Less than a year after Cristina Mariani-May was nominated as 'Woman of the Year 2018' by 'The Drinks Business', Germany also honours Banfi, declaring the Mariani family "Wine Family of the Year"at the Meininger Award 'Excellence in Wine & Spirit' in Düsseldorf.

The award ceremony took place yesterday, on the eve of Prowein, one of the most important trade fairs in the wine sector, in the presence of numerous guests from all over the world, and prominent personalities from the international world of oenology. Here Cristina Mariani-May, representative of the third family generation and, since 2018, CEO of Banfi Vintners, accepted the prestigious award from the hands of Christoph and Andrea Meininger, owners of the Meininger Verlag publishing house and creators of the initiative.

The choice of the jury, which was mainly made up of journalists from the group's wine magazines, namely 'Weinwirtschaft', 'Meininger's Wine Business International', 'Sommelier', 'Weinwelt' and 'Getränke Zeitung', for 2019 went to the Mariani family on the following grounds: 'Banfi is one of the world's most renowned wine houses and the Mariani family has made a valuable contribution to Italian wine. Sustainable management, tradition and modernity have enabled Banfi to play a leading role in the international wine market'.

Cristina Mariani-May, thanking Christoph and Andrea Meininger in person and the entire Meininger Verlag publishing house, said: "I am thrilled and honoured to be here today to receive this very prestigious award. My thanks, in addition to those of my father John who unfortunately could not be present at the last moment, go to the Meininger family and the entire jury. I would also like to thank the entire Banfi team who, over these 40 years, have walked alongside my family. My thanks also go to the Sorrentino family and Brand Compendium, our partner in Germany for over 10 years'. 

From today until 7 March, climate change, proposals for working together to reduce environmental impact and real solutions for the wine sector will be discussed in Porto

Cristina Mariani-May, owner and CEO of Banfi, in recognition of her leadership in the sector, has been invited to bring her testimony as a winemaker to the wine-related climate change summit in Porto from today until 7 March.

'The main focus for the future,' says Cristina Mariani-May, 'is sustainability. One of my main goals is to leave my children the area in which Banfi operates in a better state than how we found it'. She continues 'At Banfi, we started working sustainably when there was not so much talk about sustainability yet. Ensuring a balanced ecosystem, maintaining and nurturing biodiversity on our estate, always looking for new ways to keep our land healthy and our wines wholesome, as well as minimising our impact on the planet, have become our modus operandi'.

The wine world is strongly linked to the environment and the territory in which it works, and talking about the challenges it faces every day due to climate change, confronting winery owners, scientists, business leaders, oenologists, importers, encourages the entire sector to work together, to find short and medium term solutions, to reduce the impact on the environment. In addition to Cristina Mariani-May, there are numerous high-profile speakers who will give their testimony, including former US Vice-President Al Gore, and who together will produce the Porto Protocol.

In 2000, Banfi began a path on certifications that in 2006 led it to conclude a journey and obtain, as the first wine company in the world, certification for ethics and social responsibility (ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and SA 8000). Since 2015 Banfi has also been drawing up the Sustainability Report in which it reports for each year on the sustainable practices applied to each sector of its business.

On 25 February in Rome, at the Voodoo Bar, the limited edition of La Pettegola 2018 was presented in a reinterpretation by illustrator Ale Giorgini.

On 25 February, the second edition of the Limited Edition of La Pettegola 2018 was presented at the Voodoo Bar in the evocative setting of a park of over 2000 square metres, right in the centre of Rome between the Colosseum and the Rione Monti.

For the second year running, Banfi's Vermentino is proposed in a limited edition (only twenty thousand bottles), in a version completely reinterpreted by illustrator Ale Giorgini.

The artist, born in 1976, started drawing as a child and has never stopped. Today he is an illustrator: he has collaborated with Armani, Jeep, Puma, Warner Bros, Kinder Ferrero, Opinel, Disney, Foot Locker, Sony, Emirates, MTV and has published his illustrations in The Hollywood Reporter, The Boston Globe, Chicago Magazine, Wired UK, L'Espresso, Il Sole 24 Ore, Il Corriere della Sera. He has participated in exhibitions and events all over the world although, when he can, he likes to spend his days in Vicenza, the city where he was born. He has been selected by the Society of Illustrators in New York and nominated for the Boscarato Prize at TCBF. He is the artistic director of Illustri Festival, teaches at the IED in Turin and at the International School of Comics (Padua). He founded Magnifico, an agency for illustrators.

