Category Archives: HOT NEWS

Tasca d’Almerita presents the new season of Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia on the island of Salina

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A series of unique activities including celestial explorations, vineyard walks and culinary experiences overlooking the sea to give guests an immersion in the most authentic and exclusive Sicily.

The light of the lighthouse, just rekindled, is ready to illuminate Care’s: the Ethical Chefs Days, the sustainable food project scheduled in Salina from 25 to 27 May.
Gabriele Camiolo, chef of Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia, will be among the protagonists of the event to promote an approach to cooking that is attentive to the territory, people and resources.

Tasca d’Almerita, the historic Sicilian winery known internationally for the quality of its wines and for its responsible footprint on the environment and territory, announces the re-opening of the season of Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia, located on the Island of Salina, the greenest and most authentic of the Aeolian Islands.

Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia is a project of high Mediterranean hospitality born from the union of nature, volcano, land and sea, realised within the Tenuta Capofaro, one of the five wine estates of the Tasca d’Almerita family. This is home to ‘Anfiteatro’, a historic vineyard of Malvasia, a golden grape, the noblest fruit of the Aeolian Islands, which, dried in the shade, yields the famous local wine, dry or sweet.

Surrounded by 4.5 hectares of vineyard and characterised by a typical Aeolian architecture with white plaster and minimalist style, the Locanda represents the highest expression of hospitality in the archipelago, with a total of 27 rooms, each one different from the other, but all with private terraces from which to catch a glimpse of the outlines of Stromboli and Panarea. Since 2017, moreover, thanks to a major renovation and enhancement project strongly desired by the Tasca d’Almerita family, six new exclusive rooms have been built inside the Capofaro lighthouse, a piece of Salina’s history that has watched over the spectacular sea and promontory since the mid-19th century.

Capofaro passionately recounts the aromas and flavours concentrated by the sun, sea and volcanic soil of Salina through his restaurant, with respect for tradition and a calibrated contemporary sensibility. Immersion in a wine-related ecosystem is the basis of menus where dishes dialogue with Tasca d’Almerita labels and estates.
The Sicilian chef Gabriele Camiolo, together with his brigade, is ready to inaugurate the summer season by offering diners an authentic culinary experience composed of seasonal dishes with local products that respect the environment and have a very short supply chain. Seventy per cent of the ingredients used in the kitchen come from the estates’ vegetable gardens, such as the wheat used to make pasta and especially bread, a genuine product par excellence, awarded by the 2018 Gambero Rosso Restaurant Guide as Italy’s ‘best bread on the table’.

Chef Camiolo’s cuisine is based on listening to the territory to bring to the forefront the part that remains outside the kitchen space; it is a story that begins much earlier, in the months of research on the territory, in the dialogue with producers, in the exchange of knowledge, in the interaction with different landscapes. Gabriele Camiolo’s cuisine goes beyond cooking, it is understood as a set of practices and knowledge of which other people are part.
His idea of sustainability in the kitchen is clear: to understand the raw material in all its potential, to express it in a way that leaves no trace, i.e. waste.
His workhorses, such as the barbecue carrot with wild herbs and spiced almond cream, or the dentex alla mugnaia and Malvasia leaf, or the Aeolian tiramisu, are the fruit of studies and research that have made the Capofaro Locanda & Malvasia an indisputable destination for lovers of haute cuisine.

THE WINE EXPERIENCE

The Anfiteatro vineyard, a verdant and scenic basin in the heart of the Estate, provides a natural backdrop to one of the most exciting Wine Bars in the Mediterranean.
The tasting of more than 50 labels by the glass of great wines from Sicily and the rest of the world is one of the moments of wine learning and conviviality, to be experienced while immersed in the vineyard ecosystem.
To make the wine experience at Capofaro even more complete and unforgettable, tasting routes have been devised, including between the rows of vines accompanied by the sommelier, and knowledge of the different expressions of Malvasia and Tasca d’Almerita production, with matching appetisers prepared by chef Gabriele Camiolo and his brigade.

