The most prestigious competition for the Best Enotecario D' Italia 2024, coming soon!
The young future of professional wine merchants
The semifinals of the competition dedicated to Italy's Best Professional Wine Merchant have concluded. Out of the six finalists as many as four are Under 30
The selection of semi-finalists for the Italy's Best Professional Wine Merchant competition has concluded, identifying the six contestants who will make their way to the finals on Nov. 11 in Rome. They are Daniele Liurni (Rome), Diletta Landozzi (Siena) and Mattia Manganaro (Brescia), for the Bottiglierie category, and Silvia Angelozzi (Teramo), Lorenzo Longhi (Milan) and Nicola Prestini (Brescia) for the Enoteca con Mescita category. The competition, organized by AEPI, was created to promote the figure of the Professional Wine Merchant, a rising job that also attracts young people, as shown by the age of the finalists, most of whom are Under 30.
This is a revelation, confirming that the Professional Wine Merchant is a contemporary, stimulating and complex figure, capable of responding to ever-changing needs and questions from all types of customers.
<< The professional wine merchant is a profession that knows no crisis. One third of AEPI members, in fact, are Under 40 and almost all new memberships are of young people - Says newly appointed AEPI president Filippo Gastaldi, born in 1983, at the helm of Enoteca Un Mondo di Vino in Orzinuovi (BS), previously Best Sommelier of Lombardy holding both a degree in Enology and one in International Economics. - So, it is no surprise that, among the contestants of the 3rd edition of the competition, more than half are Under 30. The goal now is to make the Association grow, and the Competition fits into this context, as it promotes the enrolment of new members, both those who work in reatil-only wine shops and for those who work in wine shops with taprooms.>>
The Competition also has the purpose of encouraging the Professional Wine Merchants to always improve by challenging themselves, studying and increasing their skills but also by developing their critical thinking. The proofs during the selections are, in fact, gradually more complex. For this reason, the Jury chaired by Stefano Caffarri and composed of Giuseppe Vaccarini, President of Aspi (Association of Professional Italian Sommeliers), Lido Vannucchi (wine & food consultant), Alessandra Piubello (professional journalist), Anna Maschio (producer) challenged the entrants with complex questions, combining listening skills, empathy, adaptability and imagination. The questions were in Italian but also in English, some of which also required knowing the client's psychology, such as when the need arises to correct them without being offensive.
Now the six contestants will have time to prepare for the finals, in the heart of Rome on November 11. In the meantime, they attended the training internship, scheduled for March 17-21, held by Enoteca del Barolo to acquaint them with Piedmont's best-known PDO products, starting with Barolo, to learn more about MGAs, and Nas-cetta, one of the few white grape varieties in this land of red wines, but also Piedmont's IGP hazelnut, Murazzano DOP and Prosciutto Crudo di Cuneo DOP.
The Competition has the Patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry (Masaf) and is carried out in collaboration with Vinarius Associazione Enoteche Italiane with the support of Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Cirò e Melissa, Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico, Consorzio Collio, Consorzio Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo, Istituto Tutela della Grappa del Trentino and Consorzio di Tutela Vini del Trentino.
The winners of the Best Enotecario D' Italia 2023
The Competition
The competition is open to all Professional Wine Merchants, wine shop owners, employees or consultants, associates or freelancers. There will be two competition categories: the first dedicated to Wine Merchants who work at retail-only wine shops, and the other dedicated to those who serve in public establishments with sales and taprooms such as wine bars, wine merchants and taverns where wines and spirits can also be tasted. Finally, there will be two special awards: the Best Under 30 Wine Merchant (sponsored by Consorzio del Vino Chianti Classico) and the Best Italian Wine Merchant Abroad (sponsored by Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali e Ramandolo).
Enrolments were open from November 9, 2023 to January 31, 2024. Out of the three tests, the first and second were held online in February 2024, while the final will be held in November 2024 in Rome in person.
The competition tests contestants on complex issues, which will require analytical and reasoning skills as well as technical knowledge. Evaluating the preparation in three consecutive selections is a jury of five experts: in addition to jury president Stefano Caffarri there are a professional sommelier, a journalist, a communicator and a trainer.
About the Professional Wine Merchant
The Wine Merchant is an increasingly complex figure. First and foremost, they are the person to turn to when choosing a wine, but their work is not necessarily aimed at selling.
They hold introductory wine courses aimed at wine lovers, organize private tastings, including home tastings, guide customers eager to be followed with a service they could not find elsewhere, and manage private wine cellars.
The restaurant industry also sees this figure as a reference. The economic crisis and the shortage of specialized personnel have led many establishments to give up the figure of the sommelier and turn to the Wine Merchant for the management of the wine list and/or the training of the room staff deputed to wine service.
The Professional Wine Merchant then becomes a consultant, capable of responding to any needs with flexibility and expertise.
A consultant for wine collectors
The Wine Merchant is also able to advise on the purchase of collectible wines or to estimate the value of an important bottle when the owner wants to sell it. A sector, that of collectible wines, monitored by the LivEx index, which evaluates the most sought-after collectible wines in the world, the subject of a real market that keeps up even in times of crisis.
Finally, the wine merchant is a communicator: he or she can collaborate with on and offline magazines, be an influencer on social media, and sit on juries of wine competitions.
With Law No. 4 of January 14, 2013, the Italian state regulates and disposes of professions that do not refer to orders or boards. It also provides for a list published on the MIMiT website, in which AEPI is present, listing the Associations that issue certificates of quality and professional qualification of the services rendered by members, and supervises on behalf of the State on compliance with the Statute, the Code of Ethics and mandatory continuing education.
Allwinestories is official media partner for the 2024 competition
Organisation by
Associazione Enotecari Professionisti Italiani
