Gambero Rosso, publisher of the powerful annual Italian wine guide Vini d'Italia with its coveted tre bicchiere awards, has just announced the top award-winners in its 2009 guide. They appear below.
Mind you, Gambero Rosso itself has been in a state of some turmoil recently with considerable personnel changes, so it must have been quite a job to carry on business as usual with a reduced team at the helm.
Red wine of the year: Barbaresco Rabajà Riserva 2004 – Bruno Giacosa
White wine of the year: Chardonnay Cuvée Frissonnière Les Crêtes Cuvée Bois 2006 – Les Crêtes
Sparkling wine of the year: Brut Hausmannhof Riserva 1997 – Haderburg Sweet wine of the year: Moscato Passito di Saracena 2007 – Luigi Viola
Best buy: Colli Orientali del Friuli Friulano 2007 – Giordano Sirch
Oenologist of the year: Celestino Lucin – Abbazia di Novacella
Viticulturist of the year: Marinella Camerani – Corte Sant’Alda in Valpolicella
Winery of the year: Fattoria di Felsina – Giuseppe Mazzocolin
Up and coming winery of the year: Rocca del Principe (Avellino)
Award for sustainable viticulture: Salvatore Foti, oenologist for Benanti, Zenner and Gulfi, all in Sicily
Gambero Rosso will be publishing their list of tre bicchiere wines online over the coming weeks, region by region, starting this Thursday with Calabria and Lazio, while the last to appear, on 24 Oct, will be Piemonte. The Gambero Rosso guide will be launched officially on 25 Oct during the Salone del Gusto in Turin.
The wine guide of L’Espresso, one of Gambero Rosso’s main competitors, will be launched on 8 Oct in Florence while I Vini di Veronelli 2009 will see the light of day on 29 Oct in Milan.