Antinori, Gaja, Frescobaldi and Planeta: here are the most admired Italian brands in the world

In difficult times of great uncertainty such as those we are experiencing, consumption of all goods is oriented towards the best known brands, those that are most reliable. A simplification, certainly, but one that is well reflected in the 2022 edition of “The World’s Most Admired Wine Brands” by the magazine “Drinks International”, produced each year with the votes of an “academy” made up of influential personalities and professionals in the wine industry. And so it is no surprise that the four top Italian brands in the ranking are the great names in Italian wine, historic brands, leaders in their territories and more. At no. 5, the first of the Italian brands (and up 4 positions compared to 2021), there is once again Antinori, a historic Italian wine company that, with almost 3,000 hectares under vine, is the largest private wine company, now led by the 26th generation of the family, i.e. Albiera, Allegra and Alessia, together with their father, Marquis Piero Antinori, and CEO Renzo Cotarella, the heads of an Italian wine group that has been making history since 1385, when the dynasty, Giovanni and Piero Antinori, joined the guild of winemakers.
Gaja, an icon of the Langhe, climbed to position 7 (an increase of 19 positions), with its great Barolo and Barbaresco, but also with its estates in Bolgheri (Cà Marcanda), Montalcino (Pieve Santa Restituta), and wines that also come from Etna, such as Idda (in partnership with Alberto Graci), for the group led by Angelo Gaja, one of the most followed and listened to Italian producers, together with his daughters Gaia and Rossana and son Giovanni. Position No. 11, however (an increase of 13 positions) for Frescobaldi, another top brand that is the history of Italian wine, another family group led by Lamberto Frescobaldi, which owns 1,500 hectares, in the most important areas of Tuscan wine, divided into several top estates (Castello di Nipozzano and Castello di Pomino in Chianti Rufina, Rèmole in Sieci, Tenuta Castiglioni in Montespertoli, Perano in Gaiole in Chianti, in Chianti Classico, Tenuta Ammiraglia in Maremma and Castelgiocondo in Montalcino), all under the umbrella of the “Tenute di Frescobaldi”, to which are added estates that have become absolute myths of world wine, such as Masseto and Ornellaia in Bolgheri, above all, or Luce in Montalcino, without forgetting Attems in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Finally, in the “Top 50”, and at no. 37 to be precise, there is a true beacon of Sicilian wine, namely Planeta, a winery that has marked the renaissance of wine on the island, founded by the late Diego Planeta, and today developed by Alessio, Francesca and Santi Planeta, at the top of a company that is able like few to narrate the Sicilian wine mosaic, from Menfi to Vittoria, from Noto to Etna and Capo Milazzo. Great Italian classics, in the company of great world wine classics: at no. 1 overall the leader of Spanish wine, Familia Torres, is once again confirmed, at no. 2 the most important Australian wine brand, Penfolds, while at no. 3 a reference point for wine from South America and Argentina, such as Catena, takes its place.