Special awards winners of 2016 Vini d’Italia

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register (February 26, 2016) Every year, one of the most anticipated wine events is the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri World Tour. This premier Italian wine showcase features the wines that have garnered the coveted “tre bicchieri” (or “three glasses”) award. Gambero Rosso is the world’s foremost guide on Italian wines, and their team of 70 experts and dedicated wine tasters spend six months each year visiting every region in Italy. They taste more than 50,000 bottles of wine in blind tastings and give a score to every wine. One glass is a good wine; two glasses is a very good wine; three glasses is an exceptional wine. The recipients of the tre bicchieri award are in the annual Vini d’Italia guide, which has been published since 1988. Out of 50,000 wines, 400 were given the award of three glasses. Quite a feat. But then, from these 400 wines, there are some special awards given. At the recent Tre Bicchieri tasting in New York, part of a five-city tour across the United States, Marco Sabellico, editor-at-large at Gambero Rosso, and Eleonora Guerini, an editor at Vini d’Italia, led a tasting of these specially awarded wines. The 2016 Vini d’Italia 2016 Special Awards recipients are: