FARINETTI SIGNS THE CELEBRATORY TILE OF THE 2013 VINTAGE AND DEDICATES ONE WEEK TO BRUNELLO 2009
18/02/2014
The ceremony changes venue and is held in the Church of Saint Agostino
The 2014 Brunello Leccio d’Oro awards were conferred to Napa Valley’s BOTTEGA RESTAURANT, Italian Wine Merchants Hong Kong and Trattoria Sora Maria e Arcangelo in Rome
Montalcino, 22nd February 2014 – Think local, act global: this is the wording on the celebratory tile of the 2013 vintage, signed by Eataly’s patron Oscar Farinetti and presented this morning in the entrancing new venue of Saint Agostino’s Church.
«I am very flattered that the Consortium thought of me to design the 2013 tile, I don’t deserve it – said Oscar Farinetti. However, I accepted for the fun of tackling such a creative task. I think Brunello is an excellence with a strong local identity, the product of a great autochthonous grape variety, distributed, enjoyed and admired worldwide. These are the products our country needs to rise again! So I thought of a winy tendril that links a local thought to a global action. Marketing gurus argue that we should "think global and act local", but we should do exactly the opposite, especially in Italy. We should "think local and act global" because everywhere in Italy, it is sufficient to go into depth to discover expanses of history, culture, excellence and beauty. "Thinking local and acting global" is the most wonderful of strategies for wine and it is exactly what Brunello producers have achieved, making their product known to the world. The tile therefore suggests a positive message that celebrates a "small" but strategic Italian wine segment that has gained universal renown and acknowledgement. May this be of good omen for those who will know how to follow the lead».
The collaboration with the famous Piedmontese brand, renowned for its shops and restaurants located worldwide, from New York to Istanbul and from Chicago to Tokyo, does not end with the celebratory tile added to the “Brunello calendar” posted on the external wall of the Montalcino Town Hall. On occasion of the 2014 edition of Benvenuto Brunello, the group has given life to an initiative in which Brunello takes the lead role at the Eataly restaurants in Italy: for an entire week, from 21st to 28th February, Brunello di Montalcino will be served by the glass at the Eataly restaurants in Florence, Rome, Turin, Pinerolo, Bari, Genoa and Bologna.
Eataly was founded in 2004 in Alba, by initiative of Oscar Farinetti, with the intention of creating a space entirely dedicated to food, catering and eating didactics.
As regards the awarding of the Leccio d’Oro 2014 prizes, conferred by the Consortium to restaurants and the like, which have a Wine List with a wide and representative array of Brunello and other Montalcino wines, this year’s recipients are BOTTEGA Restaurant in the Napa Valley for the restaurants category, ITALIAN WINE MERCHANTS Hong Kong for the wine stores category and TRATTORIA SORA MARIA E ARCANGELO in Rome for the osterias category.
The Bottega Restaurant (http://botteganapavalley.com/index.html) was opened in Yountville (California), in the heart of the Napa Valley, by initiative of Michael Chiarello, an internationally acclaimed chef, Emmy-winning host on Food Network and owner of the family farming estate. The cuisine is characterised by the typical flavours of Italian culinary art, reinterpreted with a personal and refined touch and prepared with simple traditional ingredients.
Italian Wine Merchants Hong Kong (www.iwm.com.hk), belonging to the IWM chain, is dedicated to collectors and enthusiastic wine lovers in China. Expert sommeliers guide the customer through the tasting of exquisite wines, paying careful attention to individual taste.
Trattoria Sora Maria e Arcangelo (www.soramariaearcangelo.com) is led by Giovanni Milana, third-generation member of the family that opened the restaurant back in 1920. The cuisine is an evolution of Roman tradition, and is complemented by a very rich wine list with over 400 Italian and international labels and a special focus on Brunello di Montalcino.
The jury that selected the winners was composed, as usual, by Consortium Chairman Fabrizio Bindocci and Executive Committee members Patrizio Cencioni, Bernardo Losappio and Francesco Ripaccioli; Allan Bay, illustrious food and wine journalist and collaborator of Corriere della Sera, for which he writes the "Vivi Milano" column; Faith Willinger, food and wine expert and author of food books for the US market; the Chairman of the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS – Associazione Italiana Sommelier) Antonello Maietta and the Chairman of Gruppo del Gusto (Gourmet Group) of the Foreign Press in Italy Alfredo Tesio.