Organic Wines from Italy Outperform Others in Top Honors in Gambero Rosso 2022 Guide, Winning 30% of Tre Bicchieri Awards (Compared to Being 18% of Vines)

After a Covid interval, Gambero Rosso's annual tasting of Italian wines was back in town at Fort Mason, and the crowds were not nearly as overwhelming as usual. A typically cram packed show was made more civilized by fewer people attending, although the event was still a big draw.

Italian wines form the backbone of so many restaurant wine lists, for their affordability, quality and tremendous variety, and the restaurants that survived the pandemic were in attendance to look, see and (later) buy. As usual, a large number of the wineries were seeking importers. 

Gambero Rosso's Marco Sabellico led the masterclass tastings.

Along with other wine writers (including pals Chris Sawyer, former Getty somm and noted wine authority, and Alder Yarrow, of JancisRobinson.com), I attended two back to back masterclasses with Gambero Rosso director Marco Sabellico. 

The first was one of my favorite tastings–a top ten tasting of Tre Bicchieri wines. (Tre Bicchieri, or "three glasses," represents the guide's best wines). 

All of the wines are featured in the Gambero Rosso book Italian Wines which alas came in shrink wrapped plastic which could be tossed into "Landfill" containers at the event. (Not eco-minded. We can hope for better in future years).

Yet of the thousands of wines tasted for the guide, the organic rose to the fore, with 30 percent of the Tre Bicchieri (140 wines out of 476 Tre Biccheiri, out of more than 45,000 tasted) winning the top honors. (The guide includes 25,000 wines). That, in a country where 18 percent of the wines are certified organic, means that organically grown wines outperformed their peers by a significant margin, winning 12 percent more than "sustainable" wines. (Do healthier soils make the difference?)

I'll add a list of the organically grown wines we tasted in the Tre Bicchieri class later.