The narration of wine bids farewell to one of its pioneers: Burton Anderson passed away

The world of wine, and Italy in particular, has lost a great voice: Burton Anderson, the historic wine critic and storyteller, passed away just shy of his 90th birthday. An American journalist from Minnesota who fell in love with Italy, Anderson authored several books that helped introduce Italian wine to the world during the 1980s, from “Vino: The Wines & Winemakers of Italy” to the various editions of “Burton Anderson’s Guide to Italian Wines”, as well as monographs such as “Biondi Santi: The Family That Created Brunello di Montalcino” (1988) and “Franciacorta: Italy Sanctuary of Sparkling Wine” (1999).
“Over the last thirty years, Italy has made more progress than in the previous three thousand, a period during which many wines made from native grape varieties have been brought to prominence. In my view, however, the reliance on scores has impoverished wine communication. We need to return to a style of journalism and communication that tells the stories of wines, grape varieties and crus”, Burton Anderson himself said in an interview with WineNews several years ago, around the time he was honoured by the Istituto Grandi Marchi at Palazzo Antinori in Florence.
“Burton Anderson was one of the greatest wine writers and journalists, yet he has too often been overlooked. His contribution was fundamental, thanks to his ability to tell the story of Italian wine and to spark interest in a wine-producing landscape that, in the early stages of his career, was very different and largely unknown. I was trained on his writings, among those of other great authors - recalls WineNews director Alessandro Regoli. - his analytical insight and storytelling ability were extraordinary. This is a great loss for our sector”.