News A TEN EURO BOTTLE OF BARBERA WILL BE SOLD IN ITALIAN SQUARES ON SEPTEMBER 21 TO RAISE FUNDS FOR RESEARCH A CURE FOR ALS (AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS), THE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE THAT ATTACKS THE NERVOUSE SYSTEM AND AFFECTS 5,000 PEOPLE IN ITALY 19 September 2008
News VINEYARDS ARE NO LONGER JUST A SOURCE OF WINE, NOW THEY ALSO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY: THE LUNGAROTTI WINERIES IN UMBRIA WILL BE USING HARVEST BY-PRODUCTS TO PRODUCE 720 MW/H OF ENERGY PER YEAR. THE LONG-TERM GOAL IS THAT OF TOTAL AUTONOMY 17 September 2008
News “HONEY IS A TRUE ‘ANTIBIOTIC’”: THE RESULTS OF A STUDY ON THE ANCIENT REMEDY FOR CURING AILMENTS CONDUCTED BY ROBERTO BARALE PRESENTED AT ‘HONEY WEEK’ IN MONTALCINO 16 September 2008
News 2008 GRAPE HARVEST - THE LATEST INNOVATIONS IN VITICULTURE AND ENOLOGY IN FRANCIACORTA AT THE HISTORIC BERLUCCHI WINERY. GRAPE SAMPLES WITH GPS, ‘INTELLIGENT’ PRESSES, AND PROMPT ANALYSES ARE CHANGING THE WAY WINE IS MADE 15 September 2008
News “WATER, BEER, AND FRUIT JUICE? IT IS NECESSARY TO BE A ‘LAY-MAN’ BUT STILL NOTHING, ABOSLUTELY NOTHING CAN BEAT AN IDEAL WINE, IN THE IDEAL CONDITIONS, AS THE COMPANION FOR ANY FOOD”. THE WORDS OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE ESPRESSO GUIDES, ENZO VIZZARI 15 September 2008
News THE U.S. HOLDS ITS FIRST NATIONAL SLOW FOOD EVENT. THE KERMESSE IN SAN FRANCISCO OFFERS OVER ONE THOUSAND VARIETIES OF FOODS AT RISK. ALICE WATERS WANTS TO TRANSFORM A PART OF THE WHITE HOUSE GARDENS INTO A VEGETABLE GARDEN 15 September 2008
News FRANCE: SINGLES MEET AT “WINE DATING” IN PARIS WITH CHIC EVENTS LIKE CHAMPAGNE ON THE SEINE OR WINE TASTING AT MONTPARNASSE 12 September 2008
News A MOBILE LOUNGE FOR DELUXE TASTINGS: A UNIQUE INITIATVE BY MEREGALLI, ONE OF THE TOP WINE DISTRIBUTORS IN ITALY. THE “MOTOR HOME” WILL DEBUT ON SEPTEMBER 29 DURING THE “100 NORTH ITALIAN WINES” EVENT AT THE MONZA AUTODROME 12 September 2008
News ITALIAN SPUMANTE UP 60% IN 2008. MINISTER ZAIA: “THANKS TO ITS QUALITY, IT IS A STRATEGIC SECTOR IN CONTINUOUS GROWTH”. “THE FORUM FOR ITALIAN SPUMANTI”, CONDUCTED BY GIAMPIERO COMOLLI, HELD FROM 6 TO 8 SEPTEMBER IN VALDOBBIADENE 11 September 2008
News FRANCO BIONDI SANTI IS FRANK WITH WINENEWS: “ROSSO DI MONTALCINO MUST CHANGE ITS IDENTITY. BRUNELLO, INSTEAD, MUST REMAIN 100% SANGIOVESE”. THE MAN WHO RUNS THE HISTORIC LABEL THAT INVENTED BRUNELLO WANTS THE ROSSO DI MONTALCINO DISCIPLINARY CHANGED 10 September 2008
News WINENEWS SURVEY: ITALY’S TOP WINE PRODUCERS HAVE GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2008 GRAPE HARVEST. EXPERTS AND ENOLOGISTS ALL AGREE THERE WILL BE A RETURN TO AN “OLD STYLE” HARVEST TIME (STARTING IN MID SEPTEMBER) AND ELEGANT AND BALANCED WINES 08 September 2008
News THE KING OF ITALIAN WINEMAKING ANGELO GAJA: “MONTALCINO MUST THINK OF A CHANGE IN DISCIPLINE THAT ALLOWS ARTISANS AS WELL AS LARGE SCALE PRODUCERS TO EXPRESS THEIR UNIQUENESS WITHIN THE NAME BRUNELLO” 05 September 2008
