26th BENVENUTO BRUNELLO: TODAY THE STARS TAKE THE STAGE WITH STING AND TRUDIE STYLER
17/02/2018
The 2017 vintage is the protagonist of the day, with the assignment of stars and the presentation of the commemorative plaque. Debates on the future of wine will continue at the Astrusi Theatre and the doors of the “preview” will open to wine lovers. Leccio D’oro 2018 awards are also assigned.
Montalcino, 17 February 2018 – At Benvenuto Brunello, it is the day of Sting and Trudie Styler, who have designed the commemorative plaque for the 2017 vintage which was affixed to the wall of the Town Hall of Montalcino.
“A wine is like a good story, a story told in song,” commented Sting and Trudie. “It tells the story of those who made it, of those who cared for and nurtured the land that it came from. All of those who helped its development from the vine to the cask, and to the bottle where it is lovingly stored until it is uncorked and brought back to the air where its song can be heard and appreciated by all of those who love wine. This is our story, and our song, please share it with us”,
The plaque illustrates a stylised, almost ethereal, guitar drawn against a natural sunset background in Tuscany, demonstrating the deep bond between this land, its light and music.
“It always makes us very proud when major figures of international renown accept our invitation to try their hand at doing something that is completely different from what they are used to – commented Consortium’s Chairman Patrizio Cencioni. Up until now, we had yet to explore the music world. We are proud to have discovered it through the art, sensitivity and love for our land of two exceptional people like Sting and Trudie”.
As we all know, the plaque is a tribute to this year’s vintage, which was given 4 stars. The experts who evaluated it have unanimously underscored how crucial, this year more than any other year, was the work carried out by vine-growers and oenologists, in the vineyard as in the cellar. Based on their experience, vine-growers and oenologists worked first on the plant in order to protect it against stress caused by drought, heat and sunlight, then on the grapes in order to interpret them and give the product its own identity. Experts agree on predicting a vintage of powerful wines intended for a long and very long ageing.
The climate, the new challenges to be faced by wine producers and how to deal with them were the topics of today’s conference entitled “The future of wine and climate, seen by the new generations”, led by the journalist Luciano Ferraro together with the meteorologist from the La7 television station Paolo Sottocorona, the journalist from WineSpectator, Robert Camuto and the young wine producers of Montalcino.
Lastly, as per tradition, the Leccio d’Oro 2018 awards were presented today to the restaurant and wine shop, in the two categories “Italy” and “Abroad”, with the best wine list or, in any case, a wide, refined and representative selection of Brunello and Montalcino wines. This year’s awardees are: 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana of Hong Kong for the category “Foreign restaurant” and K&L Wine Merchants of San Francisco for the category “Foreign wine shop”. In Italy, the awards were assigned to Osteria Le Logge of Siena for the “Restaurant” category and to Gastronomia Galanti of Florence for the “Wine shop” category.