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Chianti Classico Ambassador : Finalists announced

Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico announces eight finalists in first edition of Chianti Classico Ambassador Competition in Germany. 

Wine professionals, press, wine educators and online-influencers from across Germany registered for the online exam on 2nd November, taking the first step to becoming Germany’s first Chianti Classico Ambassador. 

Participants were given 30 minutes to answer questions covering the historical, technical, geographic and organoleptic aspects of the region and its wines. 

The Chianti Classico Ambassador competition was launched in North America in 2016 and has seen hundreds of wine professionals compete to become an acknowledged expert one of Italy’s most cherished lands and appellations. The Ambassador for Germany, being the largest export market for Chianti Classico in Europe, will be an important reference point for the Consorzio’s more than 500 member wineries and will be supported to carry out promotional and educational activities on the wines of the black rooster.  

Eight of the highest-scoring participants will attend the finals to be held on 7th February (Covid 19-regulations permitting) at the Althoff Seehotel Überfahrt on Lake Tegernsee. The exams will consist of a blind tasting and an oral presentation. The winner will be announced during a gala dinner in the 3-star Michelin star restaurant by Christian Jürgens. 

Finalists: Domenico Durante, Lorenz Immerfall, Carine Patricio, Sabrina Rossetti, Benjamin Sauri Montalt, Andrea Vestri, Stephanie Wimber, Sebastian Wöll

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Could you be Chianti Classico’s first Ambassador in Germany?

The Black Rooster is looking for its first Ambassador in Germany – could it be you? If you’re a Sommelier, Wine educator, Journalist or Influencer and have a talent for communication and a passion for the wines of Chianti Classico then you can’t miss this opportunity.

After competitions in Canada and the US, the Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico decided to bring the Ambassador Competition to Germany – it’s most important market in Europe – to try to find someone is full of passion for their land to fulfil this role.

The competition starts with an online exam on 2nd November (registration possible until 29th October) after which the 8-top scorers will be invited to Althoff Seehotel Uberfahrt on the banks of Lake Tegernsee for the finals on 29th November. The winner will be announced during a dinner in the 3-start Michelin restaurant Uberfahrt that evening.

Germany’s first Chianti Classico Ambassador will then be invited to Tuscany for the Anteprima event in February 2021 and will have the chance to tour the area and really get to know the wineries. They’ll also receive support in activities that they want to carry out in Germany and will be able to use the Award as a way of creating their own projects and initiatives.

I spoke to Chianti Classico Ambassador for British Columbia, Canada Jason Yamasaki to hear his experience of the competition and how he’s used that to his benefit.

Registration is open on this link until 29th October. Apply today : https://www.chianticlassico.com/de/ambassador-exam/

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Quaranvino Dinner Dates – How Social Distancing created a new way of enjoying wine

Quaranvino online wine dinners

2020 has been nothing short of crazy and when measures came in to avoid socialising, as an events organiser, I found myself facing a real challenge.

I love organising events of any type but getting people together to discover the wines of my favourite Italian winemakers with good food and chat gives me a different type of satisfaction. These are the types of events where people go home with new friends, new stories to tell, a new favourite wine, and a smile on their face.

I started wracking my brains to come up with new events formats and quickly realised that the only way we could carry on enjoying a shared wine experience would be if we were drinking the same wine at the same moment. We might be physically distant but if we could talk and share the experience of tasting the same wine, we would still be able to enjoy a collective experience and the best person to do this with us would be the winemaker.

I shared my idea with Benni of Senti Vini. We met as he distributes some of the member wineries of Italia del Vino Consortium, is young, dynamic and smart, making him the perfect partner for such a project. His portfolio includes many producers I know personally so I selected 6 wineries and 2 labels from each to create different options for enjoying the dinners.

Quaranvino Dinner Dates then turned into a programme of online wine dinners hosted by myself and special guests Klaus Lentsch, Alessandro Medici, Daria Garofoli, Paolo Librandi, Giuseppe Nicolis and José Rallo. Starting on 28th March, the dinners will be held every Saturday and Wednesday at 8pm until 15th April.

Wine lovers who are bored-at-home just need to click the link, choose the wines they want to receive and then join the online dinner via a conf call link. The only thing I can’t provide is the food!

The most ingenious part? These wines can be shipped anywhere in the EU meaning that events are no longer limited to Munich. Guests can invite their friends in Belgium, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, the list goes on making Quaranvino Dinner Dates experiences that can be shared with friends in far-off lands.

As for the winery-owners, after weeks being quarantined in Italy, they now get the chance to do what they love: meet people and communicate their passion for their wines and their land..

In a moment where we’re told to increase distance with one-another, I managed to find a way to reduce it – all whilst enjoying Italian wine. Quaranvino Dinner Dates..

I look forward to having dinner with you soon.

Watch my video with more details on how it works.

Quaranvino online wine dinners
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Born Digital Wine Awards 2018

Winners released

Born Digital Wine Awards, is the only international wine awards that assess entries from various different languages across a range of categories, and the winners are out today!

New sponsor, new categories – it was all change for the 2018 edition of these awards (that I so love coordinating!) and the result was something that really appealed to people who are creating great content around the world.

This year we attracted more and more writer, photographers and videographers that had never entered the competition and the quality of the work was outstanding. Need to be convinced? Take a look at the list of winners below. Even if you’re a seasoned wine pro, there’s sure to be something there that you didn’t know…

BEST EDITORIAL / OPINION WINE WRITING

  1. Meg Houston Maker ~ Toward a New Lexicon for American Wine ~ Twitter
  2. W. Blake Gray ~ Please Do Not Buy These Wines ~ Twitter
  3. Becca Yeamans-Irwin ~ The future of Fermentation : The role of Synthetic yeast in Winemaking ~ Twitter

BEST TOURISM CONTENT WITH A FOCUS ON WINE – TEXT OR VIDEO

  1. Ilkka Sirén ~ Why You Should Bury Your Wine in the Pits of the Earth ~ Twitter
  2. Sarah Grunwald ~ How One Georgian Winemaker Brought a Cellar to the Sky
  3. Anna Webster ~ Mornington Peninsula’s Moorooduc Estate ~ Twitter

BEST WINE AND FOOD CONTENT – TEXT OR VIDEO

  1. Alice Feiring ~ Noma ~ Twitter
  2. Charine Tan ~ The Unlikely Partners: Somlói Wine and Indonesian Stew ~ Twitter
  3. Jill Barth ~ This French Wine Region’s Pink Lakes Produce The World’s Best Salt ~ Twitter

BEST INTERVIEW – TEXT, VIDEO OR PODCAST

  1. Monty Waldin ~ Italian Wine Podcast Episode 139: Monty Waldin interviews Joe Bastianich (Bastianich Winery) ~ Twitter
  2. Cathy Huyghe ~ “It’s Like Mansplaining, but for Race”: What the Wine Industry Can Learn about Black Consumers ~ Twitter
  3. Christina Rasmussen ~ Up On Mt. Etna With Frank Cornelissen: The Sprudge Wine Interview ~ Twitter

BEST VISUAL STORYTELLING – PHOTO, VIDEO OR IMAGE

  1. Ryan Moore ~ Geyserville: History in the Ground ~ Twitter
  2. Al Robertson ~ Is You Wine Vegan? ~ Twitter
  3. Dan Sims ~ Gippsland teaser trailer ~ Twitter

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Marcelo Copello – Sustentabilidade no Vinho, o planeta agradece – Translation

INNOVATION AWARD BY VINVENTIONS

Robert Joseph