Riccardo Illy (“Polo del gusto”): “in 2022 we will close the agreement with a Barolo winery”

Riccardo Illy has never made a secret of his desire to set up roots in the Langhe of Barolo, as WineNews has repeatedly reported, nor of his intention to open the capital of the “Polo del Gusto”, a sub-holding of the Illy group that brings together wine with Mastrojanni, one of the quality benchmarks of Brunello di Montalcino, Piedmontese Domori chocolate, French Dammann Frères tea, Pintaudi biscuits and Agrimontana preserves. And, as Riccardo Illy announced in these days in a video on the Youtube channel of the “Polo del Gusto”, 2022 could be a good year both for the definition of the new financial partner of the “Polo del Gusto” itself and, consequently, for the “closing of the agreement with a company in Barolo, with our wine sector, represented by Mastrojanni, that will be enriched by a new brand of Barolo, which will be distributed by Domori”, explains Illy, who says he is confident in an overall recovery of the markets, in the coming months.
According to rumors collected by WineNews, the winery that Illy would like to use for the “Polo del Gusto” is the Cascina Meriame owned by Paolo Manzone and Luisella Corino in Serralunga d’Alba. The winery (founded in 1999) has 14 hectares of land, with production ranging from Dolcetto d’Alba to Barbera d’Alba, Nebbiolo d’Alba and Barolo. A small “gem” of the Langa, in Serralunga d’Alba, already very well reviewed by wine critics.
Given the importance of the Illy group and the “Polo del Gusto”, and the seriousness that Riccardo Illy has always shown in his investments, which have always been based on business projects rather than financial speculation, it seems that many Langa entrepreneurs are looking favorably on this project.