The illustration completely envelops the La Pettegola bottle with a pink monochrome and a complex interweaving of geometries and lines. The artwork portrays the perfect setting for an all-female aperitif. A Vermentino loved by women, La Pettegola always makes an evening in the Tuscan hills more carefree with every sip. The hubbub of conversation and the clink of toasts seem to take life beyond the two-dimensionality of the illustration and become real. The viewer is thus pleasantly caught up in the festive atmosphere and looks forward to enjoying a glass of Pettegola in turn.

This is how Giorgini presents his work 'They have arrived. In their elegant summer dresses, they parade one by one in an endless parade. Their favourite accessory is a chalice of Pettegola, which they casually show off. Pink is the dress code of the evening, also respected by the uniform of the helpful waiters and the setting of the outdoor tables. The chatter of chatter is a symphony that acts as a soundtrack to the happy occasion. Everywhere it resounds: A glass of Gossip, please! And as the glasses empty to the relentless rhythm of toasts, the sky fills with stars. A little bird witnesses the scene, before flying away, taking with it the memory of this night in the Tuscan countryside'.

Aesthetics has brought Banfi closer to design in a partnership that grows stronger every year, thanks to collaborations with internationally renowned artists and designers, exhibitions and vernissages.

 

The Banfi winery and the Vivo restaurants in Florence and Milan join forces for a solidarity project involving the Fondazione Operazione Vivere and the Fondazione Tommasino Bacciotti

Together for solidarity, this is the reason behind VIVO & BANFI PER IL SOCIALE, the initiative that brings together the Vivo restaurants in Florence and Milan and the Banfi winery.

What does the project consist of? During the entire month of December, the Vivo restaurant in Milan and the Vivo restaurant in Florence will offer their customers one of Banfi's iconic wines, Vermentino La Pettegola, in the Limited Edition format (a special bottle designed by the illustrator Alessandro Baronciani). For the purchase of each bottle, six euros will be donated in favour of the Fondazione Operazione Vivere in Milan and in favour of the Fondazione Tommasino Bacciotti in Florence.

The Fondazione Operazione Vivere, which places its activities at the disposal of the Complex Structure of General Oncological and Minimally Invasive Surgery of the ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda of Milan, was born out of the desire to improve the way in which important pathologies, such as oncological ones, are treated, by supporting technological development and scientific research, thus offering less invasive and less traumatic treatments.

The activities of the Tommasino Bacciotti Foundation are aimed at the study, treatment, assistance and information on childhood tumours, especially brain tumours. Among its many activities, we can mention the Tommasino Housing Project, through which the Foundation provides flats, free of charge, to the families of children hospitalised at the Meyer Hospital in Florence; psychological and/or economic support to parents; and the funding of scholarships for paediatric oncology doctors and laboratory technicians.

The presentation events of VIVO & BANFI SOCIALE are scheduled respectively on 26 November in Florence, where the two Presidents of Banfi, Enrico Viglierchio and Remo Grassi, will be present, and on 28 November in Milan, where Dr. Enrico Viglierchio, Dr. Carmelo Magistro and Dr. Pietro Carnevali will attend. 

It was 1978 when John and Harry Mariani bought the first land in Montalcino and planted the first Sangiovese vines. Since then, forty years have passed of extraordinary passion, of continuous and exciting challenges, of unrepeatable successes. An important journey for Banfi, which, in just four decades, has made a wonderful history, building a brand that is known throughout the world and inextricably linked to the development of Montalcino and its territory.

In recent years, the love for Tuscany has brought Banfi closer to new territories, among the region's most vocated, such as Bolgheri, Maremma, Chianti and Chianti Classico. Much older, however, is the link with Piedmont, which dates back to the same years as Banfi's foundation in Montalcino.

And after 40 years, Cristina Mariani-May, the third family generation, coordinates the company's activities with the same love, passion and dedication to produce quality wines.

The story of these 40 years of Banfi can be told through the four pillars that have accompanied it along its journey: pioneering spirit, research, innovation and sustainability.

Tracing the path first, exploring new frontiers, looking to the future while remaining firmly anchored to traditions and origins, this is the spirit that has always guided the choices of Banfi, which, from the very beginning, has believed in the enormous wine-growing potential of the Montalcino area and its symbolic vine, Sangiovese, promoting innovative scientific studies on soils and Sangiovese, hitherto with a hitherto unknown potential. Equally pioneering innovations in the winery, as well as the development of a modern concept of hospitality. Pioneering, finally, also in the training and dissemination of wine culture, an inseparable and distinctive point of the Banfi model, which has reached its zenith in the projects of the Banfi Foundation, in particular withSanguis Jovis - Alta Scuola del Sangiovese.

