This just in from the department of semiosis…
Above: A vanity shot of Italian wine scion Lamberto Frescobaldi (photo by Herbert Lehmann).
Truth be told, I would have missed this nugget if I didn’t follow top Italian wine blogger Franco Ziliani’s Vino al Vino (because I don’t follow the blog where it appeared in English).
In an interview last week, American wine pundit W. Blake Gray asked Florentine aristocrat about 2008 accusations that his Brunello (Castelgiocondo) had been purposely adulterated by the winery. With skillful sprezzatura (dissimulation) worthy of a Renaissance courtier, Frescobaldi neatly responded that “In the beginning of 2008, our wine was suspended from the market. After eight months, after a lot of analysis, it came out that everything was fine. The wine was given back to us. We could start selling the wine.”
What he omitted is the fact that he couldn’t sell the wine as Brunello di Montalcino and the fact that he and his lawyer were both convicted by the Italian courts of selling adulterated wine.
According to the article, Frescobaldi was sentenced to three months in jail for the crime (although the penalty was reduced to a fine).
W. clearly states on his blog that some of his content is advertorial in nature and I wonder if Frescobaldi paid for this coverage. Gauging from how W. cheers Frescobaldi’s unabashed passion for “New World” wines (W.’s term, not his subject’s), I wouldn’t be surprised…
Lamberto, you may be slick. But you’re no Baldassare Castiglione!
In a Q&A, I ask questions and the person answers. I was not able to find information about the resolution of the Brunello investigation through a Google search, and that’s why I asked. You may make of Frescobaldi’s answer what you will, but that’s how he answered.
Advertorial and sponsored content on my site is always clearly labeled. That post was not sponsored.
I challenge you to show me what in the post makes you believe I “cheer” Frescobaldi’s passion for New World wines. I reported it; that is not the same as cheering for it.
Thanks for being a good sport about this. And thanks for the clarification regarding the paid-for content on your blog (which I am now following).
No need to challenge me here: when I read the post’s title, “Why New World wines are the future,” I imagined that was a quote from Lamberto. But when I read the post, it appeared to me that you wrote that line, independently of the interview.
It’s been truly disgusting to see how people like Lamberto and Cristina Mariani (Banfi) have claimed that they were absolved of wrongdoing when, in fact, both wineries were cited by authorities for having sold adulterated wines.
Thanks again for the collegiality here.
it would have been nice if W. would have mentioned he subsequently amended his blog post with this:
NOTE: Frescobaldi neglected to tell me he made a plea bargain in this case.
Read here for more details.http://vinowire.com/2010/10/04/siena-court-delivers-sentences-in-brunello-scandal/
[...] Scandal. Così potranno apprendere, spendendo solo poco meno di 40 dollari, a beneficio della loro memoria molto selettiva, che uno scandalo, che li ha visti coinvolti, come viene ricordato anche nelle note di [...]