News THE EUROPEAN CMO FOR WINE HAS GONE INTO EFFECT AND ITALIAN WINE ORGANIZATIONS RESPONSD - ITALIAN WINE UNION (UIV): “IMPORTANT RESOURCES START ONLY IN 2013”. FEDERVINI: “THERE ARE STILL MANY RULES TO BE DEFINED” 18 August 2008
News “BENVENUTA VENDEMMIA” (WELCOME HARVEST): SEPTEMBER IS THE MONTH TO CELEBRATE THE GRAPE HARVEST IN ITALY AT THE WINERIES OF THE MOVIMENTO TURISMO DEL VINO 18 August 2008
News VINITALY IS THE “STANDARD BEARER” OF ITALY’S GASTRONOMIC EXCELLENCE AT THE BEIJING OLYMPICS. TOGETHER WITH THE “BLUE” ATHLETES, VERONAFIERE AND THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, THEY ARE PROMOTING THE BEST OF ITALIAN WINE & FOOD 16 August 2008
News DENOMINATION OF ORIGIN AND IGT WINES NOW SUBSTITUTED BY DOP AND IGP IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NEW CMO WINE REFORM THAT WENT INTO EFFECT ON AUGUST 1. THE CONSEQUENCES FOR ITALIAN VITICULTURE? PRESIDENT OF FEDERDOC, RICCARDO RICCI CURBASTRO, RESPONDS 14 August 2008
News CHINA’S OFFICIAL OLYMPIC WINE HAS AN ITALIAN DESIGN. THE OFFICIAL WINE FOR THE 2008 BEIJING OLYMPICS IS THE CHATEU GREAT WALL, AN EXEMPLARY LUXURY WINE WORTH 2,000 EUROS AND CREATED BY ROBILANTASSOCIATI 12 August 2008
News THE ITALIAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE HAS AUTHORIZED ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF PACKAGING FOR WINE, EVEN FOR DOC WINES. DOCG AND "RISERVA", SUPERIORE", AND "VIGNA" HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED 08 August 2008
News ITALIAN WINE WORLD MOUNRS GIANNI MASCIARELLI, ONE OF THE MOST IMPROTANT PRODUCERS IN THE COUNTRY 05 August 2008
News ITALY’S MICHELIN CHEFS RAISE 263,300 EUROS FOR “A GOOD CAUSE” AT FUNDRAISER LUNCH IN ERBUSCO (CA’ DEL BOSCO) 04 August 2008
News RIUNITE-CIV FUSION: A COOPERATIVE COLOSSAL WORTH 450 MILLION EUROS. “RIUNITE & CIV WINERY” BECOMES THE POINT OF REFERENCE FOR THE ITALIAN CONGLOMERATE GRUPPO ITALIANO VINI (GIV) 01 August 2008
News THE APPEAL AND GLAMOUR OF THE MONTALCINO TERRITORY HAS NOT CEDED. RUMORS ARE THAT THE ILLY GROUP HAS ACQUIRED THE HISTORIC BRUNELLO MASTROJANNI WINERY 28 July 2008
News 2008 ITALIAN GRAPE HARVEST - PRODUCTION UP 10%. ISMEA AND ITALIAN WINE UNION STUDY: “MORE GENEROUS THAN 2007, ALTHOUGH DAMAGES FROM THE ABUNDANT RAINS IN THE CENTER-NORTH AND THE INCIDENCE OF PATHOGENS MUST BE ASSESSED” 26 July 2008
News LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION CENTERS REGISTER A DECREASE IN EARNINGS IN ORDER TO “SAVE” CONSUMERS FROM UNCONTROLLED INFLATION. COOP: -43% IN PROFITS FOR 2007. FEDERDISTRIBUZIONE: “WE ARE A CUSHION” 25 July 2008
News CHINA’S GMO SOLUTION: GENETICALLY MODIFIED RICE TO BE CULTIVATED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. GREENPEACE: “RISK OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE” 24 July 2008
News STELLA ARTOIS GULPS DOWN BUDWEISER. A NEW BEER COLOSSAL IS BORN AFTER INBEV BUYS ANHEUSER-BUSCH FOR 70 DOLLARS PER SHARE 23 July 2008
News FOOD CRISIS: ITALIAN ONCOLOGIST AND EX MINISTER OF HEALTH CALLS FOR “LESS MEAT AND WATER CONSERVATION” 21 July 2008