Tenuta La Massa Giorgio Primo 2019 joins the prestigious Place de Bordeaux

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Tenuta La Massa is pleased to announce that this coming September will see the launch of Giorgio Primo 2019 on the prestigious Place de Bordeaux, an achievement quite apropos, since the estate’s winegrowing philosophy has always reflected a French style and an international spirit. “A position on the Place de Bordeaux for our estate’s iconic wine, the quintessence of our winemaking approach, is an opportunity to distribute into markets worldwide and represents the fulfilment of a dream,” commented estate founder Giampaolo Motta. 

Tenuta La Massa is the story of one-man’s search for a terroir on a par with his passions for viticulture and winemaking. In Motta’s case, they were formed in France then definitively rooted in Italy, in Chianti’s Conca d’Oro in Panzano where he found, in 1992, his terra electa, where he grows the vines that make up the superb portfolio of Tenuta La Massa. Motta’s vision to produce an iconic wine and bring it to the Place de Bordeaux is to come true, giving the opportunity of gaining wider recognition for Giorgio Primo on the international ultra-premium wine stage. “La Place de Bordeaux is, by universal acknowledgement, the most prestigious marketplace and distribution network for world-class wines, with particular emphasis on rarities and wines coveted by collectors,” continued Motta. “It is supported by more than 300 négociants, who sell to more than 170 countries across the globe.” 

The first Tenuta La Massa wine to be distributed on Place de Bordeaux will be Giorgio Primo. This cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot is the culmination of continuous, painstaking efforts to achieve perfection, both in vineyard management and in winemaking practices. 

Barre & Touton, long-established courtiers of the Place De Bordeaux, are convinced that the world’s finest wines have their place on La Place. To manage that segment, Barre & Touton established a branch, “Les Vins d’Ailleurs”, directed by Laurent Dufau, dedicated specifically to iconic wines from outside of Bordeaux. 

The launch of Giorgio Primo 2019 will be coordinated by Barre & Touton “Les Vins d’Ailleurs” and offered through a select group of négociants: La Bordelaise des Grands Vins, Crus et Domaines de France, Maison Descaves, Dubos, Joanne Rare Wines & Millesima. 

“We are delighted to be able to represent Giorgio Primo and the winemaking philosophy of Tenuta La Massa,” stated Dufau. “We are honoured to accompany Tenuta La Massa on this new adventure and to offer their wines to the world through Place de Bordeaux.” 

Giorgio Primo 2019, the fruit of years of study of the complex local terroir, is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, which creates a complex, symphony of aromas in the glass. The vines are planted in schist clay, galestro marl and limestone creating distinctive wines that are a true reflection of the terroir. 

The 2019 growing year was characterised by normal weather and by groundwaterreserves that filled over the winter and spring, thus enabling the vines to cope with the summer heat. 

A warm summer with some rainfall, and a normal ripening curve, plus cooler temperatures during the harvest in late September, preserving the grapes’ crisp, elegant aromatics. “That courageous decision to await peak ripeness, the outstanding combination of temperatures and rainfall, and the excellent management of the macerations and maturations in oak,” commented Giampaolo Motta, “meant that we have delivered beautifully balanced wines with exceptional polyphenol concentrations. Both elegance and power, which combines with a superb and savoury finish, the generous gift of our soils.”
A wine, that reflects the land and the interpretation of man. 

