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A Territorial Concordance – Pairing Sistina Pecorino Terre di Chieti + Summer Truffle Risotto

For tonight’s wine pairing dinner, I decided to pair Sistina Pecorino Terre di Chieti with Mushroom Risotto. This pairing is “A Taste of Authentic Italy” more specifically, Abruzzo, a territorial concordance: the pecorino grape varietal and summer truffle.

Citra Vini, Abruzzo – Italy’s Inception was in 1973 and since that time, its mission has been represented by some of the most important grape varieties including indigenous varieties, in the province of Chieti.

The Wine: Sistina Pecorino Terre di Chieti
This pecorino is aromatic and bright; soft and elegant at the same time being complex, with an array of nuances – evoking tropical splendour interwoven with delicate floral notes; being full-bodied and a robust structure, it concludes with a long lingering finish.

The Food Paring: Summer Truffle Risotto

Why this pairing works
Firstly, both the wine and truffle are from the Abruzzo region, thus a territorial concordance or harmony. Secondly, the wine is rich in aromas, but without excessive body which will destroy the delicate character of the truffles – great pairing !!

The 2023 OIV Awards Winners Announced

The winners of the 2023 OIV Awards were announced last week, in a ceremony in Paris.  Awards were given out by the  OIV President Luigi Moio, the Award Jury President, Azélina Jaboulet-Vercherre, and the Award Jury Scientific Secretary Richard Pfister.

About the OIV Awards

The OIV Award is a distinction set out in the OIV Rules of Procedure, granted each year by an international Jury composed of eminent personalities in the vitivinicultural world, who represent the OIV Member Countries. It is a recognition on the international scale, a reference in the vitivinicultural sector since 1930.

In this year’s edition, the Members of the Jury granted overall 14 Awards, 8 Special Mentions and one Acknowledgment. 76 applications were submitted to the 2023 edition which is a record number!

Books represented a total of 27 countries, with France and Italy leading the majority of applications. The event was attended by numerous representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, together with the publishing houses of the awarded books.

Here is list of the 2023 winners:

La Vigne : Anatomie et physiologie, alimentation et carences, accidents physiologiques et climatiques / Vol.4
AWARD
Switzerland | French
Olivier Viret, Vivian Zufferey, Katia Gindro, Thibaut Verdenal, François Murisier, Carole Parodi

Châteauneuf-du-pape Histoire Géologique & Naissance des Terroirs
AWARD
France | French
Georges Truc

Vitigni, vini rari e antichi
MENTION
Italy | Italian
Ivano Asperti

Improving Sustainable Viticulture and Winemaking Practices
MENTION
Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia, Sweden | English
Miguel Costa, Sofia Catarino, Jose M. Escalona, Piergiorgio Comuzzo

Microbiologia della vite e del vino
AWARD
Italy | Italian
Patrizia Romano, Maurizio Ciani, Luca Cocolin

 La distillazione enologica. Manuale per la produzione di alcol etilico, grappa, brandy e la valorizzazione dei sottoprodotti vitivinicoli
MENTION
Italy | Italian
Giorgio De Vita, Pietro De Vita

Les Grands Arrêts du droit vitivinicole
AWARD
France | French
Théodore Georgopoulos, directeur

Vigne, vin et éducation Du XVIIIe siècle à nos jours
AWARD
France | French
Marie-Anne Châteaureynaud, Céline Piot, Pauli Davilà, Luis M. Naya, Marguerite Figeac-Monthus

The Routledge Handbook of Wine and Culture
AWARD
United Kingdom | English
Steve Charters, Marion Demossier, Jacqueline Dutton, Graham Harding, Jennifer Smith Maguire, Denton Marks, Tim Unwin

Faïence et vin. De la table du prince à la taverne du peuple (1640-1863)
MENTION
France | French
Jean Rosen

Viti Vini Vici
AWARD
Portugal | Portuguese
Thomaz Vieira da Cruz

The Book of Sherry Wines
AWARD
Spain | Spanish/English
César Saldaña

 Klein Constantia – The Home of Vin de Constance
AWARD
South Africa | English
Joanne Gibson, Malu Lambert

The Acknowledgment of the OIV Awards Jury
for the photographic work in Klein Constantia – The Home of Vin de Constance
To: Heiko von Fintel

Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0
AWARD
Italy | English
Attilio Scienza and editors

Histoire des vins de l’AOC Touraine
MENTION
France | French
Nicolas Raduget

Les vignerons du ciel
AWARD
France | French
Marc Paitier

The History of Rioja Wine
AWARD
Spain | English
Ludger Mees

Fazer a paisagem no Alto Douro Vinhateiro, desafios de um território
MENTION
Portugal | Portuguese
Natália Fauvrelle

