Tag: wine

Calici di Stelle in Montepulciano 2024: all the info – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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The Calici di Stelle event returns to Montepulciano, organized by The Wine Route of Nobile di Montepulciano and the Flavours of the Valdichiana Senese in collaboration with the Municipality of MontepulcianoIt will be held next August 10th, on the night of San Lorenzo, the ideal day to admire the stars and also to taste two Tuscan delicacies: the Red Montepulciano DOC and the Nobile di Montepulciano DOGG Wine.

The initiative is included in the national billboard of “Calici di Stelle 2024”promoted by the Movimento Turismo del Vino Italia and the Associazione Nazionale Città del Vino. The program is really rich, designed for wine lovers but also for those who want to spend a pleasant evening where there is no shortage of food and entertainment.

For this new edition there is great attention to sustainabilitydeclined in different aspects, starting from the Tuscan village that hosts the event. Montepulciano it was in fact recognized as a “Sustainable Tourist Destination” thanks to obtaining the “Gstc – Global Sustainable Tourism Council”reserved for entities that promote the sustainability and social responsibility of the tourism system. It is one of the first small and medium-sized municipalities to have obtained this qualification.

And then here is the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG, the first denomination in Italy to boast the Equalitas sustainability certificationat the end of a long journey followed step by step by the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Equalitas is a very demanding protocol, which involves compliance with a large number of environmental requirements, such as measuring the carbon footprint and water footprint, and socioeconomic requirements, such as verifying compliance with trade union freedoms and equal opportunities. Furthermore, Equalitas also provides for the achievement of progressive objectives and the drafting of a sustainability report in which to present and communicate the results obtained.

Also in the 2024 edition of “Calici di Stelle a Montepulciano” there is no lack of collaboration with Sugherovivo for a conscious collection of bottle caps bottles, the proceeds from which will go to charitable projects.

But sustainability also means setting up an event with the involvement of localshence the support for the artisan realities of the Valdichiana Senese, with an exhibition space in Piazza delle Erbe, as well as for local artists. The stages of Piazza Grande, the Sagrato di Sant’Agostino and the guided tastings are reserved for local musicians, where musicians from the HW Henze Music Institute of Montepulciano perform, thus confirming the collaboration with the Fondazione Cantiere Internazionale d’Arte. This latest tasting formula, in addition to wine, also includes food and wine excellences at km0 from small local producers, further confirming the low environmental impact sought by the event and the desire to promote typical local products.

And the infrastructure supporting “Calici di Stelle a Montepulciano” is also always 0 km away.. The role played by the Magistrato delle Contrade and the Contrade of the Bravìo delle Botti di Montepulciano is always indispensable, as they officially open their kitchens for the event, helping to enliven the evening and diversify the tasting proposal offered. Then there are the sponsors, who make the event possible with their contribution, the operational staff during the evening and the FISAR sommeliers of the Valdichiana delegation, in charge of the serving.

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The Euganean Hills are now a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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THE Euganean Hills I am now a Unesco World Biosphere Reserve. A new important recognition for Italy, which has demonstrated how viticulture can play a key role in preserving and enhancing nature and biodiversity, if carried out with attention, respect and a conscious commitment projected into the future.

The Coordinating Committee of the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme officially sanctioned it during the 36th session held in Agadir, Morocco, with the designation of 11 new Biosphere Reserves in 11 countries (including, for the first time, Belgium and Gambia) and two transboundary reserves. With these new reserves, which cover a total surface area of 37,400 km², equivalent to the size of the Netherlands, the World Biosphere Network now has 759 sites in 136 countries around the world.

As far as Italy is concerned, in addition to the Transboundary Reserve of the Julian Alps (derived from the merger of the two reserves created in 2019 and 2003 respectively), the Euganean Hills, a short distance from Padua, represent an important novelty, with their fascinating geological history. The hills were formed millions of years ago, thanks to the activity of the numerous active volcanoes in the area. When they died out, the highest peaks emerged, creating a group of rocky islets in the “Po Valley Sea”. Erosion over the centuries has shaped the landscape, removing the softer rocks and leaving visible the hard, conical and steep volcanic rocks. Over the centuries, the climate, vegetation and human activity have further modified the environment, creating a territory very precious for biodiversity, also protected by the Euganean Hills Regional Park which, established in 1989, became the first regional park in Veneto.

Over thirty different vines in a single territory

The Euganean Hills cover an area of about one hundred square kilometers with a total surface area of the Park of 18,684 hectares. Mount Venda, with its 601 meters of height, dominates the over one hundred hills that form the Euganean complex. And the wine represents a fundamental element of the landscape. The production area of the DOC Colli Euganei coincides with that of the Park, and is divided at an administrative level into 15 municipalities, rich in history and tradition.

