A GREAT SATISFACTION FOR ONE OF THE PROMINENT FACES OF THE PICCINI 1882 GROUP WHO, SINCE 2018, HAS JOINED THE ITALIAN WINE FAMILY AS TECHNICAL MANAGER OF GEOGRAPHIC CHIANTI.
Alessandro Barabesi is “Oenologist of the Year” according to Winemag.it’s VinialSuper guide. An award that came after three years of work within the historic Chianti Geografico company, which was taken over by the Piccini family in 2018 with the aim of restoring the famous Tuscan brand to its former glory. As soon as he joined the winemaking team, Barabesi immediately turned his attention to Contessa di Radda, a delicious selection of Chianti Classico that boasts a long history that began in 1978.
“I immediately pushed for work in the vineyard and cellar that kept faith with tradition but, at the same time, I strongly wanted to make technical innovations that could enhance the profile of the grapes, arriving at a final result of the highest quality. – says the young winemaker, born in 1987 – This is a path that, together with the entire team, we are pursuing even now, within the Terzieri project, through the use of microvinification techniques, flanked by non-invasive winemaking practices.”
A modern and innovative approach that has made it possible to restore the well-deserved glory of the Contessa di Radda and prompted Alessandro to develop a Super Tuscan, capable of showing the wine world the quality of Geografico-branded products. The result of this project is “La Pevera,” an elegant Toscana IGT that stylishly reinterprets the ancient winemaking tradition. The “Winemaker of the Year” award finally celebrates the talent, experience, skills and courage to dare of a winemaker who is increasingly making a name for himself within the Italian wine industry.
Who is Alessandro Barabesi?
Alessandro Barabesi was born in 1987 in the town of Bagno a Ripoli, one of the villages that dot the Florentine hills. In his veins runs a passion for the land, inherited from his family’s mountain origins. As a boy he attended high school, alternating between studying and long summers spent working in the vineyard, at Ruffino. Among the rows of vines, young Alexander discovers a passion that will stay with him forever: a love of wine and the rhythms of nature. A passion that turns into natural talent, cultivated and made to grow through numerous experiences in Ita-lia and abroad, such as the one in Australia in the cellars of McLaren Vale. Here Alexander discovered a different approach to winemaking, training side by side with one of the best interpreters of Australian wine-Stephen Pannell. Or his experience at Frescobaldi from 2015 to 2018, an occasion that drew him back to Italy for good before joining Piccini 1882’s technical team.
