Brunello di Montalcino DOCG best represents “Made in Italy”. Gaja and Antinori the emblems of Italian winemakers. In WineNews classification “eno-navigator’s” personal favorites are Sassicaia, Masseto, Barolo Monfortino di Conterno

Brunello di Montalcino Docg best represents “Made in Italy” wine. The emblems of the Italian wine world are Angelo Gaja and Piero Antinori. And favorite wines are Sassicaia, Masseto and Barolo “Monfortino” di Conterno. These are the results of a survey conducted by WineNews, www.winenews.it (one of the most popular Italian wine news sites), and Vinitaly, www.vinitaly.it (one of the most important wine expositions in the world), which asked over 9.500 readers (2,752 responded) which denomination best represented Italian wine, the most emblematic person in the Italian winemaking business, and their personal favorite wine.

”Eno-navigators” have no doubts about which are the most important names: Brunello di Montalcino is number one (35% of votes), an unmistakable name in Italian wine-making, which for years now has continued to reap success on both the national and international markets making it a truly universally recognized name. Following Brunello di Montalcino, are Barolo (28%), Chianti Classico (22%), Nobile di Montepulciano (7%), Taurasi (3%), and other denominations like Bolgheri and Amarone.

The www.winenews.it survey also asked participating “eno-navigators” who was the first person that came to mind when speaking of “Made in Italy” quality. And, both with 26% of total votes, first place was conquered by two contenders: Angelo Gaja, one of the most prestigious names in Italian winemaking, and Piero Antinori, whose family is well known for their winemaking around the world.
Following close behind are Giacomo Tachis, a guru of Italian enologists and the “father” of prestigious wines, and Riccardo Cotarella, another very successful Italian enologist.

But navigators have also signaled younger producers, part of the new generation of Italian winemaking, like Marco Caprai from Umbria (who has brought Sagrantino di Montefalco into the international limelight) and Alessio, Santi, and Francesca Planeta (considered the new faces in Sicilian winemaking). And there were many more personalities who were voted for. Pietro Mastroberardino, Romano Dal Forno, Livo Felluga, Roberto Voerzio, Gianni Masciarelli, Franco Biondi Santi, Bartolo Mascarello, Lucio Tasca d’Almerita, Josè Rallo (Donnafugata), and Paolo Scavino, have all helped write a new chapter in the history of Italian wine.

There were also many wines nominated in the personal favorites part of the classification, a plethora of names ranging from the most famous to almost unknown, from Italian to French, to the New World. But three names stood out among the rest, demonstrating the outstanding impact they’ve had on wine enthusiasts. The Tuscan Sassicaia (27% of total votes), produced by Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta at San Guido in Bolgheri, was the original Supertuscan and remains a cult wine to this day, so much so, in fact, that there is even a fan club in its name. Nearly the same enthusiasm was expressed for Masseto (26%), another Tuscan myth, produced at Ornellaia in Bolgheri, today the property of the Frescobaldi family. And the third most voted wine is the Barolo Monfortino by Giacomo Conterno (23%), considered the top name in Barolo and among the top Italian wines in general.

Many other wines that have left an unforgettable impression on those who have tasted them were voted for in the personal favorites category: Villa Gemma by Gianni Masciarelli, Solaia and Tignanello by Antinori, Ornellaia, Le Pergole Torte Montevertine, Cuvèe Anna Maria Clementi Ca’ del Bosco, Gran Cuvèe Brut Bellavista, Sagrantino di Montefalco “25 Anni” Caprai, Sauvignon Sanct Valentin San Michele Appiano, Mille e una Notte Donnafugata, sauvignon “Ronco delle Mele” Venica, Giulio Ferrari “Riserva del Fondatore”.