By Donatella Cinelli Colombini, winedestination, Fattoria del Colle Trequanda, Casato Prime Donne Montalcino

Today, critics are no longer the only ones who pass judgment on wines; there are sommeliers, wine educators, influencers, retailers, algorithms, and ordinary consumers who post their opinions on portals. Furthermore, many consumers, especially young ones, prioritize values ​​such as sustainability, authenticity, and wine’s ability to narrate a story rather than “quality.” This is an abstract concept that perhaps less closely aligns with their need to represent themselves through what they eat, what they wear, or the style of their place of residence.

For this reason, “the authority once placed in a single score appears increasingly unstable,” writes Konstantin Baum, Germany’s youngest Master of Wine. The notes below are largely taken from his WineSearcher article, which I encourage you to read.

THE BIRTH AND INFLUENCE OF WINE SCORES

In this evolving landscape, the value of wine scores is also changing.

The success of the scores out of one hundred lies in its simplicity. The numbers are quick to understand and reduce the complexity of wine—regions, grape varieties, appellations, vintages—to something simple that needs no explanation and helps consumers avoid making mistakes in their choices. This need has become even more important with the advent of e-commerce.…

L'articolo ARE WINE SCORES STILL USEFUL? sembra essere il primo su Cinelli Colombini.

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

There are a fine number of rich consumers who buy wine just because it is very expensive. The price is a simple message, clear but with many symbolic components such as exclusivity, prestige, luxury … perhaps intrinsic quality.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE ITALIAN BOTTLES DETECTED BY WINE SEARCHER

Sometimes it is enough to determine the choice of bottle, especially when they are to be gifted.
Italian wine offers a huge range of prices, types and quality levels. The winning element is the relationship between the intrinsic quality and the sales tag, which is better than bottles from the rest of the world. Italy knows how to create millions of small wine masterpieces, within everyone’s reach and in recent years has been able to increase the international reputation of denominations and individual brands arousing the interest of collectors and investors: Brunello, Barolo, Amarone, Sassicaia, and Masseto …
From this new interest of the richest segment of the market towards Italy comes the WineSearcher ranking regarding the most expensive wines present in the huge portal that brings together the price lists of all the major retailers in the world. The list is published every year and shows us a rather stable situation highlighting how collectors are fond of some brands and continue to buy them.

TOP 5 – THE MOST EXPENSIVE ITALIAN BOTTLES IN INTERNATIONAL WINE STORES

The first names on the list are:

Giacomo Conterno Monfortino, Barolo Riserva 1.287$
Giuseppe Quintarelli Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Selezione 1.265$
Roagna Crichet Paje, Barbaresco 918$
Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 911$
Masseto Toscana IGT 910$
Then there are the wines from  two wineries that you do not expect, perhaps because they are small, alternative, developed as great challenges: Barolo Cappellano Otin Fiorin Pie Franco-Michet, (740$) and Miani Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli (709$).…

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