Benvenuto Brunello 2019 with Alex Zanardi

In 2019, for the first time, Benvenuto Brunello, the preview of Tuscany’s great red wine which will be held in Montalcino from 15 to 18 February, will have a title to characterize the vintage about to go on the market. That chosen for the 2014 vintage is “Elegance to the test”, a concept around which the two events to be held in the Teatro degli Astrusi will revolve. The first, on 15 February, is the round table “Super Wines and Super Prices – Brunello and the French”, with journalist Federico Quaranta, Giampiero Bertolini, Managing Director of Tenuta Biondi Santi Il Greppo (where Brunello di Montalcino originated at the end of the 19th century), Chateau Giscours and Chateau Du Tertre winemaker Lorenzo Pasquini, and Jerome Gautheret, Le Monde’s Italy correspondent and owner of Maison Louis Latour. “Il racconto del vino in TV” (Talking about Wine on TV) on 16 February will include noted faces from the small screen, RAI 2’s Marcello Masi and Rocco Tolfa and TG5’s Gioacchino Bonsignore, together with Monique Soltani from the American series, Wine Oh TV. Both events will be moderated by Luciano Ferraro, editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera.

Alex Zanardi, racing driver and paracyclist

The traditional events will also be held in the Teatro degli Astrusi on 16 February, starting with the award of the Giulio Gambelli 2019 Prize and the Leccio d’Oro, the prestigious award that has gone to selected restaurants and wine bars in Italy and around the world since 1994. Finally, the eagerly-awaited presentation of the 2018 vintage and the celebratory tile, created this year by Alex Zanardi, racing driver, paracyclist and TV presenter, considered a true hero and role model for paralympic sport, where he won four gold medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games.

However, as always, at the centre of everything will be the Brunello 2014, Brunello Riserva 2013, Rosso 2017, Moscadello and Sant’Antimo tastings, which will take place in the enchanting setting of the Sant’Agostino Complex. Wine enthusiasts can attend Benvenuto Brunello from 16 to 18 February (15 February is press day). Tickets cost €40.00 and can be purchased online on the Consortium’s website, so avoiding queues and waits. Accreditations for trade visitors are already sold out.