Christmas has come and among few days we will close this 2017, that, at least for us, people of wine will be remembered for one of the “thinnest” vintages of the last twenty years (probably less than the estimated 40 hl) and for an export that will grow a bit more, surpassing 6 billion euros, but still not well exploited from our compartment.
This year, we decided to wish each other Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year with some positive stories, for various reasons of Italian wine world.

Let’s start with a little story, the one of Angelo De Pieri, a small producer of the Berici Hills, in Vicenza region, for years grape supplier of a cooperative, who decided to bottle his first wine in 2017: a Prosecco on yeast called “La Rovesciata”.
How difficult and courageous is to be a wine entrepreneur today, in an era where there are no certainties and fast developments on the markets.
An other story. In 2017 Bertani celebrated the 50 Harvests (from 1958 to 2008) and the come back to the market of the historical vintage 1967 (1967-2017). Two fiftieth anniversaries that tell the story of a winery that has managed not to run after the fashion of the times, in the name of consistency and respect for the authenticity of its production territory and its own vine varieties.

But we also want to tell you about Francesca Moretti, managing director of Terra Moretti group (Bellavista, Contadi Castaldi, Petra, Sella & Mosca, Acquagiusta and Teruzzi Puthod), who has written, together with Laura Lazzaroni and Gianluca Biscalchin, an illustrated book titled “Uvaspina alla scoperta della vigna”, an extraordinary example of how to let children enter in our world of wine.
Another story that we want to tell is the one about Vinitaly International Academy (VIA), strongly desired by Steve Kim and chaired by Ian D’Agata, which was born in February 2014 and in just over 3 years has managed to certify 131 Italian wine ambassadors representing 22 countries.
But we cannot fail to mention in this late 2017 Marilisa Allegrini, the first woman of Italian wine to deserve the Wine Spectator’s cover. An extraordinary example of female entrepreneurship in the world of wine.
But also Andrea Cortonesi, a small producer of Montalcino, owner of the company Uccelliera, who with his Brunello di Montalcino 2010 has “brought home” the 98 points of Wine Spectator.
Lastly, for us of Wine Meridian, 2017 closes with the birth of a very important project that we hope will make a useful contribution to Italian wine companies: Wine Campus, two training courses, one dedicated to wine entrepreneurs and one to export manager.
Italian wine should not be afraid of the future If the entrepreneurial skills of its managers will grow.
For this to happen we have decided to put people at the “centre of the game”. They are and will always be the key to success of Italian wine in the world.
Happy 2018 to all those who encourage us every day to be better.