Due and Tre Bicchieri scores are now applied like those of any international financial rating agency. A great success which wouldnt have been possible without the 1,000-plus tasters over the years. So our warmest thanks go to all of them and to all the institutions, associations and agencies that have worked with us, supporting us towards this amazing milestone.

Here we are, then, drawing the conclusions of our tastings for this historic 30th edition. The 429 Tre Bicchieri awards comprised 80 for Tuscany, 75 for Piedmont, 38 for Veneto, 27 for Alto Adige, 26 for Friuli, 23 for Lombardy, 22 for Campania, 21 for Sicily, 20 for Marche, 14 for Emilia Romagna, 12 for Abruzzo, Sardinia and Puglia, 10 for Umbria and Trentino, 7 for Lazio, 6 for Valle dAosta and Liguria, 4 for Basilicata, 3 for Calabria, 1 for Molise.

Every year we also decide who has given the best performance overall in our opinion and given them our Special Awards: Red of the Year is a great Gioia del Colle Primitivo, Chiaromontes 2013 Muro SantAngelo Contrada Barbatto; White of the Year is Tenuta di Tavignanos truly refined, elegant 2015 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Misco; Sparkler of the Year went to Ruggeri & C. for 2015, and 20th vintage of the iconic 2015 Valdobbiadene Giustino B., definitely one of the best sparkling wines made from glera weve ever tasted; Sweet Wine of the Year went to Friuli, to Tal Lc Cuve Speciale from Lis Neris, a great meditation wine blended from two vintages, 2006 and 2008. Then we have Winery of the Year, Bellavista the big Franciacorta outfit and a leader in the Terra Moretti group, vaunting a long list of top subsidiaries in Franciacorta and in Tuscany. Best Value for Money was the excellent 2015 Pecorino from Abruzzos Tiberio. Grower of the Year is Aimone Vio, a talented Liguria vigneron of overwhelming passion. Up-and-Coming Winery is the Chianti-based Istine, a wonderful cellar with an assured future. The Sustainable Viticulture Award, a subject close to our hearts, goes to Roccafiore, in Umbria, which not only produces an excellent Grechetto di Todi but since its inception has been committed to sustainability. Readers will also find 88 Tre Bicchieri Verdi, wines produced by organic or certified biodynamic cellars. Last but not least, we include 88 award-winning wines available off the shelf for under 15 euros a bottle. We would like to thank Bolzano EOS, Cagliari and Perugia chambers of commerce, the Oltrep Pavese Quality Wine District association, the coordinators of Strade del Vino e dellOlio, the Arezzo Strada dei Vini wine trail, the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini di Jesi (IMT), and VINEA of Offida, ERSA Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Istituto Agronomico Mediterraneo of Valenzano, the Ente Vini Bresciani, Carcare (Savona) municipal council, Comitato Grandi Cru della Costa Tuscany, Assovini Sicily, the E. del Giudice Centro per lInnovazione della Filiera Vitivinicola in Marsala. Also, the protection consortiums of Gavi, Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Roero, Vini Colli Tortonesi, Nebbiolo dellAlto Piedmont, Caluso, Carema and Canavese, Oltrep Pavese, Vini di Valtellina, Franciacorta, Valcalepio and Vini Mantovani, Lugana, Valtenesi, Conegliano Valdobbiadene, Soave, Consorzio Vini Trentini, Bolgheri, as well as those of Bolgheri, Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Chianti Rufina, Morellino di Scansano, Montecucco, Carmignano, Orvieto, Montefalco, and finally the Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicily. Our thanks also to the regional wine cellars of Cassino Po in Lombardy, Roero and Nizza Monferrato, Canelli and Astesana; Cantina Comunale I Sri in Diano dAlba, Bottega del Vino in Dogliani, University of Bologna Degree Course in Viticulture and Oenology, Terre Naldi in Tebano, the Carpe Diem restaurant in Montaione, the Calidario in Venturina, Agriturismo Giuncola & Granaiolo of Rispescia, Citt del Gusto in Rome and I Naples, the regional wine cellar of Basilicata in Venosa, Caneva in Mogliano Veneto, the Bouchon restaurant in Messina, and Acqua San Martino of Codrongianos.

And last but not least, we would like to thank our entire team for the heartfelt passion in putting together IW, from the local tastings to drafting the profiles and editing the volume, and to all those who have worked with us over the years, with special thanks to Nereo Pederzolli, who has been at our side with steadfast commitment from the very start.

Gianni Fabrizio, Eleonora Guerini, Marco Sabellico