La industria vitivinícola mexicana en el Siglo XXI_ retos económicos ambientales y sociales
MENTION
Mexico | Spanish
Ariel Vázquez Elorza, Norma Consuelo Borrego Pérez, Adolfo Federico Herrera García, Ever Sánchez Osorio

Petit précis de viticulture Tome 1: Terroirs, implantation et développement de la vigne
MENTION
France | French
Jean-Luc Berger Directeur de collection

Petit précis de viticulture, tome 2 / La production de raisins
MENTION
France | French
Jean-Luc Berger Directeur de collection

Sur la piste du chasselas
AWARD
Switzerland | French, English, German
Claude-Alain Mayor, Alexandre Truffer, Christian Moreillon

Oenologix
AWARD
France |  French
François Bachelot, author
Vincent Burgeon, Illustrator

400 Drones Light Up The Sky At The Bordeaux Wine Festival

The Bordeaux Wine Festival was held June 22nd to 25th, where attendees were part of wine-tasting programmes and other fun experiences. But the highlight of the festival was the spectacular drone show.  The Bordeaux Wine Festival 2023 took an environment-friendly approach to replace its annual firework with drones.

Over 400 drones lit up the night sky over the Garonne River in Bordeaux. There were 20-minute shows held on both Friday and Saturday where the drones created stunning formations of wine being poured into a glass from a bottle, a vineyard, and the drones went into formation spelling: ‘Bordeaux celebrates wine’ in bold letters in the stunning night sky. The drones were operated by the French company Dronisos.

Ontario’s VQA Wine and Grape Industry’s “2030 Vision” anticipates substantial growth

Ontario’s VQA Wine and Grape Industry’s newly released 2030 Vision anticipates substantial growth in this sector of the provincial economy, fueling increases in investment, market share, jobs and related wine tourism.

“The growing recognition of the quality of Ontario VQA wines, the excellence of our wine country tourism experiences and the opportunities for growth will combine to take our world-class industry to another level, with premium wine at the centre of a thriving economy and culture,” said Del Rollo, Chair of Wine Growers Ontario.

Among the projected growth targets within the next seven years, the “2030 Vision” predicts:

  • Over 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario’s grape and wine production, wine tourism and hospitality sectors;
  • Annual Ontario VQA wine sales of more than half a billion dollars (up from $385 million per year currently), with all-channel share of Ontario’s wine market growing by 20 per cent (from current 13 per cent);
  • Three million annual visitors to Ontario’s wine regions (up from 2.6 million today); and
  •  A 75 per cent increase in capital investment by Ontario wine producers, with 4 million new vines planted over 20,000 acres.

A summary of Ontario’s VQA Wine & Grape Industry “2030 Vision” can be found here: https://winecountryontario.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/2030-Vision_Executive-Summary-web.pdf

“Are these ambitious goals? They are, but they are absolutely achievable,” said Carolyn Hurst, Chair of Ontario Craft Wineries. “To get there, we need to come together – the grape and wine industry, our culinary and hospitality partners, and government.”

VQA wines are made with 100 per cent Ontario-grown grapes. Ontario has 18,000 acres under vine and has grown to 191 VQA wineries, concentrated in the Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore. Advanced cool-climate viticultural research and technologies support emerging wine regions across the province of Ontario in Norfolk and Haldimand Counties, Central Ontario and Georgian Bay, Huron Shores and Eastern Ontario.

The Ontario wine industry contributes $5.5 billion annually to the province’s economy. In 2019, 22,000 full-time equivalent jobs were supported in the agriculture, food and beverage, hospitality, tourism, education and research sectors.

Sandrine Chamfrault appointed Director of the Wine Syndicate of Graves Wines

Sandrine Chamfrault has recently been appointed Director of the Wine Syndicate of Graves Wines. Originally from Bordeaux, Sandrine and began her career in communication agencies, before joining the French Rugby Federation as part of the World Cup in 2007. In 2008, she became a consultant partner in an audit firm, then joined Château Marquis de Terme in 2013 with the mission of developing the tourism, communication and marketing division.

As Director of the Syndicat Viticole des Graves, Sandrine Chamfrault aims to support the marketing of Graves wines and to increase its visibility in France and internationally, as well as its brand’s digital presence.

“I want to premiumize the perception of Graves, which are quality wines, well rated, and which offer a wide variety of choices. I will continue the substantive work-initiated years ago to create a strong identity for the wines of Graves. The Syndicate has a role of network animation, it is an entity which must become essential, which federates the local ecosystem, must be a driving force and an example for the members. I have always had this desire to carry out a collective project, which is why I am delighted to join the Syndicat Viticole des Graves” explains Sandrine Chamfrault.

“The Syndicate has a role of network animation, it is an entity which must become essential, which federates the local ecosystem, must be a driving force and an example for the members. I have always had this desire to carry out a collective project, which is why I am delighted to join the Syndicat Viticole des Graves  ”  Sandrine adds.