Italian and French arts of living meet thanks to wine, Carole Bouquet and Pasqua Vini

An ancient and deeply rich culture in which Italy and France have always found inspiration in one another; an art of living, and an “art de vivre” made up of pleasure and a deep appreciation for beauty (recalling the words of French President Emmanuel Macron at the opening of Wine Paris); a gastronomy which considers food not only as nourishment, but as a social ritual centered around the table, where wine is its most faithful companion, and as an expression of the land, regarded as cultural heritage on par with monuments, now recognized by Unesco for both French and Italian cuisine. They are global “superpowers” of taste, sharing the sense of what is “beautiful and well-crafted” in aesthetics, fashion, and design; and they have transformed, thanks to all this, fine craftsmanship into a global industry. Although they enjoy teasing each other, especially about whose cuisine or wine is superior, the cultural values Italy and France share are also at the heart of their strong identities. And it is no coincidence that wine itself celebrated their shared passions during the Paris Wine Salon days, with an exclusive “off-fair” event at the Italian Embassy on the prestigious Rue de Varenne, featuring Pasqua Vini, one of Valpolicella most important producers, and its latest investment: Sangue d’Oro, Passito di Pantelleria DOC produced by one of the greatest and most famous French actresses active between France and Italy, as well as a top model and Chanel “muse” of the 1980s and 1990s such as Carole Bouquet, a true global style icon (who spoke with WineNews during the event about passion; the video will be released soon, ed).
Pasqua Vini sought to challenge established wine categories, suggesting a broader and unconventional interpretation of Passito, breaking away from the traditional tasting approach in favor of the idea of total pairing versatility. With the new concept of “Fuori Carta” pairing, the wine transcends its traditional confinement to dessert, as explained by Andrea Pasqua, Head of Business Development at Pasqua Vini, opening the door to full-meal and haute-cuisine pairings, such as with the chocolate cake, capers, and caviar created by renowned two-Michelin-star chef Bruno Verjus. As Carole Bouquet explained, it is “a wine that evolves and changes alongside food. It moves me to see it encounter unexpected pairings: that is where it becomes truly free and fully valued”.
But Sangue d’Oro is born, above all, from a shared vision: to preserve the winemaking culture from which it originates, while at the same time pushing research beyond familiar boundaries and reinventing consumption patterns. It is a cultural project even before an entrepreneurial one, designed to give new voice, visibility, and opportunity to a community like that of the island of Pantelleria in Sicily, at the heart of the Mediterranean, where ancient gestures meet contemporary courage. The project “Pasqua Vini A Sicilian Interlude”, found in the Ville Lumière the perfect setting to tell its story, with an original eighteenth-century Sicilian puppet theater brought to Paris from Palermo in the early twentieth century.
“A symbolic event - said the Italian Ambassador to Paris Emanuela D’Alessandro - a truly new Italian-French and Mediterranean union around one of our most centuries-old and prestigious shared passions: wine, its history, its tradition, but also its deepest meaning”.