Watch out for those four
It was the year 1993, and this photo testifies to a pioneering way of working, at least seen through today’s eyes: a “de visu” operational meeting for the 1994 Guide to the Wines of Italy. We were meeting in Viareggio,...
Author: Daniele Cernilli
Uncle Aldo
There are truly many, too many, friends in the wine world who have left us in 2025. I would like to remember them all, but I will dwell on Aldo Brachetti Peretti, owner of Il Pollenza. A man of great...
DoctorWine’s last tastings at Santi Apostoli
A move involves a lot of things: each object brings with it memories and rekindles particular situations, which will then have to be recontextualized. So many things accumulate over so many years and, in our case, so many bottles, some...
Fans and wine guides
Controversy over wine guides often stems from a territorial cheer that biases judgments. But awards are not about parochialism: what matters is widespread quality, critical recognition and the time it takes for an area to really establish itself. Daniele Cernilli...
Resilience is not enough
The year 2026 promises to be a crucial year for the world of wine and food. Amid wars, economic tensions, climate change and changing perceptions of wine, the key word will be resilience. But resilience will not be enough: it...
Michelin-starred wineries
The arrival of Michelin in the wine guide industry introduces a “starred” rating system applied to wineries and not to individual wines. A choice that opens up questions: how will wineries with large productions be evaluated? How will this method...
Acidic drift ten years later
Daniele Cernilli picks up on an editorial from ten years ago that deals with a topic that is still on the agenda among experts, critics and even winemakers. I confess that that article of mine seems less old than I...
The lost classicism of the Brunello, but not only that
Before talking about classicism of Brunello, one should consider the great changes that have taken place in the last 30 years. Not only climate change, but also the evolution of viticulture and enology. Filippo Paoletti, winemaker-and certainly not a runaway-went...
Sassicaia: the complete vertical tasting
From 1968, the first vintage, to the latest currently on the market, 2022. Here are all the vintages ever produced of Tenuta San Guido’s Sassicaia, the progenitor of Bolgheri wines. The wine that marked a turning point in Tuscan and...
Again origin or process: what really defines a wine’s identity?
The link between a wine and its origin is the foundation of its identity. The recognizability of a wine comes primarily from its terroir, soils, climate and grape varieties. That is why personal taste can never override the analysis of...
Anachronistic Brunello. Daniele Cernilli reflects on criticism
A young critic calls Brunello di Montalcino wines from the southern area, from Sesta to Sant’Angelo in Colle, “anachronistic,” accusing them of being too alcoholic and full-bodied. But wine, like art, should be interpreted, not bent to the taste of...
Wine world: a complex picture
Understanding what is happening in the wine world at this time is not easy, but certainly the phenomenon should not be trivialized and brought back to a single element. This is a perfect storm. Simplifications are useful if they do...
Caps, Heels and Miracles
This is the title of a booklet written by Maddalena Mazzeschi, a professional in the field of communication, public relations and marketing, which collects memories, anecdotes and stories from forty years of experience in this world. I know Maddalena Mazzeschi...
Second wines
We have already talked about the qualitative growth of “second wines,” but it is one thing to recognize their quality, and another to reward them as being better than first wines. In this case, a kind of short circuit is...
Montevetrano has been acquired by Tenuta Ulisse
Campania’s historic Montevetrano winery has been acquired by Tenuta Ulisse. Silvia Imparato remains as guarantor of the iconic winery’s production quality. Abruzzo-based Tenuta Ulisse winery has acquired Montevetrano, one of Campania’s iconic wineries. Silvia Imparato, who created the winery in...
Enoteca Ferrara has closed
It has closed (but the promise is to reopen elsewhere) the Paolillo sisters’ historic Enoteca Ferrara, an eatery of excellent cuisine and stellar wines in Rome. The causes? The transformation of Trastevere, between movida and overtourism. Daniele Cernilli tells us...
White people singing the blues
Just as in the modern musical tradition there are singers with vocals reminiscent of blacks, so there are white grape varieties-very traditional and territorial-from which white wines are produced that look like reds. Do you remember Joe Cocker? The “gas...
The color match
A few simple rules inspired by the principle of color matching. A system based mostly on experience and common sense and that normally works. Daniele Cernilli‘s word. With my longtime friend Silvano Prompicai, a.k.a. “the legendary Prompi,” we have been...
DoctorWine Guide 2026: the countdown begins
You are beginning to write to us in the editorial office or via social to get more information about the Guide 2026 presentations. Let’s start with the first previews. As I write this, we are just over a month away...
Ampelio’s barrels
Just hours after the sad news of the death of Ampelio Bucci, the pioneer of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Daniele Cernilli remembers him with these words. It has been a few hours since the news of Ampelio Bucci ‘s...
Ampelio Bucci passed away
Today the Italian wine world lost one of its greatest men. Ampelio Bucci passed away at the age of 89. Terrible news. Ampelio Bucci is gone. He had not been well for several months but we hoped he would recover....
Not just duties
For months the word “tariffs” has monopolized the discourse of wine world insiders. The most schizophrenic assumptions have not allowed for serious analysis of what is really happening in the wine world outside of the duties to the U.S. Of...
Remembering Stefano Bonilli again
As he does every year in commemoration of his passing, Daniele Cernilli turns his remembrance to Stefano Bonilli, a lifelong friend and companion in his professional and food and wine adventures. On the evening of August 3, 2014, eleven years...
Wines and scores: repetita iuvant
Daniele Cernilli reposts an editorial from two years ago about whether or not wines should be evaluated with numerical scores. At a very sensitive time, for wine and for the world, that of wine scores may seem perhaps a futile...
Mama Ais’s 60th birthday
Exactly (or almost) 60 years ago, on July 7, 1965, the Ais, Italian Sommelier Association, was founded in Milan. We must never forget, recalls Daniele Cernilli, the contribution of Ais education to the growth of the wine sector. On July...
Abelé Champagne 1757
A historic Champagne producer, Abelé 1757 is the fifth oldest Maison in the territory. As it states, it “uses its traditional experience to build a bridge between the present and the future.” Abelé 1757 has been in existence for quite...
Small producers
Speaking of small artisanal producers, Daniele Cernilli reminds us how “small is beautiful” is primarily an Italian concept. And it is good to remember that small producers are more subject to various difficulties, climatic and market, bureaucratic and cost of...
Not just little brothers
In the past, “second wines” from the more established appellations were often referred to as the “little brothers” of the great wines. Today this is less and less true: in many cases the “little brother” is the wine that is...
“Wines for the Summer 2025” has arrived
To start the summer with the right glass, there is only “uncorking” the new edition of “Wines for Summer” by DoctorWine. It is also a way to try not to think only about the problems the wine world is going...
Traditions or admixture?
The constant appeal to ill-defined “traditions” suggests as much a need to lean on something reassuring, though perhaps untruthful, rather than venture into the unknown terrain of innovation. Eric J. Hobsbawn, a very famous British historian, wrote an enlightening book...