Italian Wine Sings at the 12th OperaWine

One of Italian wine's signature events—OperaWine: Finest Italian Wines—returned with a roar on April 1 in Verona, attracting close to 2,500 global wine professionals for a tasting of some of Italy's great and historic wines.

Developed by Wine Spectator in partnership with Vinitaly and Veronafiere, OperaWine comes on the eve of Verona's massive four-day annual international wine fair, Vinitaly. This 12th OperaWine was one of the best attended, with 60 percent more guests than last year.

One hundred thirty top Italian producers, selected by Wine Spectator senior editors Bruce Sanderson and Alison Napjus, each poured one highly regarded wine in the city's Gallerie Mercatali, a soaring 1950s-era former fruit and vegetable market renovated in 2019. Among this year's surprises were some older vintages. For example, Bolgheri's legendary Tenuta San Guido poured from magnums of its Sassicaia 1999. "Wine needs to age, and we wanted to demonstrate the potential to conserve [Sassicaia] for a very long time," explained the estate director Carlo Paoli.

Nearby, Montalcino's Valdicava poured its Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 1993. "This is an incredible event, and we always try to bring something special," said the estate's president, PierFilippo Abbruzzese.

Among attendees were importers, distributors, journalists, politicians, wine educators and sommeliers. New York sommelier and restaurant owner Yannick Benjamin enthused, "For me this is a consolidation of some of Italy's finest producers with some wines I've never tasted."

The wines offered a taste of Italian wine's variety and quality, from Campanian whites to Super Tuscan reds. (jdtw)

In opening remarks, Sanderson explained that the wines are chosen for their track records and historical significance. Italian agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida heralded OperaWine's importance in celebrating Italian wine excellence and the "fundamental role" wine plays in Italian life. "Wine is a noble product that brings well-being," he said.

OperaWine producers—spanning all of Italy's 20 geographic regions—were again led by Tuscany, with 35 wineries. Antonio Rallo, CEO of Donnafugata and the president of Sicily's Sicilia DOC, noted the growth of the island's wines to include 10 producers. "There is more focus on Sicily because we are going up in quality and more and more in the minds of consumers," he said.

Ten producers from across Italy were pouring for the first time. Among them were Campania's Colli di Lapio, whose Carmela Cieri poured the winery's Fiano di Avellino 2020. "Bello bello, I am so proud," she said. "I didn't expect all of this—so many people so interested in what we are doing."

The sentiment was echoed by Monte Del Frà's Marica Bonomo pouring her white 2019 Custoza Superiore Cà del Magro: "I am full of pride and emotion."

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