News FROM LEADER OF FINE WINE DISTRIBUTORS TO PRODUCER: THE MEREGALLI GROUP TAKES OVER TOTAL OWNERSHIP OF THE TENUTA FERTUNA, A 150 HECTARE ESTATE IN THE MAREMMA AREA OF TUSCANY CREATED BY ENOLOGIST EZIO RIVELLA 21 July 2008
News BIODYNAMIC VITICULTURE? IT’S STILL A “MYSTERY” FOR CONSUMERS, OR AT LEAST AN ODDITY. BUT A MEETING ORGANIZED BY THE TUSCAN WINERY COSIMO MARIA MASINI HAS BROUGHT THE PHILOSOPHY AND EXPERIENCE OF BIODYNAMIC PRODUCERS INTO PUBLIC DISCUSSION 16 July 2008
News THE ESPRESSO AND PITTI IMMAGINE GUIDES RELAUNCH THE ‘FINE WINES AUCTION’. ORGANIZED BY PANDOLFINI, SET FOR 8 OCTOBER IN FLORENCE. 200 LOTS OF ITALIAN (SASSICAIA, TIGNANELLO, MONFORTINO, GRAN BUSSIA) AND FRENCH WINES (FROM ROMANEE CONTI TO YQUEM) 11 July 2008
News PIERO ANTINORI: “WE’RE BEING INVESTIGATED BY MISTAKE. BOTTLES BACK ON SALE BY JULY 1. DAMAGE TO OUR IMAGE THAT IS DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY… IN JUST A FEW HOURS WE HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED ORDERS FOR HALF OF OUR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2003” 09 July 2008
News WHITE WINE IS ‘HEART FRIENDLY’ ACCORDING TO AN ITALIAN-AMERICAN STUDY. ALBERTO BERTELLI FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MILAN CONFIRMS RESULTS 04 July 2008
News “AN EXTRAORDINARY PLAN FOR ITALIAN WINE”. A PROPOSAL BY ITALY’S VICE MINISTER AND DELEGATE ABROAD FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITH PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE U.S. MARKET 02 July 2008
News ITALIAN WINE EXPORTS STALL IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2008. A FALL IN VOLUME OF 3.9 MILLION HECTOLITERS (-9%), BUT VALUE INCREASES WITH A TOTAL OF 798 MILLION EUROS (+8%). 26 June 2008
News A TOAST FROM MOSCOW TO THE NEW DECREE FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO, OR THE “SOLUTION” TO POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH U.S. CUSTOMS OFFICIALS BY ITALY’S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE. 23 June 2008
News A NEW “LAW” FOR BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO: THE ITALIAN MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE HAS SIGNED A DECREE THAT REQUIRES THE INSTITUTION OF A GUARANTEE BOARD. THE MEMBERS ARE RICCARDO RICCI CURBASTRO, VASCO BOATTO, AND FULVIO MATTIVI 23 June 2008
News THE “BRUNELLO SCANDAL”: “THE DISCIPLINARY IS NOT AN IDEOLOGY”, ACCORDING TO ZAIA. BUT BIONDI SANTI THINKS, “SANGIOVESE 100%”. A CURIOSITY THAT AT ONE TIME BRUNELLO COULD BE MADE WITH OTHER GRAPES (10%). 20 June 2008
News THE TTB - BRUNELLO “SUMMIT”: “A USEFUL EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION ON QUALITY AND CONTROLS”. BUT THE ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU HAD ACTUALLY PLANNED THEIR TRIP BEFORE THE NEWS OF THE MONTALCINO INVESTIGATION HAD EVEN BEEN LEAKED 19 June 2008
News AN APPEAL IN DEFENSE OF THE TYPICALNESS AND INTEGRITY OF ITALIAN WINE BY JOURNALISTS MARCO ARTURI AND SANDRO SANGIORGI. SUSTAINERS: “VINI VERI”, “VINNATUR” (ANGIOLINO MAULE), “TRIPLE A”, “RENAISSANCE DES AOC ITALIA”… 16 June 2008
