James was featured in the article below that first appeared in Italy’s Panorama magazine on May 6, 2020 and is translated and reproduced here with kind permission.

Open Winery

By Chiara Risolo

New rules imposed during the time of the coronavirus mean wineries have had to adapt, delivering wines to your home and making deliveries on demand. 

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Paris, 1999. Pietro and Anna fall in love at a restaurant table. Their witness: a sangiovese wine. This red speaks to them and they get married. In 2020 he wants to surprise her and for their anniversary he seeks out that same old wine. But the Perlato del Bosco 99 is nowhere to be found during the time of COVID-19.

Luckily, producers are now delivering their wines directly to wine lovers’ homes, shortening the distance between the two. Pietro sends an email to Tua Rita and the wine is shipped. “The request from this person was very emotional to us,” says Stefano Frascola, from Tua Rita in Tuscany. “We ship all over the world at a very competitive rate, and through social media we answer any questions that come our way.”

This is an example that James Suckling would call smart. The critic, one of the most authoritative in the world, told Panorama: “I have always advised Italian producers to expand commercial strategies. Traditional sales channels work, but it is useful, especially now, to feed the direct relationship with individuals, making the most of the power of the web. I am also referring to communication on demand, videos, photos. This medical emergency will last for months. It is good to act now.”

It seems there is no time to waste. On Instagram and Facebook the message is crystal clear: “Stay home, we’ll bring the wine to you.” Zorzettig has taken this to heart too. The Friulian company in addition to shipping throughout Italy, has produced a limited edition bottle with an unequivocal label: “It will be all right.” Proceeds from the sale of the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso wine will go to the Udine Hospital for the purchase of materials necessary to face these critical moments. “We love our land. We asked ourselves how we could be useful in this terrible situation,” says Annalisa Zorzettig.

Bianca Rizzo is also keen to do the same. Together with her parents, Marco and Carla, Laura Aschero is at the helm of the Pontedassio company. “In recent years we have developed an important network of private customers that has allowed us to keep going. We enter people’s houses with our wines. It is a privilege.”

It also makes the pigato grape the undisputed white berry king of western Liguria: a large and full-bodied ennoblement of home-made aperitifs and dinners. How beautiful. It must be said: a glass of wine’s mission is also to distract people from Covid. The bubbles in this perspective have a lot to say. Ernesto Balbinot, patron of Le Manzane, a Treviso-based company, has organized everything so that his elegant Prosecco can arrive in time at Italian tables.

“I never thought before that I could expand my sales network with e-commerce. This brings me to new and important reflections.”

From bubble to bubble, Bortolomiol and Merotto also now deliver to homes. The new Rive 70th Anniversary (just 8,000 bottles produced) wine is creamy and harmonious. As for Merotto, focus on the Cuvée of the Founder Graziano Merotto.

Another effective antidote to boredom is the Classic Method, Moratti Cuvée from Castello di Cigognola. Gian Matteo Baldi, CEO of the company confesses: “As far as sales and communication are concerned, we try to take all possible routes as we do not know if, how and how much the scenario will change.”

The diehards of Franciacorta can count on Castello Bonomi and Ca ’d’Or: online there is all the information you need to get it delivered straight to your home.

Mr Suckling reopens the battle of the reds (music for expert palates): “Recently I was fascinated by some labels of Barolo and Barbaresco 2016 for their structure and intensity and of Brunello di Montalcino 2015.”

What do you recommend? “Old vineyards of Siro Pacenti, Luce della Vite, Brunello di Renieri, Eredi Fuligni and Barolo Cerequio 2016 by Roberto Voerzio.”

Don’t worry, they all deliver to your house. In addiiton: the purple, round and velvety Vigna Casi, Chianti Classico Riserva dogc Castello di Meleto and, among others, as well as the ruby colored ​​Notti di Luna Piena di Ca ’di Rajo, Malanotte del Piave Docg, with powerful tannins.

But this time is not only about home deliveries. Virtual visits to the cellar, the vineyards and tasting tutorials are also happening, such as those from San Felice, a jewel of Castelnuovo Berardenga in the Siena area. So make yourself comfortable. And wait for someone to knock on your door.