«The inclusion of the Euganean Hills in the List of UNESCO World Biodiversity Reserves – comments the president of the Consorzio Tutela Colli Euganei Gianluca Carrara – it is an extraordinary opportunity for our territory and for our wine. We have supported the candidacy from the beginning, of which we feel an active part. Our viticulture is an expression of biodiversity: here we grow over 30 different vines”. An infinite variety, which also passes through theattention to the environmentwith due respect for landscape constraints, but also by the use of low-impact cultivation techniques thanks to which hundreds of animal and plant life forms are preserved. From an oenological point of view, the wines of the Euganean Hills are expressed in three different denominations: the Serpentinevolcanic and with spring scents, the Reds from the Euganean Hills (based on Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere) and then the Moscato of the Euganean Hillsavailable in dry, sparkling and passito. The president concludes: «Our vineyards cover a considerable area of the Park, over 3000 hectares, and contribute to the protection and conservation of the territory. With their daily work, the producers are committed to the management of water, woods and soil, a fundamental role today in light of climate changes that are increasingly evident.

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Best Wine List: Top Italian Restaurants of 2024 – Italian cuisine reinvented by Gordon Ramsay

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There are 6 Italian restaurants among the 96 in the world that stand out for offering the best wine list. They are the ones that Wine Spectator has awarded with the Grand Award, its most prestigious and anticipated recognition among those of the annual Restaurant Awards. The Grand Awards are the prizes that the famous magazine dedicated to the world of wine has awarded since 1981 to those who have achieved thepinnacle of wine service: to restaurants that have no less than a thousand labels in the cellar, with a wide choice of terroirs, producers, formats, vintages, that demonstrate continuous research, and that stand out for the overall experience, and therefore obviously also the food that is paired, offering a first-rate experience.

Which Italian restaurants have the best wine lists?

Among these six award-winning Italian restaurants, some well-known names stand out, but they are not the only ones. In alphabetical order, they are The Ancient Wine Shop of Veronaa «lively and sacred wine centre owned by Amarone producers with a cavernous cellar of over 21,000 bottles; thePinchiorri Wine Shop, three Michelin stars in Florence that has made the history of Italian cuisine (as also underlined by Wine Spectator) and spread the culture of wine with a cellar of 4000 labels; The Peasant Poet of Alberobello which the magazine also cites for the atmosphere of its fifteenth-century rooms as well as for the rich cellar that includes the great verticals of Bordeaux. And again, among the Italian restaurants awarded with the Grand Award by Wine Spectator there is The Ciau of the Tornavento of Cuneo on the hills of Barbaresco which for Wine Spectator is a reference point for tasting Piedmontese labels; The Pergola of Rome, three stars for Heinz Beck on the rooftop of the Hotel Rome Cavalieri, which the magazine also cites for its vintage labels as well as for the excellent selection of Italian and foreign wines. The sixth awarded address is then the Cracco Restaurant in Milaninside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, appreciated for its atmosphere, its works of art, and its cellar that mixes Italian and French labels.

Italian restaurants in the world awarded by Wine Spectator

If you look closely, these are not the only Italian presences: Among the 96 restaurants awarded with the Grand Award by Wine Spectator there are also many Italian restaurants abroad. Two examples above all: the famous Fiola of Washington DC of the chef and entrepreneur Fabio Trabocchi, known (also) for being the favorite restaurant of American presidents, and the Don Alfonso House in Macauinside The Grand Lisboa Hotel, one of the Iaccarino family’s foreign addresses, with a cellar of 500 thousand bottles.

What’s new at the Restaurant Awards

In general, Italy is very well represented in the lists of Restaurant Awards Of Wine Spectatorwhich this year includes 3,700 restaurants from all over the world. In addition to the 96 restaurants awarded with the Grand Award (indicated by three glasses), this year the magazine has also published the lists of the winners with the Best Award of Excellence (indicated two glasses, this year there are about 350) which are the restaurants that boast a wine list with at least 350 labels, and with the Award of Excellence (a glass, this year there are 2150) which is instead assigned to restaurants with cellars that offer a minimum of 90 labels from high-level producers. Among all of them, two Italian novelties stand out among the Best Award of Excellence: the first is the restaurant of Le Cattedrali in Asti, the new relais of the Laqua group of chef Antonino Cannavacciuolo, the second is the Osteria del Viandante, in Rubiera.

Over thirty different vines in a single territory

Which Italian restaurants have the best wine lists?

Italian restaurants in the world awarded by Wine Spectator

What’s new at the Restaurant Awards

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