The “core” of quality wines: the most awarded wineries in guides (various wines)

There are very few individual wines capable of uniting the Italian wine guides across the nation, as we had written in our article on individual wines. The number expands when seeing the wineries (albeit with different wines) that received the highest level of recognition from various publications. One winery appeared on the lists of all the “best2 8 guides released this year for the 2021 edition (Gambero Rosso, Slow Wine, Doctor Wine by Cernilli, Vitae-Italian Sommelier Association, Bibenda-Italian Sommelier Foundation, Seminar Veronelli, Touring Club-Vinibuoni d’Italia and Luca Maroni’s Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines, while L’Espresso, probably to be released in April 2021, was missing); the Lucanian, Cantine del Notaio by Gerardo Giuratrabocchetti, one of Basilicata wine’s gems, famous for its many expressions of Aglianico, the main grape of Vulture, but not only. This occurred by simply crossing the highest awards the various guides reported, according to their own particular criteria. The guides outlined a core of producers capable of expressing great quality in several different wines, made up of both big and small entirely different companies, scattered from Trentino Alto Adige to Sicily. The wineries awarded by 7 out of 8 guides, included the South Tyrolean Terlano, Tramin, Cantina di Bolzano and Cantina Girlan, the Trentino Ferrari and Pojer & Sandri, the Venetian Pieropan, Tedeschi and Allegrini, the Piedmont Fratelli Alessandria, Vietti and Marchesi di Grésy, the Lombardy Guido Berlucchi and Ca’ del Bosco, the Tuscan Poggio di Sotto and Mastrojanni, both in Montalcino, the Umbrian Lungarotti, the Marche Umani Ronchi, Velenosi and Belisario, from Campania, Rocca del Principe and the Sicilian Donnafugata, Tasca d’Almerita and Cottanera.
The top of the top wineries on the lists of 6 out of 8 guides, include: from Piedmont, Bruno Giacosa, Gaja, Bartolo Mascarello, Fenocchio, Vajra, Brovia and Pio Cesare; Tuscany, Tenuta San Guido, Isole and Olena, Monsanto Castle, Volpaia Castle, Col d’Orcia, Le Chiuse, Castellare di Castellina, Il Marroneto, Il Borro, Poliziano, Boscarelli and Petrolo; from Alto Adige Muri-Gries, Kurtatsch-Cortaccia, Franz Haas, Tiefenbrunner, Elena Walch and San Michele Appiano. Further, from Le Marche, Oasi degli Angeli, from Trentino Letrari and Maso Martis, from Friuli Vie di Romans, from Lombardy Nino Negri, Mosnel and Castello Bonomi, from Emilia Romagna Fattoria Nicolucci, from Umbria Romanelli, Antonelli and Tabarrini, from Abruzzi Emidio Pepe, Valle Reale, Cataldi Madonna, Valentini and Torre dei Beati, from Basilicata, Elena Fucci, from Campania Villa Raiano, from Apulia Gianfranco Fino, from Sardinia Contini, Capichera, Santadi and Argiolas, and from Sicily Graci, Girolamo Russo and Pietradolce.
The following wineries were in 5 guides out of 8: Lombardy, Arpepe, Bellavista, Uberti, Ferghettina and Barone Pizzini; the Aosta Valley Anselmet; Piedmont, Giacomo Conterno, Giuseppe Rinaldi, Roagna, Burlotto, Michele Chiarlo, Anna Maria Abbona, Le Piane, Ca’ del Baio, Marziano Abbona, Conterno Fantino, La Spinetta, Bruno Rocca, Bergaglio, Domenico Clerico, Prunotto, Marchesi di Barolo, Ferrando, Travaglini, Angelo Negro and Vigneti Massa; South Tyrolean, Nals Margreid and Cantina di Caldaro; Trentino, Toblino, Cesarini Sforza, Foradori and Abate Nero; Friuli, Keber, Lis Neris, Jermann and Venica & Venica; Lazio, Casale del Giglio and Cotarella Family; Tuscany, Antinori, Frescobaldi, Ricasoli, Capezzana, Le Macchiole, Fontodi, Giodo, Casanova di Neri, Folonari, Salvioni, Montevertine, Monteraponi, Riecine, Querciabella, Tenuta di Trinoro, Castello di Fonterutoli, Argiano, Rocca delle Macìe, Tenuta Argentiera, Terenzi, Podere Forte and Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara; Emilia-Romagna, La Tosa and Fattoria Zerbina; Le Marche, Montecappone; Apulia, Rivera, Polvanera and Chiaromonte; Abruzzi, Masciarelli and Illuminati; from Veneto, Zenato, Gini, Bertani, Maculan and Villa Sandi, Lucania, Grifalco and Cantina Terre degli Svevi; Campania, Marisa Cuomo and Salvatore Molettieri; Sardinia, Giuseppe Sedilesu and the Sicilian wineries, Passopisciaro, Marco De Bartoli and Benanti.
The wineries that scored 4 guides out of 8, include from South Tyrol, Waldgries and Kettmeir, from Aosta Valley Ottin and Lo Triolet, from Veneto Masi, Tommasi and Monte del Frà, from Piedmont Poderi Lugi Einaudi, Producers of Barbaresco, Rocche dei Manzoni, Nervi, Ratti, La Colombera, Malverà, Paolo Conterno, Massolino, Sottimano, Fiorenzo Nada, Giuseppe Cortese, Giovanni Rosso, Parusso, Ceretto, Schiavenza and Borgogno, from Friuli Volpe Pasini, Schiopetto, Scubla, Ronco del Gelso, Toros and La Tunella, from Lombardy Ricci Curbastro, from Liguria Bruna, Cantine Lunae and Maccario Dringenberg, from Tuscany Ornellaia, Masseto, Biondi Santi, Pietroso, Istine, Stefano Amerighi, Castello d'Albola, Baricci, Piaggia, Ruffino, Cecchi, Castello di Ama, Grattamacco, Ridolfi, Talenti, Poggio al Tesoro, Val di Suga, Bindella, Tenute del Cerro, Sassotondo, Rocca di Frassinello, Sette Ponti, Duemani and Tua Rita, from Emilia Romagna Chiarli and Paltrinieri, from Le Marche Garofoli, from Umbria Adanti and Caprai, from Lazio Tenuta di Fiorano and Poggio Le Volpi, from Molise Di Majo Norante, from Campania Quintodecimo, Fiorentino Mastroberardino, Feudi di San Gregorio and Benito Ferrara, from Apulia Leone De Castris, Plantamura, Varvaglione and Giancarlo Ceci, from CalabriaViola and Librandi, from Sicily Tenuta di Fessina, Florio and Planeta, and from Sardinia Sella & Mosca.
It is, therefore, a long “parade” of the Italian wine stars, telling the stories of the very large number of wine producers that are also very different one from the other, but equally capable of expressing excellence in the bottle. It is a tale of territories, research, intuitions, experimentation, vines and history, all brought together in the glass.