by Ian D’Agata
There are wineries that are able to think outside the box and ride that stream of thought to bigger and better heights. Other wineries are doomed to fail and never outgrow their small, wholly local, reality. This and other thoughts were crossing my mind as I tasted through the range of wines featured in this report, wines made by some of Italy’s very best wineries. “Best” in this case is in reference to not just the quality of the wines but also to the estate owner’s ability to chart a course, often an innovative one, and stick to it for their wineries. Each of the wineries in this report is characterized by a specific ability that has, over the years, helped it become what it is today. Abilities such as, for example, coming up with a solution to a to a specific problem that other have failed to solve; or to see a potential benefit where everybody else saw nothing but losses and to turn that to their advantage; or to be not the best at one thing but extremely good at everything it does; or to turn something previously thought of as cheap and cheerful and pull out the depth and complexity that was there all along; to tackle foreign markets and broadcast their wares rather than playing it safe in markets that might be comfortable but that offer little or no growth; and more. It is why these wineries are successful and much admired in Italy and abroad.