Knowledge, knowledge, study, search and experimentation, to get to know and reinterpret a unique territory and to distinguish and enhance the company's modus operandi. Many and varied, in fact, have been the studies carried out and collected in the publication La Ricerca dell'Eccellenza (The Search for Excellence): research for Banfi represents a transversal and constantly evolving concept, from the vineyard to the cellar.

The results of the research must, however, be translated into innovations concrete, modern and perfectly integrated with the environment in which the company operates. Innovations both in the vineyard and in the cellar, which aim to skilfully combine advanced technologies to support the production of elegant and balanced wines, respectful of their territory of origin.

Banfi is the custodian of a fantastic territory in which it has been operating for 40 years. The commitment, certified in the annual Sustainability Report is to preserve and hand over to future generations an area that is even healthier, intact and liveable than the present one. 

"As a company whose product comes from the earth, we know that our success goes hand in hand with respect for the environment," says Cristina Mariani-May, "Our sustainable operation must continue to evolve, taking into account the fact that every action must be socially fair, environmentally safe and economically viable. Operating sustainably must improve the relationship with the environment without, however, hindering the quality of production'.

The company is celebrating this important anniversary with a series of initiatives in Italy and around the world. The first official event was in Siena, followed by Rome, Strevi (home of Banfi's Piedmontese winery), Florence, Zurich, Berlin, Moscow, Milan, Naples, Shanghai, Hong Kong and finally New York.

The events are an emotional journey through the wines that have made Banfi's history, with a tasting at a tasting booth.

On Friday, 19 October, at the Teatro degli Astrusi in Montalcino, a conference will be held to present the project for the restoration and study of Brunella, the Pliocene baleen whale found at Poggio alle Mura in 2007 and dating back some four million years. The conference, entitled Discovering Brunella, the fossil whale of Poggio alle Mura, will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will be dedicated exclusively to pupils and teachers of the Montalcino Primary School. Dr. Michelangelo Bisconti, from the San Diego Natural History Museum, will illustrate the excavation and restoration work currently underway at the Castello Banfi site-laboratory, the multidisciplinary scientific study conducted in collaboration with various universities, and the programme of educational and training activities. These include the School Camp in Palaeobiological Excavation and Restoration, now in its third edition, which will be held from 12 to 17 November, and free guided tours of the laboratory open to schoolchildren and the public.

On the same day at 3.30 p.m., at Castello Banfi, Arch. Anna Di Bene, Soprintendente Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo, will officially open the initiative Open Yardwith the first two days of free guided tours scheduled for Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 October from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:30 to 17:00.

The restoration and study work is part of the Brunella Project, the result of collaboration between the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo, the Banfi company and the Istituto di Studi Archeo-Antropologici. The project is supported by an Art Bonus grant from the Banfi company to the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, as well as the patronage and support of the Municipality of Montalcino and the recognition of prestigious Italian and international scientific institutions.

On 10 Septembrhe 2nd edition of the Summer School of Sanguis Jovis-Alta Scuola del Sangiovese, the first Study Centre on Italy's most widely cultivated grape variety, will get underway. After the great success of the previous edition, the theme for this new course will once again be extremely topical and strongly linked - but not limited - to the climate change currently underway: Climate, Vine, Winery, Market: what will the Sangiovese of the future be like?

Professor Attilio Scienza and Professor Alberto Mattiacci, respectively President and Director of Sanguis Jovis, from the height of their acknowledged excellence in the scientific and didactic field, will guarantee, as in the past, the absolute qualitative and interdisciplinary level of the courses. The President of the Banfi Foundation, Rodolfo Maralli, points out that "The project, of which the Banfi Foundation is the promoter, was born in 2017 in the territory that symbolises Sangiovese, Montalcino, with the desire to increase and spread the culture of this extraordinary vine, through scientific research, the communication of knowledge and higher education.

From 10 to 14 September 2018, at O.CR.A. Officina Creativa dell'Abitare (Via Boldrini 4, Montalcino- Siena), with the 2nd edition of the Summer School, twenty students (10 Students, graduates no more than 18 months old, and 10 Professionals), all selected through a call for admission, will be able to follow the training course. The participation costs of the 10 Students will be totally covered by scholarships offered by local companies and institutions. The deadline for sending applications is 10 August 2018 and the complete call for applications is available on the Banfi Foundation website: https://fondazionebanfi.it/it/sanguis-jovis/formazione.php.

During the course, an attempt will be made to analyse and give concrete answers from an oenological, agronomic and marketing point of view to the climatic changes that are undoubtedly modifying and will modify the production of wine, specifically Sangiovese-based wine, thanks to lecturers and experts in the field who will bring their testimony and experience to the class.

