VERONA, Italy — I could make the argument that Italy produces the world’s greatest winemakers, but enophiles fond of the wines of the French, the Spanish, the United States and Australia would certainly argue the point.
None of those countries has elevated the winemaker to the status of rock star, however, quite like Italy. While making my rounds yesterday I bumped into a couple of Italy’s most famous winemakers and tasted a number of extraordinary wines at the same time.
Not a bad day’s work.
I remember the first time I met Roberto Cipresso. He rode up on a motorcycle in Montalcino and we tasted his wines, then went to lunch at a modest restaurant just outside of town. Cipresso at the time was making Brunello under his own label, La Fiorita, and also had become a partner in a new winery (at the time) in Mendoza, Argentina — Achaval Ferrer — that I believed was making the finest Malbec in the world.
Cipresso had a few other consulting gigs, but I was little prepared for my encounter at Vinitaly 2007. I made my way to the tiny La Fiorita stand for my appointment with Roberto only to learn that he had another stand — a much larger stand — in another pavilion.
I arrived at “Winemaking Roberto Cipresso” full of wonder. Cool jazz was playing and the booth was abuzz with visitors there to taste wines from the more than 25 labels Cipresso now produces.
I went through about 15 remarkable wines before I had to leave for other appointments, but I couldn’t help but marvel at how Roberto’s stock had grown.
“I used to like big, heavily extracted wines,” Roberto told me. “Now I am more interested in balance and finesse, aroma …”
Perhaps that is the secret to his success. It certainly works for Carlo Ferrini, who made the wines I tasted on my next two stops — at Castello del Terriccio and Sette Ponti. Those are certainly among Italy’s greatest wineries, but Ferrini’s list of clients goes on. It’s a veritable who’s who of wine in Italy, including La Massa (Giorgio Primo) and Poliziano.
Ferrini, along with other winemaking giants such as Franco Bernabei and Riccardo Cotarella, has done more to change the face of Italian wine than anyone else in the business, including Angelo Gaja and Piero Antinori.
Suffice it to say, this was a very good tasting day for me at Vinitaly. I don’t believe I tasted a bad wine all day, which could be some kind of record.
Photos: Top, the entrance to Winemaking Roberto Cipresso; middle, winemaker Roberto Cipresso; bottom, Dr. Antonio Moretti (left) of Sette Ponti with winemaker Carlo Ferrini.
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