He is the young Tuscan Andrea Scaccini the winemaker under 40 to win the XI edition of the Prize dedicated to Giulio Gambelli, the Master of Sangiovese who passed away in 2012. Il riconoscimento, promoted by Aset Toscana (Associazione Stampa Enogastroagroalimentare Toscana) and by the network of journalists “IGP I Giovani Promettenti”, it was delivered on Saturday 12 November in Montalcino on the occasion of Benvenuto Brunello, the presentation event of the new vintages promoted by the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Consortium.
The president of Aset presented the plaqueLeonardo Tozziwith Carlo Macchi(IGP), author of the volume “Giulio Gambelli, the man who knew how to listen to wine” (and. SlowFood) and among the main creators of the Award.
“It was an immense satisfaction to receive the award dedicated to the Master of our oenology. If we are here today talking about the great Tuscan wines it is thanks to Giulio Gambelli and knowing that in my own small way I am supporting his thoughts makes me determined, proud and above all satisfied with my work”, thus the winner of the edition 2023 of the Prize, Andrea Scaccini.
“It's nice that a strictly blind tasting conducted by 10 wine expert journalists of our Association have identified among dozens of candidates a very young oenologist like Andrea Scaccini as the heir to Giulio Gambelli's "method" - commented the president of Aset, Leonardo Tozzi – a sign that the truth of his experience, the tangible sign of his natural talent, with a lot of life and experience to spare, it is renewed in other generations of new school and life, proving truly authentic and resistant to time like a great vineyard”.
ForFabrizio Bindocci, president of the Brunello di Montalcino wine consortium: “Giulio Gambelli contributed to the success of Italian wine and, particularly, of the Tuscan one. The award named after him is a sign of the gratitude that the sector owes him, especially in terms of training new generations of winemakers. The winemaker, in fact, plays a central and transversal role in quality wine production, a determining factor also for positioning on foreign markets".
Andrea Scaccini was born on 19 November 1994 in Montepulciano, where he still lives and works. Since he was a child, he grew up among the Montepulciano vineyards and was fascinated by his native territory, he cultivated a great passion for the world of agriculture, passion that led him first to obtain a diploma at the Agrarian Technical Institute. Come "Capezzine", then to the degree in "Viticulture and Oenology" at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Florence where, in December 2016, he graduated with full marks and honours. Among his experiences since his studies he has worked in some small wineries and then collaborated for an entire harvest with the "Ornellaia" winery in Bolgheri in 2015. Curious to learn new techniques and get to know viticultural panoramas different from the Tuscan one, carried out two harvests abroad: the first in France, in 2016, at the large cooperative winery “Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte” and the second in New Zealand, at the beginning of 2017, at the Vavasour winery of the “Foley Family” group. Halfway 2017 he returned to Montepulciano and for five years has been working as an internal oenologist at the Bindella company where he deals with everything that revolves around the production of wine with great pride and determination.
Every year the award rewards the oenologist whose work has been able to best embody the idea of wine brought forward by Giulio Gambelli: exaltation of the typical characteristics of each vine, the characteristics of the territory and the harvest year. Among the fundamental requirements to participate, be a professional who in the calendar year in which the notice was issued has not exceeded 40 years of age and degree in oenology.
The next edition of the award is scheduled in San Gimignano (Si) in February 2024 on the occasion of the Vernaccia Preview.
To the winner, in addition to the license plate, also goes a premium of 1.500 euro, made possible thanks to the support of some of the companies of which Giulio Gambelli was historically a friend and consultant: Bibbiano, Rhône Farm, The Hill, Montevertine, Poggio di Sotto. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium is also a partner of the competition, the Consorzio Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, the Brunello di Montalcino Wine Consortium and the Vernaccia di San Gimignano Wine Consortium.
Particular thanks go to ASSOENOLOGI for the contribution given to the dissemination of the Prize announcement.
Here is the Roll of Honor with the names of the winners of the Gambelli Prize:
Fabrizio Torchio (2013)
Gianluca Colombo (2014)
Francesco Versio (2015)
Sebastian Nasello (2016)
Diego Bonato and Luca Faccenda (2017)
Luigi Sarno (2018)
Angela Fronti (2019)
Ivan Missouri (2020)
Alessandro Campatelli ( 2021)
Fabio Mecca (2022)
Andrea Scaccini (2023)
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