Benvenuto Brunello drops out

The new vintages of Brunello will no longer be presented at Anteprime di Toscana

In the spring of 2021, the Brunello Consortium presented the wines under COVID-19 restrictions (photo: Veronika Crecelius).
In the spring of 2021, the Brunello Consortium presented the wines under COVID-19 restrictions (photo: Veronika Crecelius).

In the future, the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium will hold the vintage presentations in November instead of February. In 2021, the second year of  COVID-postponed dates, "Benvenuto Brunello" will therefore take place twice. 

After both the 2016 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino and the 2015 Riserva caused a sensation at the beginning of March 2021, the 2017 Brunello and the 2016 Riserva will be put to the test from 19-28 November. First, the Italian and international trade press will be invited (19-20 November), after which bloggers, influencers, sommeliers, buyers and, lastly, the general public will join in until 28 November.

The motives for the change are commercial. With the official debut in November, the most important sales season for the Brunello – Christmas – will be supported, especially in exports. With this decision, the consortium in Montalcino decouples itself from the concerted joint appearance during the "Anteprime di Toscana", which the region has organized for all protected origins in February for eleven years. 

Only in 2021 was the date postponed to May because of COVID. This year, the Brunello di Montalcino Consortium had organized an autonomous Benvenuto Brunello "Off" in March, but also participated in the regional event for the last time in May. 

"In these eleven years, the Anteprime di Toscana had the merit of putting our immense viticultural heritage in the spotlight. But in a period of great changes, like the current one, it is necessary to have the courage to innovate in order to achieve the promotional goals required by the wineries themselves. We reaffirm our willingness to dialogue and collaborate to find more common ways to enhance the value of Tuscan wines," said the president of the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino, Fabrizio Bindocci. 

No mass exit of the consortia involved in the joint event "Anteprime di Toscana" is to be expected, but Montalcino’s move will certainly fuel the already existing discussion about a renewal of the format. VC
 

 

 

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