***

In 1992, Giampaolo Motta, Neapolitan by birth but Tuscan by adoption, encountered La Massa, and that moment formed an indissoluble bond between the man and his terroir. The estate, lying in the magnificent Conca d’Oro of Panzano, in the heart of Chianti Classico, boasts 25 hectares of southwest-facing vineyards. In the 1990s, he initiated a lengthy vineyard restoration project and in-depth terroir research, in an effort to give shape to his dream through his wines: Giorgio Primo, Carla 6, and La Massa. The viticultural and oenological pathways La Massa adopted “break” with traditional Tuscan practices, and the sapient hand of the winemaker ensures that the wines convey the interpretive force of the estate soils. La Massa, the first wine produced, is representative of the emphatic character of a rugged area like Panzano, but at the same time it displays the elegant oenological personality of its creator-winemaker. Next is Carla 6, dedicated to daughter Carla and made with grapes from vineyard parcel 6; a monovarietal Sangiovese, it pays tribute to the grape that embodies Tuscany. Giorgio Primo, named after his grandfather & his son, is a cuvée of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot that synthesises the estate as well as its uninterrupted, near-obsessive striving for perfection, both in the vineyards and in the winecellar. 

I Sodi del Paretaio by Badia di Morrona

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Badia di Morrona’s classic expression of its terroir in its Chianti 2022 and Chianti Riserva 2020 versions 

I Sodi del Paretaio and I Sodi del Paretaio Riserva are the standard-bearer Chiantis of Badia di Morrona, representing a lateral overview of the vineyards in this historic estate in Terricciola. Here, in Pisa’s eastern hill country, the Gaslini Alberti family cultivates about 110 hectares of vineyard, and I Sodi del Paretaio, in both the standard current-vintage and the Riserva versions, are pleasant and comprehensive interpretations of their entire valley terroir.

Both versions’ sovereign grape is Sangiovese, grown in vineyards continuously groomed by winds from the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea that both keep the vines dry and temper the summer’s heat. The vineyards are planted deep into clay-based soils that also show alternations of sandstone, rock, grey schist, river cobbles, fossil shells, and alberese marl.

Chianti I Sodi del Paretaio 2022,a cuvée of Sangiovese with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, interprets the hallmarks of a particularly hot dry growing year. These weather conditions affected crop quantity but not grape quality, since the Badia di Morrona viticultural team managed the weather challenges through painstaking ground-working and expert agronomic practices, with the result that berry development was optimal, with good concentrations and aromatic precursors. Complementing their efforts were rains in mid-August and significant day-night temperature variations.

Blend-leader Sangiovese was harvested in mid-September. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks and a subsequent 10-month maturation in traditional concrete vats helped to preserve the nice fruit aromas classic to this wine.

On the other hand, the 100% Sangiovese Chianti I Sodi del Paretaio Riserva 2020 was the offspring of an overall balanced year. The early pace of the growth cycle was partly offset by rains in the final 15-20 days of the season that supplied water to the Sangiovese and somewhat slowed ripening. Harvest took place around 25 September, with the fruit perfectly sound and healthy. 18 months in 44hl French oak ovals and a brief stay in concrete vats before bottling resulted in a Riserva boasting a smooth, enfolding suite of tannins.

I Sodi del Paretaio 2022 and I Sodi del Paretaio Riserva 2020 are debuting on the market this year with a new label. The graphic motifs that have always made these wines standout visually have been updated in a minimalist key, more in tune with the striving for elegance and expressiveness that, season after season, inspires the wine estate.

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Badia di Morrona, located in Terricciola, between Pisa and Volterra, has been owned by the Conti Gaslini Alberti family for almost a century. The heart of the estate is the ancient monastery, Badia di Morrona. The iconic grape is Sangiovese, planted in more than half of the vineyards, with the remainder in Vermentino, Chardonnay, Viognier, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet. This viticultural wealth yields a well-integrated collection of wines, which boasts coveted crus such as VignaAlta and N’Antia, of Sangiovese and Bordeaux varieties respectively, and Taneto, the quintessence of Badia di Morrona’s Syrah. The Chianti denomination is well-represented of course, with I Sodi del Paretaio in both standard and Riserva versions. The wine portfolio is compellingly complemented by a welcoming hospitality programme: distributed throughout the estate are large, meticulously-restructured farm residences that are perfect departure points for leisurely exploring this still little-known world in Tuscany.

Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia:2021 vintage is on the market

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Mediterranean elegance, balance and freshness. These are the hallmarks of Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia, and the 2021 vintage – on the market since March – is not an exception. A Cuvée based on Sauvignon Blanc with small percentages of Vermentino, Viogner and Verdicchio, Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia enriches the mosaic of the wines of the Tuscan coast with its own personal point of view.

Brilliant, delicately sunny and also deeply identifying with the terroir of the estate, Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia 2021 “is complex and seductive, sporting a riot of citrus notes, exotic fruits, white flowers, accompanied also by scents of cut grass and asparagus,” explains the winemaker Olga Fusari, “the taste closes in a long savory and mineral finish, which well represents the territory in which it was born.”

An exciting sip that tells the constant dialogue between territory, man and a climate that is always particularly benevolent here.  Indeed, 2021 began with a mild, rainy winter and a regular spring. Ideal conditions to easily cope with the hot and dry summer (especially in August) as it often is on the Bolgheri coast. Constant breezes from the sea and temperature fluctuations between day and night accompanied the perfect ripening of the grapes, which were harvested in the very early hours of the morning starting on August 18 for Sauvignon Blanc, followed by Viogner and Verdicchio and ending in the second week of September with Vermentino. After a slow and soft pressing of the bunches and an alcoholic fermentation of no more than 22°C, the wine went through a cellar process divided between wood, cement and steel, followed by aging in the bottle for about a year.

Today Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia 2021, tells with style and confidence an exemplary vintage and a coast that is a symbol in the world of harmony and beauty.

AXEL HEINZ to leave Bolgheri for France

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Axel Heinz, Estate Director of Ornellaia and Masseto, announces that his time in Bolgheri will draw to a close in Summer 2023 when he will return to France.

Axel Heinz came to Bolgheri in 2005 and his professionalism and expertise have assisted the company, enabling vintage after vintage to communicate the impressive expressions of the terroir belonging to both estates.

“For me, it has been an incredible honour to contribute to the success of Ornellaia and Masseto in these years and I’d like to thank Giovanni Geddes and the Frescobaldi family for this invaluable journey,” remarks Axel Heinz. “I have had the chance to manage these astonishing vineyards and two innovative wineries, which have allowed us to bottle the fruits from a terroir that expresses all the elegance of the Mediterranean. Now the moment has come to return to France. Bolgheri, Ornellaia and Masseto will always remain in my heart and Italy, after all these years, has become my third home, after Germany where I was born and France, where I have lived for most of my life.”

“Axel Heinz has decided to take on new professional challenges in France after more than 17 years of working with Ornellaia and Masseto,” comments CEO Giovanni Geddes. “These years have been ones of massive development and success, also thanks to Axel’s professionalism and technical, communicative and human abilities, who I thank for the results achieved. The excellence of Ornellaia and Masseto comes from the benevolence of Nature and the passion and experience of an outstanding team.” The President of Marchesi Frescobaldi, Lamberto Frescobaldi, also thanksAxel Heinz and reassures that, “a strong team will remain at Ornellaia and Masseto, which has worked side by side with Axel for many productive years”.

Henry Borzi

125 Years of Castello di Querceto

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La Corte 2019: Interpreter of the past and present

The origins of Castello di Querceto, with its crenellated tower, date back to the Middle Ages, but the milestone being celebrated by the François family this year is an impressive 125 years as wine producers.

It was in 1897, in fact, in Dudda, in the commune of Greve in Chianti, that Carlo François purchased Castello di Querceto. Even then, estate-grown wine was being made within its venerable cellars from the surrounding vineyards, and Carlo, immediately recognising the innate quality of its Sangiovese, began to make a monovarietal from a small vineyard parcel of particular promise. That was the ancestor of La Corte, and a few bottles, dated 1904, still survive. A few years later, in 1924, Castello di Querceto became a founding producer of the Consorzio Chianti Classico.

