Giacomo Tachis: Italian Wine Culture Under Attack by Outsiders and 'Vultures'
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| Giacomo Tachis | |
It all happened at the 'Vini di Toscana 2004' awards ceremony, held in Florence in mid December, when the well-appreciated enologist, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award for his pioneering work with 'Super Tuscan' wines, surprised the audience with his outspoken comments.
"There is a risk that our quality wineries could be bought out by foreign competitors, who are both smart and economically strong. But if they buy our estates, they need to work with the right spirit and mentality in order to produce quality wines, otherwise they will just physically own our best brands," he said referring to a series of recent acquisitions of historic Tuscan estates by foreign corporate investors.
"These foreigners are good and have a lot of money, but they don't have our culture and cannot beat us," he continued, "but they are so economically strong and good at sales and marketing that there is the danger that quality alone will no longer be enough to keep top wines in their leading positions within the Italian fine wine market."
Tachis, who helped create Sassicaia, the original 'Super Tuscan', as well as Tignanello and Solaia, says that the current sales crisis of Italian wines can be blamed partly on inflated prices.
"The wines I consult for don't leave the cellars this expensive." he said referring to the retail price of €130 (about $176) and around €200 about $270) at the restaurant for the Sassicaia 2000. "But around Sassicaia, there are vultures. The correct price for that wine should be between €30 and €40 (about $40 and $54)."
"The prices for many wines are exaggerated. If I had to pay a fortune for a bottle of wine, I wouldn't buy it," he said.
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