Bibenda 2025, glamour and great bottles for the “Cinque Grappoli” celebration

In the front line, there was Claudio Ranieri, newly appointed coach of Roma football team, celebrated with a standing ovation, and proclaimed “Sommelier of Honor”; there was Giorgia, amongst the most beloved singers, in this moment in the spotlight as X Factor presenter; there was Al Bano, evergreen artist, but also wine producer in his beloved Puglia; there was Bruno Vespa, anchorman and winegrower; there were sport champions such as Francesco Moser, and well-known politicians such as Massimo D’Alema; institutions, such as Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida could not miss, and naturally WineNews with director Alessandro Regoli, together with wine producers from all over Italy, more than 1,200 people: very glamour and great bottles at “Cinque Grappoli” celebration by Bibenda 2025, in Rome, wanted and animated, following the tradition, by Franco Maria Ricci, “deus ex machina” of a gala, during which, in the prestigious location of Rome Cavalieri, 747 wines (and 52 grappas) were awarded, selected by the guide. The event was not only the occasion to discuss about the next challenges that the Italian world of wine will have to cope with, but also to toast to its future, based on civility, style, culture, and excellence, in the name of conviviality and savoir-faire of Italy. At the center of the evening, there was an exceptional wine-tasting table, with over 9,000 bottles to taste, for a value higher than 650,000 euros.
Franco Ricci has always embodied the role of a brilliant “master of ceremonies” of Italian wine, for which he has done a lot (since the Nineties), still today, even today that he is at the head of the Fis - Fondazione Italiana Sommelier, one of the greatest wine culture centers in the world. And it was exactly Ricci to award Claudio Ranieri, the new coach of Roma football team, with the title of “Sommelier of Honor”: Ranieri, with a real ovation in the hall, declared to WineNews: “I was called by Roma football team after a great hail storm. Now, I have to do what you do with each bunch of grapes with my football players: take so much care of them”. Then, coach Ranieri confessed to have a relationship of sobriety with wine: “at home, I don’t drink it with my wife daily, but I enjoy sharing a good red wine with friends, and sometimes sparkling wine”. The welcome is not less warm for singers Al Bano, wine producer in his property in Cellino San Marco, and Giorgia, amongst the most beloved interpreters in Italy, and in this moment in the spotlight as X Factor presenter (present at the event together with her boyfriend, dancer Emanuel Lo), at the table, amongst others, with writer Fulvio Abbate. Bibenda patron Franco Maria Ricci extracted them a promise of an exclusive concert for the wine world. Ever-present Bruno Vespa - dean of Italian journalism, and for ten years, also wine producers with “Vespa Vignaioli”, in Manduria – and as winemakers also politicians Massimo D’Alema and senator Dario Stefàno.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Francesco Lollobrigida, who took part to Bibenda evening event, confirmed that “cuisine without a good wine is as it were voiceless. The world of wine is capable of expressing a lot, and everywhere in the world, there is thirst and hunger of made in Italy”. The connection between wine and sport was also incarnated by cycling champion Francesco Moser, Trentodoc wine producer in his wine company Moser Trento, accompanied by Paolo Bianchini, guiding Brunello di Montalcino brand of Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona, which has a real Cycling Museum, the only winery in Italy.