It will begin with 'The vine's response to climate change', and continue on Tuesday 11 September with 'The impact of climate change on the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of soils and vine diseases'. On 12 September, 'Interventions in cultivation techniques to mitigate the effects of climate change with a view to sustainability' will be discussed, while on 13 September the issue will be explored from an oenological point of view, 'Climate change on the composition of wine, microbiological and oenological interventions'. Friday 14 will close with a day entirely dedicated to marketing and communication: 'New climate, new markets?

From 12 to 22 July, the event combining world stars and excellent wines returns

Here is the 2018 edition of Jazz&Wine in Montalcino: a parade of stars in the lands of Brunello

This is the twenty-first edition of the festival born from the collaboration between the Banfi winery, the Rubei family of the Alexanderplatz in Rome and the Municipality of Montalcino. 

A parade of stars in the land of Brunello: from 12 to 22 July, Jazz&Wine in Montalcino returns, the festival that combines great jazz music and quality wine in a truly unmissable programme.

In the marvellous village of Montalcino (SI), world stars will arrive to breathe new life into one of the longest-running and best-known festivals on the Italian music scene, which is the result of a collaboration between the well-known Banfi winery, the Rubei family of the Alexanderplatz in Rome and the Municipality of Montalcino.

Exciting preview Thursday 12 July with DAYNA STEPHENS GROUP starring in the extraordinary "Waiting for Jazz&Wine" concert that, as usual, will take place within the walls of Castello Banfi.

One of the most esteemed saxophonists and composers of the new generation, Dayna Stephens returns to Italy with a stellar band featuring Taylor Eigsti (piano), Michał Barański (d.bass) and Greg Hutchinson (drums) and offers an enthralling show, where acoustic textures merge with electronic ones.

Tuesday 17 July the festival opens at Castello Banfi with the fresh and captivating sound of 'contemporary jazz' by DIRTY SIX, the ensemble of the best of Italian jazz in recent years: Daniele Scannapieco (sax), Claudio Filippini (piano), Lorenzo Tucci (drums), Tommaso Scannapieco (bass), Gianfranco Campagnoli (trumpet) and Roberto Schiano (trombone).

Unmissable Wednesday 18 July the appointment with the Jazz & Wine Orchestra directed by Mario Corvini, which as every year kicks off the concerts in the Montalcino Fortress with a great international guest. The energetic big band of almost 20 elements created to celebrate the marriage between wine and jazz, which has made this festival famous throughout the world, will host Argentine saxophonist and composer Javier Girotto in a performance of tango jazz as we have never heard it before.

A bet won by the Jazz & Wine Orchestra: among the very first to believe in a project such as this, today the orchestra, which has won the SIAE award, is present at the best national festivals and has been the resident orchestra at the Montalcino festival since 2015.

Thursday 19 July here is the first of two great world-class events to which Jazz&Wine has accustomed us: on stage the elegance, charisma and energy of Billy Hart Quartet ft Joshua Redman.

Joshua Redman, one of the most acclaimed artists on the international jazz scene, considered among the most important saxophonists in the world, takes the stage alongside the trio of drummer Billy Hart, a legend of American jazz, creating a true all-star band, with Ethan Iverson on piano, and Ben Street on double bass. An appointment not to be missed.

In its desire to celebrate the best Italian jazz, the festival offers 'Around Gershwin', the show that on Friday 20 July sees on stage Giovanni Tommaso (c.bass), Rita Marcotulli (piano) two performers who boast collaborations with international stars accompanied by Alessandro Paternesi (drums). The trio will give life to an enthralling appointment with a repertoire dedicated to famous standards by George Gershwin and some original compositions by Giovanni Tommaso.

The festival continues on Saturday 21 July with 'In Motion Beat', the band that brings together musicians from five different countries and brings to Europe the best of the New York melting pot, the city where they have been living and working for years. The group's sound represents the heterogeneous cultural background of its musicians, who are Eleni Arapoglou (vocals), Erin Bentlage (vocals), Daniel Rotem (saxophone), Mike Bono (guitar), Christian Li (piano), Luca Alemanno (bass),Roberto Giaquinto (drums).

 

Grand finale on Sunday 22 July with the other big international star of this edition. At the Fortezza di Montalcino comes Christian McBride's New Jawn. McBride is one of the most influential and respected musicians in the contemporary music world. Winner of no fewer than five Grammy Awards, he has been involved in the recording of more than 300 albums of all genres. His double bass is the pillar on which the balances of countless bands have rested. With him Josh Evans(trumpet),Marcus Strickland(saxophone) andNasheet Waits(drums).

