L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano T h e G a m b e r o Rosso Tre Bic- c h i e r i T o u r and Top Ital- i a n W i n e s Roadshow returned to the U S f e a t u r i n g t o p I t a l i a n wineries and their awarded wines. The "Tre Bicchieri" ("three glasses") designation proves excellence and high q u a l i t y a m o n g b r a n d s , opening up opportunities for winemakers to shine and b e r e c o g n i z e d f o r t h e i r e x c e l l e n c e a n d u n i q u e approach to wine produc- tion. On Friday February 18th, San Francisco's Fort Mason opened the doors of its Fes- tival Pavillon to the "best of the best" wines as well as to winery representatives and people working in the indus- try. After two years, they got together and celebrated the release of the 2022 Gam- bero Rosso's legendary wine guide, the Vini d'Italia. V i n i d ' I t a l i a i s t h e p l a c e where you'll find reviews of Italy's finest wines and the story of passionate wine- m a k e r s . T h e g u i d e i s t h e result of a thorough selec- tion process run by the orga- nization that allows more than 70 experts to blind- taste 45,000+ wines annual- ly. Of these thousands, fewer than one percent achieve the Tre Bicchieri label. Marco Sabellico, jour- nalist and Editor-in-Chief at Gambero Rosso and respon- s i b l e f o r t h e V i n i d ' I t a l i a guide, as well as host of TV shows on Gambero Rosso Channel, was in San Fran- cisco for the event. We met Mr. Sabellico at the end of a round of four masterclasses, from Italy in a Nutshell, fea- turing a virtual trip from the Northern tip of Italy till its S o u t h e r n c o r n e r s , t o t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f C u s t o z a wines, showcasing a premi- um selection of the crispy a n d e l e g a n t w h i t e w i n e s from Veneto, to a selection of wines from the Sannio area and a premium selec- tion of Primitivo wines pro- duced in Bari. "Gambero Rosso was p u b l i s h e d a s a p a g e i n I l Manifesto newspaper and then became a full addition in 1986, created and run by Stefano Bonilli, a pioneer food writer and blogger. It became so successful that, a few years in, it became its own publication. Nowadays we are a multimedia compa- ny that includes a monthly magazine, books, a website, a n d t h e G a m b e r o R o s s o Channel. When we launched i n 1 9 9 0 , i t w a s t h e f i r s t channel for food and wine in Europe. Since 1988, our Vini d'Italia guide features 2600 wine producers and, from 1500 wines, we now review 26 thousand." Through the guide, you will be able to find wines that are consid- ered "good," labeled with one glass; "very good" with two glasses, and "excellent" with three glasses. The guide is translated into Chinese, Japanese, English, and Ger- man and is presented at all the events in the world, like the one we attended at Fort Mason. "We bring the guide and the wines we award to c o u n t r i e s w h e r e t h e r e ' s some interest towards Ital- ian wine. For winemakers, it's extremely important to be able to showcase their wine with a label of excel- lence. We are independent and we do not follow any regionalism, therefore con- sumers can trust us and our lists." As Mr Sabellico recalls, b e i n g i n d e p e n d e n t w h e n rating wines and wine pro- ducers is crucial for Italy and Italians, after what hap- pened in the late 80s with t h e s o - c a l l e d " M e t h a n o l s c a n d a l . " B e c a u s e o f t h e high amount of methanol some winemakers added to l o w e r q u a l i t y w i n e s t o increase alcohol levels, more than twenty people lost their l i v e s . S i n c e t h e n , I t a l i a n lawmakers have been work- ing hard to ensure the high quality of wines and restore consumers' trust. "Our guide is crucial for exporters and importers, sommeliers and restaurants who buy wine. The Tre Bicchieri is impor- tant for wine producers and w e a r e h a p p y t o s u p p o r t them with these ratings." This tour is just one of the events that happen world- wide, this roadshow is the top event and hosts around 60 companies who are able to meet local press and con- sumers, especially in some markets that are showing more interest in wine. "We have around fifty events per year, we just came here from Los Angeles and we will be going to Chicago, New York C i t y , a n d B o s t o n . S a n F r a n c i s c o w e l c o m e d u s with high attendance and we know that everyone in the industry looked forward to this event, including local winemakers from Napa and Sonoma. We are happy to see this willingness to do things again and forget what has happened in the last two years." The team is relieved from t h e t u r n o u t o f t h e e v e n t both in LA and San Francis- co, including some restau- r a n t o w n e r s w h o w e r e a w a r d e d b y t h e G a m b e r o Rosso. For the future, Mr. Sabellico is expecting even more success, including a c r u i s e w i t h s p e c i a l w i n e t a s t i n g o n b o a r d a n d t h e upcoming fairs in Dussel- dorf, Germany, and Verona. Italy. Those tours will give everyone a sense of whether or not the industry recov- ered from the shutdowns of the last two years. Among the restaurants that have been awarded in San Francisco, Gary Rulli r e c e i v e d t w o G a m b e r o Rosso recognitions for Ris- tobar and Emporio Rulli. "I am very happy my team was awarded by Gambero Rosso as top restaurants in San Francisco. It's fantastic to be here, it's time to turn the page and get back to normal life." How do you pair wine with food, we asked: "One of my best friends, Chef Angelo A u r i a n a , a l w a y s t e l l s m e that we don't cook food for ourselves, we cook for the wine. When we pair wine with food, you want to make the wine shine and that's when you appreciate both the food and the wine to the fullest extent." In case you are wondering, Chef Gary's favorite wine is from Pied- m o n t , B a r b a r e s c o , h i s favorite dish is agnolotti, a n d h i s t e a m ' s s i g n a t u r e dish is agnolotti di fonduta. T a l k i n g a b o u t p a i r i n g , Maureen Donegan, Gen- e r a l M a n a g e r a t N o r t h Beach Restaurant, enjoyed the 2022 Tre Bicchieri tour. W e m e t h e r a t t h e s t a n d hosting some wines from Emilia Romagna, including Lambrusco and the Cleto Chiarli Vecchia Modena. We talked about sparkling wine a n d h o w m u c h i s l e f t f o r prosecco to become popular. "People don't know enough about prosecco in my opin- ion. Prosecco is a different t h i n g a n d , w h e n y o u p u t them in front of your cus- t o m e r s , t h e y j u s t l o v e i t . That's what we do regularly at our restaurant. It's just time for consumers to start thinking of prosecco beyond Aperol Spritz." Marco Sabellico, journalist and editor-in-chief at Gambero Rosso and responsible for the Vini d'Italia Guide (Photo cour- tesy of the Gambero Rosso website) Tre Bicchieri tour returns to the US and welcomes Italian wine producers and San Francisco's top experts SERENA PERFETTO SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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