From the President of China to the Queen of England: Brunello rocks

From the table of the President of China to that of the Queen of England, Brunello di Montalcino is an international emblem, synonymous with Made in Italy, quality and excellence. Something to be very proud of, a victory for the area, but also an incentive to continue with the same attentiveness and respect and keep quality standards high. In recent days, Brunello has featured on the front page of Wine News, which reported that a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2007 di Biondi Santi was presented to Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China by Italy’s Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte on the occasion of their meeting in China on 26 April.  The prestigious gift was selected from Palazzo Chigi’s well-stocked cellars, supervised by Franco Maria Ricci, head of the FIS (Italian Sommelier Foundation). And let’s not forget that Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella presented three bottles of Brunello di Montalcino to his Chinese counterpart at the end of a day of China-Italy institutional meetings held at the Quirinale last March. Brunello is unfailingly present in the Rome-Beijing axis.

From the East to the United Kingdom, and more specifically to Buckingham Palace, where the much-admired Queen Elizabeth II has lived since 1953, keeping traditions and daily routines unaltered. Of course, in England the beverage of choice is tea, and the Queen is very particular about the quality of what comes out of the kitchens. Every now and then she even allows herself a glass of good red wine. As the Vanity Fair website reports in an article by Roberta Mercuri, despite wine rarely appearing on the table, “Her Majesty has a liking for Brunello di Montalcino”. And so our Brunello has become a royally-approved wine. However, while its institutional prestige remains unaltered, there is another statistic that testifies to this product’s personality: in the United States, a target market, it’s the Millennials (21-35 year olds) who are driving purchases. The King of Sangiovese knows no age.