All Jazz&Wine in Montalcino performances will start at 9.45 pm.

Information, reservations and tickets

Proloco Montalcino, 0577 849331 / 348 8855416 - info@prolocomontalcino.com

Information

Banfi 0577 840111 - marketing@banfi.it (also bookings for Banfi Castle concerts)

 

Information and booking

Eventbrite

Cristina Mariani-May was appointed Woman of the Year 2018the prestigious award of the authoritative magazine The Drinks Business.

As every year, the winners were announced on 22 May at the London Wine Fair, at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in West London, in the presence of some of the most authoritative representatives of the wine industry.

Now in its 16th year, The Drinks Business Awards has become one of the most internationally recognised events and its awards among the most coveted in the alcoholic beverages sector, represented in all different areas, from retail to importers, marketing campaigns, logistics and design.

Cristina Mariani-May, representative of the third family generation, joined the company in 1993 and climbed through all the positions until becoming, earlier this year, CEO of Banfi Vintners, thus becoming one of the few female CEOs in the wine industry.

Mariani-May travels frequently, visiting many of the 86 countries where Banfi wines are present. A charismatic and engaging speaker, one of her main goals is to continue to develop the name of Banfi and the quality of its wines around the world. Married to Marshall, amidst her many daily commitments, she manages to find time to devote to her family and her three children, as well as to running marathons (she has participated in a dozen and recently completed a 50 km ultra marathon)!

It was 1978 when John and Harry Mariani bought the first land in Montalcino and planted the first Sangiovese vines. Since then, forty years have passed of extraordinary passion, of continuous and exciting challenges, of unrepeatable successes. An important journey for Banfi, which, in just four decades, has made a wonderful history, building a brand that is known throughout the world and inextricably linked to the development of Montalcino and its territory.

In recent years, the love for Tuscany has brought Banfi closer to new territories, among the region's most vocated, such as Bolgheri, Maremma, Chianti and Chianti Classico. Much older, however, is the link with Piedmont, which dates back to the same years as Banfi's foundation in Montalcino.

And after 40 years, Cristina Mariani-May, the third family generation, coordinates the company's activities with the same love, passion and dedication to produce quality wines.

The story of these 40 years of Banfi can be told through the four pillars that have accompanied it along its journey: pioneering spirit, research, innovation and sustainability.

Tracing the path first, exploring new frontiers, looking to the future while remaining firmly anchored to traditions and origins, this is the spirit that has always guided the choices of Banfi, which, from the very beginning, has believed in the enormous viticultural potential of the Montalcino territory and its symbolic vine, Sangiovese, promoting innovative scientific studies on soils and Sangiovese, hitherto with a hitherto unknown potential. Equally pioneering were the innovations in the cellar, as well as the development of a modern concept of hospitality. Pioneering, finally, also in the training and dissemination of wine culture, an inseparable and distinctive point of the Banfi model, which has reached its zenith in the projects of the Banfi Foundation, in particular withSanguis Jovis - Alta Scuola del Sangiovese.

Knowledge, study, research and experimentation, to get to know and reinterpret a unique territory and to distinguish and enhance the company's modus operandi. Many and varied, in fact, have been the studies carried out and collected in the publicationLa Ricerca dell'Eccellenza (The Search for Excellence): research for Banfi represents a transversal and constantly evolving concept, from the vineyard to the cellar.

The results of research must, however, be translated into concrete, modern innovations that are perfectly integrated with the environment in which the company operates. Innovations both in the vineyard and in the cellar, which aim to skilfully combine advanced technologies to support the production of elegant and balanced wines that respect the territory of origin.

Banfi is the custodian of a fantastic territory in which it has been operating for 40 years. Its commitment, certified in the annual Sustainability Report, is to preserve and pass on to future generations an area that is even healthier, intact and liveable than the present one.

"As a company whose product comes from the earth, we know that our success goes hand in hand with respect for the environment," says Cristina Mariani-May, "Our sustainable operations must continue to evolve, taking into account the fact that every action must be socially fair, safe for the environment and economically sustainable. Operating in a sustainable manner must improve the relationship with the environment without, however, hindering the quality of production'.

The company will celebrate this important anniversary with a series of initiatives in Italy and around the world. It starts tomorrow, 15 May, with the first official event at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena where, for the first time, the headquarters of the famous musical institution will be the setting for an event celebrating a special birthday: it will be an emotional journey through the wines that have made Banfi's history with a tasting at a tasting desk. This will be followed in the coming months by Rome (5 June, Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi), Zurich, Florence, Milan, Moscow, Berlin, New York, Hong Kong and London.