The estate’s modern history, however, begins with Alessandro François, and his pioneering concept of the Chianti Classico cru. Since the 1970s, he has been minutely studying every individual plot on the estate, and, confirming the ground-breaking intuitions of his grandfather, he determined that the qualities of that very same parcel merited his first single-vineyard wine. La Corte thus debuted officially in 1978 as an IGT Toscana, produced from that 3.4-hectare vineyard lying at an elevation of 450 metres, planted with a south-southwest-facing exposure in sandy soils.     

Over the following decades, other singular expressions enriched the collection, and Castello di Querceto became a benchmark for the entire denomination, a growing area for which Alessandro and his wife Antonietta have been ambassadors literally across five continents, exporting their wines to over 50 countries. Today, Simone and Lia François work side by side with their father in managing the wine estate, as do their respective spouses Stefania and Marco, sharing responsibility for hospitality, administration, and export. 

Over the years, research at the Castello has proceeded uninterrupted. The introduction of precision viticulture has proved decisive, as well as minimal intervention in the winemaking process; both testify to the philosophy of striving to highlight the distinctive characteristics of each individual vineyard parcel. 

The historic La Corte cru fully embodies this approach. With the 2017 vintage, it became a Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, thus joining the other prestigious cru, Il Picchio, which has been a Gran Selezione since 2011. “Both of these Sangiovese wines have always so impressed us that they deserved to bear the denomination’s highest quality designation,” commented Simone François.

“At 125 years from the founding of Castello di Querceto,” added Alessandro François, “La Corte continues to gift us a vibrant, comprehensive, and eloquent expression of our terroir. It amply demonstrates the incredible qualities of this growing area, as well as of the denomination that we are so proud to be a part of.”

Chianti Classico Gran Selezione La Corte 2019, released just recently on the market, is the fruit of a growing season which proved well-balanced and of impressive quality. Generous rainfall in the spring filled groundwater reserves that helped the vines cope with a dry summer. The heat was not excessive, however, thanks to Castello di Querceto’s elevation and to significant day-night temperature differences. Finally, very favourable weather in September and October allowed the winery to push back the start of harvest. The results were ideally-ripe clusters that yielded a taught, clean-edged, pleasurable Sangiovese.    

“All in all, a perfect vintage for our celebration of such an important anniversary,” concluded Simone François, fourth generation of a family fiercely proud of its traditions, and one whose long history gives it the ability to see far into its future.

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The winery, along with its agriturism and luxuriant park, lies in Dudda, in a small valley in the hills high above Greve, in north-central Tuscany. Here, the François family grow their wines in some 65 hectares of estate vineyards, subdivided into 26 individual parcels planted in Cretaceous-Eocene polychrome schists. In addition to the Chianti Classico line, led by the two Gran Selezione crus, La Corte and Il Picchio, the portfolio boasts various IGT crus, Il Cignale, Il Querciolaia, Il Sole di Alessandro (Cabernet Sauvignon), and QueRceto Romantic, an elegant blend of Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Syrah.

Citizenship in the contemporary world and responsibility to the local environment and to future generations require a commitment to sustainability, and thus Castello di Querceto has been a certified participant in the Italian government’s ViVa program since 2022.    

Henry Borzi

Vintage 2022 a year of contradicting weather: the winemakers display versatility and resilience to achieve an expression of the finest quality

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The 2022 harvest has ended and now we can review a year of unusual weather contradictions. Axel Heinz, Ornellaia’s Estate Director, describes the vintage as a continual challenge that required the expressive abilities of mankind to adapt to the working processes. “A vintage that was always on the edge, where disaster was constantly on the horizon, but where in the end various weather events balanced out the negative effects, enabling the winemakers to find a nuanced expression of the finest quality through mental nimbleness and resilience.”

A climatic analysis shows how the 2022 vintage began as usual without prognosticating any issues, with winter temperatures within the norm and a cool spring with a slightly delayed budbreak on the vines. The conditions inverted in May, with temperatures exceeding 30°C and a dearth of rain for 75 consecutive days, truly testing the growth, flowering and veraison of the vines.

