«It is not easy to predict which Italian production areas will be next to gain international prominence» writes Daniele Cernilli in his famous blog Doctor Wine.
"It's not easy" and yet you have to try to make some hypotheses trying to "cross", continues the curator of the Essential Guide to Italian Wines, "some key elements": the critical mass of production; the number of producers claiming certain types; and, last but not least, the ability of certain wines to create "territorial branding", i.e. to unite their respective territories in a clear and effective way, inviting people to discover that the richness of a wine is also (and above all) given by the secret pact between man and nature, between innate characteristics and landscape protection.
«That Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Bolgheri, Amarone, some Supertuscans and some Grand Selection of Chianti Classico are now part of the Gotha of the world's wines is quite evident», writes Cernilli. «But what could be wines and wine-growing regions in the near future that could have a similar path?»
And here, in the front line, the name of Romagna appears. In fact, of the Romagna Doc Sangiovese and its sub-zones. Cernili has no doubts in this regard, the zoning process which in recent years has involved the Sangiovese vineyards grown in Romagna is the right path towards an enhancement which will not only have decisive repercussions on image, but will lead the consumer to discover a new " enological treasure”, made up of all the nuances of Romagna Sangiovese Doc and its preferred places.
«It would be enough to compare a Romagna Sangiovese Doc from Modigliana and one from Coriano» continues Cernilli, «to have two wines that seem to come from different continents».
Of course, the promotion of subzones is not easy, and it has only just begun. In September 2022, for example, the new Rocche di Romagna website was born, the collective brand that brings together all the «Subzones» of the Romagna Sangiovese denomination and allows the consumer to be immediately aware of his choice and the difference he is tasting.
The road is still long, concludes Cernilli, but it is the only one that can be traveled.
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Read the full Doctor Wine article