Montalcino producers postpone vote on proposed appellation change
On his Italian-language blog Vino al Vino, VinoWire editor Franco Ziliani has just reported that today the Brunello producers association has postponed voting on proposed appellation regulation changes that would have allowed producers to use grapes other than Sangiovese in their Rosso di Montalcino.
The decision to postpone the vote, announced in the association’s general assembly today, came in the wake of numerous “open letters” protesting and advising against the proposed change. The letters were signed by the owners of iconic, high-profile wineries and were addressed to the body’s 15-member technical advisory committee (chaired by president Ezio Rivella).
According to VinoWire’s sources in Montalcino, the decision to postpone the vote was based on a will to find a “solution” that reflected the unanimous will of the association’s members. But some observers speculate that proponents feared they would lose the vote scheduled for today.
Filed under: News
[...] Franco and I just reported on the breaking news at VinoWire. [...]
I have said this before and I ‘ll say it again, to the winemakers of Montalcino. Even for you to allow foreign
grapes into your rosso would be a mistake. If you must allow some blending use high quality local varieties. You have a treasure chest of these grapes, grow them and produce them properly and you will be rewarded.
Gregory Graziano
[...] affair is now officially over, but tensions continue (including a recent – rejected – attempt at modifying the rules of Montalcino’s less expensive wine, Rosso di Montalcino, to allow other [...]
[...] Montalcino family, Stefano Cinelli Colombini, owner of the Fattoria dei Barbi. Even in the wake of an aborted call for a vote early this year to allow international grape varieties in Rosso di Montal… (which, by law, must be made with 100% Sangiovese grapes), certain members of the body are asking [...]
[...] The fact of the matter is that there is an oligarchy of commercial, big-business, industrial wineries that want this change. Their baron-robber chum and ringleader Ezio Rivella — gerrymandering president of the Brunello producers association — says that before the Brunello controversy of 2008, 80% of Brunello (which by law must be made from 100% Sangiovese grapes), was blended in part using international grape varieties. (Here’s my post and translation of that story.) He and his gang claim that the market (read AMERICA) wants international grape varieties from Tuscany. What he doesn’t acknowledge is that the overwhelming majority of Brunello growers and producers — 90% by most counts — want to protect their appellation from internationalization in the name of Italian and Tuscan cultural heritage. The last time that Rivella tried to hold a vote on changing the appellation to allow other grape varieties, he had to retreat at the last minute because he knew he would lose. (Here’s the post on VinoWire.) [...]
[...] of introducing a Rosso di Montalcino Superiore that will remain 100% Sangiovese. Rivella attempted to have a similar proposal voted back in February 2011 but dropped the idea after it became clear [...]