The harvest started early on 9 August with the first bunches of Sauvignon Blanc, but was immediately interrupted by the arrival of the much-awaited summer storms, which again disrupted the conditions that had distinguished the year thus far. The abundant rainfall instigated a turning point, eliminating the water stress and reactivating the ripening process. A cool and sunny September brought near-perfect conditions to ripen the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Interpreting the unusual weather contradictions in the vineyard and in the cellar required certain measures to achieve a fine expression, such as night harvesting of the earliest white grapes in order to preserve the freshness and aromas; the use of a refrigerating room to keep the temperature of the grapes low; and the meticulous discarding of dried grapes as well as ones that had remained green after the veraison. Experimentation on the winemaking front also occurred with the addition of the use of amphorae alongside barriques and tonneaux.

“The hallmark of a hot vintage is clear in the wines,” explains Axel Heinz. “The wines are ample and bodied, yet balanced by a beautiful acidity and precise aromas. The Sauvignon Blanc shows its exotic side with tropical fruit aromas, while the Viognier and Vermentino display prolonged floral notes. Less concentrated than usual and struggling to free the skin content, the Merlot required longer static maceration to obtain an enjoyable density, doing away with rustic tannins. On the contrary, the Cabernets demonstrated deep and layered hues, even in the first few days of maceration, developing a traditional aromatic profile with signature notes of cassis for the Cabernet Sauvignon and spiced violet nuances for the Cabernet Franc. The aromatic freshness is surprising, dotted with menthol and balsamic overtones, as well as plush tannins, all of which provide an exceptional basis for long, harmonious ageing.”

Now comes the final challenge of 2022: “The blending, when we will need to find the right balance between the various parts to express the many virtues that 2022 yielded to those who listened to nature with respect and dedication through the struggles,” concludes Axel Heinz.

Michele Zanardi

Dalla Valle Vineyards and Ornellaia Release 2019 DVO

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The 2019 Vintage Marks the Second Release from the Collaboration Between the Two Iconic Estates

Dalla Valle Vineyards in Napa Valley and  Ornellaia estate in Bolgheri present DVO 2019, the second vintage in their collection, an expression of uncompromising excellence and the result of a partnership that reveals the expertise honed by the two estates and the traditions in each wine region. DVO 2019 will be available on the market starting with November 2022.

A project desired and designed by second-generation winemaker, Maya Dalla Valle and Naoko Dalla Valle, Founder and Proprietor of the Californian estate; Axel Heinz, Estate Director of Ornellaia and Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, CEO of the Bolgheri estate, DVO is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (85%) and Cabernet Franc (15%). Bearing the authentic and distinctive personality of the region from which the wine takes shape, the style refers to traditional winemaking with the clear aim from the outset of obtaining a Californian wine with a European sensibility.

Maya Dalla Valle, who oversees the day-to-day operations, describes how “the 2019 vintage stands out as another classic yet modern Napa Valley vintage, balancing the expressiveness of Napa through a European lens. This has been and will always be the goal with DVO, to continue our core value of farming first, while honoring our Italian ties.”

The 2019 vintage highlights the rich terroir of Napa Valley with inspiration from Italy. It exhibits a progression of black and red currents, violet and cassis. The small influence of Cabernet Franc seamlessly ties together the blend with baking spices and crushed summer herbs. Velvety and polished tannins give the wine a prolonged and elegant finish. Aged for 22 months in a French Oak Barrel, the 2019 DVO is distinctive and authentic to both wineries.

“With DVO, we are crafting wines that are representative of the legacy and expertise of our estates while moving towards the potential future goals that this collaboration could bring,” emphasizes Axel Heinz. “DVO 2019 is a perfect example of this. Blending the past with the future to shape a vintage to remember.”

ORNELLAIA VENDEMMIA D’ARTISTA

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“Il Vigore” 2019

THE ONLINE FINE WINE AUCTION HAS FINISHED.

DESIGNED BY ARTISTS NATHALIE DJURBERG AND HANS BERG, THE FINAL AMOUNT RAISED WAS

$ 302,000

All the profits have been given to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for the Mind’s Eye program.

