LARGE PARTICIPATION TO THE GLOBAL TASTING 2020 CONDUCTED BY ANTONIO GALLONI
300 wine lovers, 60 importers connected from four continents, 240 wine professionals and a top wine critic, Antonio Galloni. These are the figures of the second Global Tasting of the history of wine organized by Domini Castellare di Castellina on 16 April 2020.An event that has doubled the success achieved in 2015, when the Group that brings together 4 wineries (Castellare di Castellina and Rocca di Frassinello in Tuscany, Feudi del Pisciotto and Gurra di Mare in Sicily) was the first in the world to organize a Global Digital Wine Tasting thanks to the technological support of British Telecom. Then there was no impediment to travel or to meet, whereas today the pandemic has imposed a stop to the international wine fairs. Hence the idea of a second Global Digital Wine Tasting, this time with Antonio Galloni, American wine critic, founder and CEO of Vinous, one of the most influential publications in the world that boasts 40,000 subscribers, and by Alessandro Cellai, winemaker and General Manager of the Domini Castellare di Castellina estates, in order to discover together with wine experts and wine lovers the new vintages of the 4 cellars.
“Mr Panerai and MR Cellai asked me to do this tasting more than a month and half ago – said Galloni – well before we fully understood COVID 19 and its implications for all of us. That’s called vision”. During the tasting, the new vintages of the estates top wines have been presented: Chianti Classico 2018 and I Sodi di S. Niccolò 2016 by Castellare di Castellina, in the Chianti Classico, Rocca di Frassinello 2018 and Baffonero 2017 by Rocca di Frassinello, in the Tuscan Maremma, Nero d’Avola 2018 – Versace label by Feudi del Pisciotto and Tirsat 2018 (the only white wine of the tasting) by Gurra di Mare, both wineries located in Sicily.
Antonio Galloni talked about the peculiarities of the new vintages, showing to be enthusiastic about the Nero d’Avola 2018 – Versace label by Feudi del Pisciotto, which he described as a “floral, delicate, persistent and contemporary wine that can have a very big global appeal”.
Galloni was also very impressed by I Sodi di San Niccolò 2016: “When you taste this wine – said – you feel like you are talking with a prince or a princess. It’s very elegant, ‘signorile’ as you would say in Italian, but also reserved. I’m a fan of this wine. Great wine should be great from the very beginning”.
Galloni was also impressed by Baffonero 2017 “I’m amazed how much freshness this wine has and how much energy. The color is quite remarkable and so its freshness and energy”. About Rocca di Frassinello 2018 Antonio Galloni said that “This wine has a very beautiful fruit, a lot of energy, power and vitality. I really like its energy”.
After the tasting, a video debate followed which allowed importers and wine lovers to ask questions and exchange point of views. Among the speakers also MR Giovanni Mantovani, General Manager of Veronafiere, who asked Domini Castellare di Castellina to repeat the global tasting on the occasion of the next Vinitaly. Invitation that Alessandro Cellai and Paolo Panerai, President of the DCC Group, accepted with enthusiasm.
“Wine, in our culture, has always had the great power to unite people and create connections” said at the end of the tasting Mr Paolo Panerai, President of the Domini Castellare di Castellina Group. “Today more than ever, in such a difficult moment that requires unprecedented social distancing measures, discussing wine using digital devices is the best way to feel closer, share emotions and stay united in the name of wine”.