ITALIAN WINEMAKERS HOPING FOR DIVINE INTERVENTION
From DON KAVANAGH | The Wine Searcher | Posted Monday, 22-Dec-2014
An Italian wine delegation is meeting with the pope next year, praying he will put in a good word upstairs. After having a year from hell in 2014, the Italian wine industry is hoping for help from above next year, and a visit to the pope is the first step.
In January, a delegation of 150 winemakers, growers and sommeliers will have an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican and wine will definitely be on the agenda, given the pope’s Italian heritage and obvious appreciation of a glass of wine.
© AFP | Pope Francis admires the gift of olive oil and vin santo presented to him by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
According to the Italian media, the meeting was brokered by Franco Ricci, director of the Italian wine guide Bibenda and president of the Italian Foundation of Sommeliers. « The pope loves wine and has it on the table at Santa Marta, » Ricci said, referring to the building adjacent to Saint Peter’s Basilica, where the pope has lived since his election in 2013. « I wrote to him asking for a meeting with a group from the wine industry and I got a reply back saying yes. » (suite…)