Above: I furtively managed to make a scan of Veronelli’s autograph when I visited the Terlato Wines International Tangley Oaks mansion earlier this year.
Luigi Veronelli, “intellectual, writer, liberatarian, literally the inventor of wine journalism in Italy,” wrote Italy’s top wine blogger Mr. Franco Ziliani this morning on his new blog Le Millle Bolle, raising a glass of traditional method sparkling wine to remember the architect of the Italian food and wine renaissance on the sixth anniversary of his passing.
Regrettably, very little of Veronelli’s writing has been translated into English (aside from what I’ve translated on my blog, where he appears often).
It’s difficult for the solely Anglophone lovers of Italian food and wine to gauge the reach and scope of Veronelli’s legacy (would Eataly have been possible — even conceivable — without him?).
Check out this amazing video, from 1975, when Veronelli was 49 years old and had yet to publish his landmark catalog of the wines of Italy (1983). It was posted in the comment thread of Mr. Ziliani’s post by the brilliant Giovanni Arcari, one of my favorite Italian winemakers and a good friend (look for Giovanni in the Franciacorta pavilion at Vinitaly this year and he will BLOW YOUR minds with the wines he makes and pours).
In it, he demonstrates how to make spaghetti alla chitarra. Italian is not required for viewing but the Pasolinian implications of the subtle dialectal inflections will not be lost on the Italophones among us.
Please join Tracie P and me in raising a glass tonight to this truly epic hero and sine qua non of contemporary Italian food and wine.
Do Bianchi 
Thank you Jeremy, you are very kind!
Grande Luigi! Thanks so much for digging up this A Tavola alle 7 video. Fantastic. Im going to watch some others now and raise a glass the man who was so influential in how we know and approach italian food and wine today.
Luigi Veronelli was a great man. Every producer owes him the knowledge and the reputation that is now bestowed on Italian wines all over the world.
Wonderful post. I shall raise a glass as well. Thanks for reminding me and for posting name of Franco’s new blog.
I’m so bummed! I loaned my ancient Veronelli book (the one with the wine labels inside) to an account so they could copy them and blow them up for their restaurant. I kept asking for the book back only to find out today they dropped something wet on it and were trying to find a replacement for me. A first edition from my mentor., as if it could be replaced. Even more bummed nobody told me (from the no good deed goes unpunished dept).
Thanks Jeremy, you’re too kind!
Thank you for the reminder to re-read half of my dusty “Il Vino Giusto”. Thanks for the link to Sig. Ziliani as well.