A memorial service was held yesterday in Piazza Maria Cappellano in the historic center of Serralunga d’Alba (Piedmont) to remember and honor the life of beloved winemaker, activist, and Barolo producer Teobaldo “Baldo” Cappellano. Among those who spoke were Serralunga d’Alba mayor Luis Cabases, president of the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo Renata Salvano, Marinella Minetti, Giovanna Morganti, Marta Rinaldi (daughter of Beppe Rinaldi), and Maria Teresa Mascarello (daughter of Bartolo Mascarello). VinoWire editor Franco Ziliani — Cappellano’s friend and co-panelist in the 2008 Brunello debate — was also in attendance.

Many remembrances and tributes to Baldo Cappellano have been published since news of his passing arrived, including this excellent profile by Kevin McKenna.

In his post Wednesday, Franco remembered fondly how Cappellano once issued a press release to all the major Italian wine publications asking them not to publish scores of his wines and not to list his winery in their guides. The following is an excerpt from an interview in which Franco asked Baldo about the said press release (translation by VinoWire):

In 1983, I asked journalist Sheldon Wasserman to not publish scores of my wines… I asked him not to make me part of a classification in which comparisons are made through divisive numerical scores that share nothing with human toil. I have not changed my mind. [My wines] are intended for a small group of friends and clients. I have a small winery that produces roughly 20,000 bottles a year. That’s not to say that I don’t believe in the freedom of information, even when it includes a negative opinion. But I think of my hills as an anarchic beach, free of inquisitors or opposing factions, and internally rich because it is stimulated by severe, watchful critics. I fight for a collective capable of expressing rural solidarity with those who have not been compensated by Mother Nature.

Vale, carissime Balde. Fare thee well. None of us can imagine a world without you.

—Franco Ziliani and Jeremy Parzen

Today, the world mourns the loss of one of Italy’s greatest winemakers, Teobaldo Cappallano, producer of Barolo, co-founder of the Vini Veri (Real Wine) movement, steadfast defender of traditional winemaking practices, and an untiring activist devoted to the cause of vino secondo natura, “wine by means of nature.” In October 2008, Cappellano and VinoWire editor Franco Ziliani were panelists in the heated Brunello Debate, held at the University of Siena. In a live webcast (and in a subsequently archived link), countless Italian wine writers, pundits, and bloggers have admired and applauded Cappellano’s impassioned plea to the opposing panelists, imploring them not to promote the use of international varieties in traditional Italian appellations where indigenous grapes are used. “In my view, provincialism in this case,” he said, “is a positive thing: it is the reason why our wines are different from those made elsewhere and it is the reason why consumers buy our wines.”

Teobaldo Cappellano was 65.

Editor’s note: next week, VinoWire will post a profile of Teobaldo Cappellano and reflections on the impact his passing will have on the world of Italian wine.

VinoWire contributor Tom Hyland filed this report last night from Montalcino.

I tasted through several dozen 2007 Chianti Classicos and the result is good news/bad news.

What is good about 2007 was that it was a wonderful vintage with big extract, but healthy acidity. So the wines are much better balanced than those from 2006.

The bad: a few too many producers have tried to make a bigger wine than normal. Call them Riservas or Super Tuscans, but a few wines do not resemble a Chianti Classico.

Thankfully, enough producers did make excellent wines. Among the best are Querciabella, which has a wonderful elegance throughout and the delicious Castello di Volpaia, with unusual strawberry fruit and gentle tannins. Both wines should drink well for 5-7 years.

Other beautiful bottlings include Bibbiano and Badia a Coltibouno, both made in a lighter, more approachable style. Castello di Bossi, slightly fuller, but with great balance and complexity and the impressive Castellare di Castellina, San Pancrazio, and Isole e Olena, a very classy wine!

—Tom Hyland

On February 11, 2009, Italy’s Comitato Nazionale Vini (National Wine Committee) gave the greenlight for a new DOCG, Moscato di Scanzo, a red Moscato vinified as a dried-grape wine in the province of Bergamo. The appellation obtained its DOC in 2002 and is the first wine produced in Bergamo to achieve DOCG status. (Lombardy currently counts 5 DOCGs in total, including appellations in Valtellina, Brescia, Franciacorta, and Oltrepò Pavese.) It is produced in the township of Scanzorosciate (SKAHN-soh-roh-SHAH-teh).

In the 50s and 60s, the appellation nearly disappeared, with only a handful of diehard producing it. Today Moscato di Scanzo has re-emerged from relative obscurity but it has long been considered one of Italy’s oldest and most prized appellations. The earliest mentions of Moscato di Scanzo as a coveted and valuable wine date back to the 14th century and by the height of the 18th century, the wine was sold on the London stock exchange.

The new DOCG, said president of the Moscato di Scanzo producers association, Paolo Bendinelli, “will mean significant development in coming years, including growth in employment and an increase in production and sales.”

According to a press release issued by Banfi Vintners, it has signed an agreement with Gruppo Italiano Vini (GIV) making it the U.S. importer of flagship brands Bolla and Fontana Candida. The agreement goes into effect on March 1, 2009. GIV purchased the brands from Brown Forman in 2008.

“We are very proud that ownership of the Bolla and Fontana Candida brands now returns to their birthplace, where the soundest winemaking decisions can be made and authenticity of the wines exalted,” said GIV CEO Emilio Pedron in the statement issued by Banfi. “At the same time, our partnership with Banfi Vintners facilitates a keen and valued insight into the tastes and desires of US wine consumers.”

“These brands, now under the proven guardianship of GIV, are true, timeless Italian classics,” said Banfi co-CEO James Mariani.

Source: WineBusiness.com.

Now labeled “Friulano” instead of “Tocai,” sales of Tocai Friulano have increased by 10% in Germany and the U.S., according to Coldiretti Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s new president Dario Ermacora. “The ‘Friulano’ label will be good for Tocai,” said Ermacora. “More Friulano is being sold already, especially in the U.S. and Germany.”

Defeat in the legal battle with Hungarian Tokaj has “turned [the course of] history in our favor,” said Ermacora in an interview with the Italian daily newspaper Il Piccolo. “It may not be the best possible name from a marketing perspective but it certainly helps to identify our region with our products.”

Approximately 1.2 million hectoliters are produced each year in Friuli, representing 14% of the region’s total production. “The new name eliminates confusion with the sweet Hungarian wine,” said Ermacora, “and has a clear connection with our region.” The new labeling, he added, “has helped to pave the way for other locally produced white wines.”

In a 2007 decision in a complaint filed by Hungary (where the homonymous Tokaj is produced), the European Union’s Constitutional Court ordered Friuli to stop labeling the wine as “Tocai,” allowing to be labeled as “Tocai Friulano” only in Italy.