Publisher Gambero Rosso has published its first guide to the wines of Italy since it officially severed ties with long-time partner Slow Food in March 2009 (see the VinoWire post on the “divorce” here).

Gambero Rosso has been plagued over the last year by a series of scandals, including the abrupt dismissal of respected writer and Gambero Rosso co-founder Stefano Bonilli in September 2008 and continued accusations of conflicts of interest posed by director Daniele Cernilli’s relationship to his wife Marina Thompson’s marketing firm, Thompson Marketing, Italy’s top wine-centric public relations consultant.

On his blog Vino al Vino, VinoWire editor Franco Ziliani recently noted that an unnamed Gambero Rosso regional tasting director is also a public relations consultant to the same wineries who received top scores in his region’s chapter. “Don’t tell me,” opined Ziliani, “that just because Berlusconi could care less about conflicts of interest, everyday Italians don’t have to care about them either!”

Winners of the Gambero Rosso special awards for 2010 are as follows:

Winery: Bruno Giacosa of Piedmont

Red wine: Antoniolo, Osso San Grato 2005 Gattinara

White wine: Clelia Romano, Colli di Lapio 2008 Fiano di Avellino

Bubbles: Cavit, Altemasi Graal Brut Riserva 2002 Trento

Winemaker: Gianfranco Fino of Puglia

Sweet wine: Barattieri, Albarola Val di Nure Vin Santo1999 Colli Piacentini

(Source Vino24.tv).

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