The Contest Wars: Enologists vs Sommeliers

No sooner had I written my editorial on the Decanter Awards 2012 and the differences between international and Italian contests, that a war broke out between enologists and sommeliers over this same topic. The cause of the conflict was expressed clearly by the president of the Italian Winemaking Association (Assoenologi), Giancarlo Prevarin (and not Giuseppe Martelli who is the association's director and not president as I had erroneously written in my previous editorial). In an article entitled ''Maybe They Are Right When They Say It's Better To Be Feared Than Loved'' and published in the association's official magazine L'Enotecnico, Prevarin denounced that he saw as an ''attempted wine coup'' against the enologists' association by the Italian Sommeliers' Association (AIS). What was he talking about? An amendment proposed to the Simplification Bill by PDL Senator Laura Bianconi, chairman of the Luigi Veronelli Association that groups together 'Friends of wine' MPs (and has its headquarters in Hotel Rome Cavalieri in the same rooms where Bibena and AIS have their headquarters) . The amendment proposes that AIS control and manage all wine contests in Italy, a responsibility currently held by Assoenologi. All hell broke loose.

The Agriculture Ministry strongly recommended against the change and, according to Prevarin, even a lot of MPs were oppose it. At this point let me say what I think. In my view enologists, those who make wine, should not be the ones who judge them. The principle of objectivity, that should govern any judgment, is not being respected in this case and what is at stake does not have as much to do with the power of lobbies in the wine world as with the principle of rule of law. The way it is now in local contests the jury is made up mostly by people who have wines in competition and thus are judging themselves. While it is true that these are blind tastings and that no Italian contests has any real impact on consumer choices, I do think some doubts do arise in regard to form, not to mention substance, AIS or no AIS. And, in law, form and substance are essential, as any first-year law student can tell you.