The online auction of Vendemmia d’Artista 2019: Il Vigore, hosted by Sotheby’s, finished yesterday. The fine bottles of wine, which were designed this year by Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg, were allocated to art and wine collectors, raising a final amount of $ 302,000. The profits from the auction will be given to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation to further the important endeavours of the Mind’s Eye program.

On announcing the results of the auction for this fourteenth edition of Vendemmia d’Artista, the CEO of Ornellaia, Giovanni Geddes da Filicaja, communicated his pleasure of having renewed the partnership with the Guggenheim Museum for another three years. “We are very enthusiastic about continuing to support the development of this special project that we believe in. Since the beginning, we wanted Mind’s Eye to be able to develop and become available to a vast audience from different places around the world. This global vision has now developed even more, ensuring that the program has become a feature of all the Guggenheim museums, in New York, Venice and Bilbao.”

Mind’s Eye is more than a mere experience; it is a set of tools capable of broadening accessibility to art through the use of the senses. As Richard Armstrong, Director of Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, explains: “With Ornellaia’s continued support, we will expand the Mind’s Eye programs to a global audience with a focus on developing the verbal descriptions in all our museums. Next year, we will produce content for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection with translations in several languages. Furthermore, we will continue the events in New York and the online programs, which will be available internationally. Looking towards 2023, thanks to the auction profits, we will concentrate on creating Mind’s Eye content for the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. These projects will continue in 2024 to expand the program, increasing the resources and the audience.”

Wine, like art, transcends words and, through the senses, the use of an emotional language takes on a universal value. The interpretation of the vintage was entrusted to the creativity of Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg. The themes of metamorphosis and the constantly evolving cycles of nature and its driving force form the core of the work, providing the perfect canvas for the artists of the fourteenth edition of Vendemmia d’Artista to interpret the theme of “Vigore” through art. The precious lots provided for the auction included 9 six-litre Imperial and the only nine-litre Salmanazar of Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista 2019, whereby the evolution of the concept of the relationship between humans and the earth is expressed through the sculptures.

Nittardi, 40 years of wine and art

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From 10 to 30 November 2022… in homage to Chianti Classico Casanuova di Nittardi Vigna Doghessa, the Nittardi collection will be on display at the Galleria Palazzo Coveri of Florence: over 80 works by the most important contemporary artists.

Casanuova di Nittardi is the historic Chianti Classico of Nittardi winery. Its very first vintage saw the launch of an art project, which has now, with the wine’s 2020 vintage, reached its 40th anniversary. Since 1981, the Canali-Femfert family has been celebrating the character and history of Casanuova di Nittardi by means of a unique artwork series: for each vintage, artists are invited to create two art pieces, one for the bottle label and one for its wrapping paper.

To celebrate this particular milestone, the Canali-Femfert family decided to establish an international art competition – the Premio Nittardi. Its prestigious jury has selected not one, but six artists, since the guiding concept is to offer passionate collectors of Nittardi an unpredecented case of six bottles of Chianti Classico Casanuova di Nittardi Vigna Doghessa 2020, each with a different label and wrapping paper.

This one-of-a-kind eno-artistic treasure, the Collezione Nittardi, from 10 to 30 November 2022, moves to Florence’s Galleria di Palazzo Coveri, at 19 Lungarno Giucciardini, where visitors may admire both the original art works as well as the entire set of bottles with their front labels and wrapping paper.

This journey through 40 vintages of a wine that is itself an artwork offers the rare opportunity to appreciate some of the most influential figures of contemporary international art, and in doing so has created a further artistic dimension… for all the senses.

