A repeat tasting in Rome on Sunday

Please believe me, I had no desire to write another editorial on the events we organized to present the new edition of our Essential Guide to Italian Wine. This because I really dislike being self-referential but I received so many words of praise from readers who attended the tasting in Milan, October 8, that I could not help but thank you all and tell you that while everyone on the Doctor Wine staff is exhausted, we are all very happy about how things went. We were overwhelmed by a sea of enthusiastic, young, passionate and professional participants who in the end numbered around 1,000. A total of 1,256 bottles were opened and at a certain point there was a line of people waiting to get in that stretched down the sidewalk all the way to Piazza della Repubblica. I shook I don’t know how many hands, signed and wrote dedications on countless guides and dozens of photos and selfies were taken of and with me.

And even the awards ceremony in the morning went well with many producers taking part despite the fact that they are in the middle of harvest. There were lovely moments with the presidents of the Italian Sommeliers’ Association (AIS) and the National Wine Tasters’ Organization (ONAV), Antonello Maietta and Vito Intini, and with Pier Bergonzi, the deputy editor of Gazzetta dello Sport and fellow judge with me at Luca Gardini’s Best Italian Wine Awards (BIWA).

On Sunday there will be a second presentation/tasting this time in Rome that will begin at 3pm with a press conference and be followed by a fantastic tasting with 82 wineries offering some 250 wines. As in Milan, there will be an entrance fee which is 15 euros if acquired online, 12 euros for members of ONAV, AIS, the Italian Sommelier Foundation (FIS) and the Italian Federation of Sommeliers, Hoteliers and Restauranteurs (FISAR) or 20 euros if purchased at the door. The entrance fee includes a free copy of the guide and a Doctor Wine glass. The tasting begins at 4pm at the Parco dei Principi Hotel and I will bring a brand-new pen to write dedications and exercise beforehand to be able to shake hands with whoever wants to.

Use the following link to register: http://www.theagency.it/prodotto/guida-essenziale-ai-vini-ditalia-doctorwine-roma-23-ottobre-2016/

I hope there will be a big turnout and am sure my home town will celebrate us as much as Milan did. If all those who have attended at least one of my lessons come then 1,000 will be an easy number to surpass. I hope to see you there to taste some extraordinary wines and perhaps exchange a few words with us.

One last thing: on the sidelines Sunday I have organized a small and exclusive tasting for charity. It will be conducted by me for only 15 people and offer the five wines that this year were given a 99/100 rating. The wines are Chianti Classico Riserva 2013 Querciabella, Brunello di Montalcino Cerretalto 2010 Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino Il Greppo Riserva 2010 Biondi Santi, Taurasi Riserva 2007 Perillo, which was also named Red Wine of the Year, and the legendary Barbaresco Crichet Pajé Riserva 2006 Roagna. Tickets for this exclusive tasting will be auctioned off with a base price of 100 euros and the proceeds will go to the Casa Famiglia Armonia e Salute in Vacone, in the province of Bari, which treats people with autism. I only have one bottle of each wine and if one turns out to be corked it will be impossible to replace. However, I am sure I will be forgiven should this occur given the charitable nature of the initiative.