Over the years, Chianti Classico Casanuova di Nittardi Vigna Doghessa has proudly borne the signatures and artworks of international artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Corneille, Dario Fo, Karl Otto Götz, Günter Grass, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Yoko Ono, Mimmo Paladino, Fabrizio Plessi, Mikis Theodorakis and many others. They are joined today by this year’s winners of the Premio Nittardi: Italian artists Chiara Mazzotti and Fausto Maria Franchi, and from abroad, Pengpeng Wang, Ulrike Seyboth, Olle Borg, and Andreas Floudas-Zygouras. In addition, the Femfert family also selected a seventh artist, Roberto Maria Lino, to artistically dress the Magnums.

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The exhibition _ The public may visit the exhibition in the Galleria Palazzo Coveri, at Lungarno Giucciardini 19, in Florence from 10 to 30 November 2022, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11.00am to 1.00pm and from 3.30pm to 7.00pm. Entry is free.

The Premio Nittardi jury _ The Premio Nittardi jury is composed of Luigi Toninelli (Gallerista of Milan/Monte Carlo), Johannes Heisig (German author and artist of an art piece for the 2019 vintage), Amy Ernst (artist, niece of Max Ernst), Anthony von Mandl (Canadian art collector and wine producer), Young Ho Kim (Korean art collector), Gianna Martini Coveri (CEO, Gruppo Coveri).

Winners of the Premio Nittardi _ Chiara Mazzotti (I) with “Purezza concreta” and “Celebrazione”; Fausto Maria Franchi (I) with “Capriccio italiano”; Pengpeng Wang (CHINA) with “Pensieri”; Ulrike Seyboth (D) with “fructueux” and “abondance”; Olle Borg (S) with “Sine Nomine”; and Andreas Floudas-Zygouras (GR) with “Per Edoardo” and “Wine stages”. Special prize awarded to Roberto Maria Lino (I) by the Femfert family, for the Magnum label and for his works “Sutura”.

The Nittardi Collection _ The artists who have created labels and wrapping papers to date are Bruno Bruni (1981), Maurilio Minuzzi (1982), Karl Korab (1983), Simon Dittrich (1984), Miguel Berrocal (1985), Alfred Hrdlicka (1986), Paul Wunderlich (1987), Rudolf Hausner (1988), Friedensreich Hundertwasser (1989), Horst Janssen (1990), Valerio Adami (1991), Corneille (1992), A.R. Penck (1993), Eduardo Arroyo (1994), Raymond E. Waydelich (1995), Luigi Veronesi (1996), Igor Mitoraj (1997), Elvira Bach (1998), Emilio Tadini (1999), Sandra Brandeis Crawford (2000), Volker Stelzmann (2001), Giuliano Ghelli (2002), Robert Combas (2003), Klaus Zylla (2004), Yoko Ono (2005), Mimmo Paladino (2006), Tomi Ungerer (2007), Günter Grass (2008), Pierre Alechinsky (2009), Dario Fo (2010), Kim Tschang Yeul (2011), Karl Otto Goetz (2012), Alain Clément (2013), Hsiao Chin (2014), Joe Tilson (2015), Allen Jones (2016), Mikis Theodorakis (2017) Johannes Heisig (2018) and Fabrizio Plessi (2019).

The wine _ Chianti Classico Casanuova di Nittardi is grown near the villa residence in Castellina in Chianti and, since 2012, has been the offspring of a single vineyard, Vigna Doghessa. This parcel, lying at 450 metres above sea level with superlative southern exposure, has soil of medium depth, rich in galestro and alberese, two geological materials that define the character of our Chianti Classico. The wine is as unique as it is complex, just as a work of art can be.

The winery _ Nittardi has 40 hectares of vineyards, organically formed since 2014, divided between Castellina in Chianti and Maremma in Tuscany. In the sixteenth century, the estate was owned̀ by Michelangelo, who would send wine from there to Rome as a present for Pope Paul III. Art and creativity are in the DNA of the estate, as evidenced by the extraordinary park of contemporary sculptures and the exceptional artists who, every year since 1981, have created two works dedicated to the historic Chianti Classico Casanuova di Nittardi at the invitation of the curator Peter Femfert; his wife Stefania Canali, historian; and their eldest son Léon, who has managed the estate since 2013.

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