It took me nearly a fortnight to recover but the memories of my 24 hours in Verona are as fresh as an acidic young white wine. I flew across the great Eurasian continent to attend a black tie gala ball where our wine guide had been nominated for one of the world’s most prestigious wine book awards. Even at my embarkation point, Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport, I was already quite fatigued as the preceding four days were a tiring mix of wine and media events in Taipei, Shanghai, Dailian and Hong Kong. I can assure you that being a wine writer has its rewards, but it can also be exhausting.
Flying nearly half way around the world to attend a gala ball may sound funny but having the chance to win such a prestigious award made the distance seem insignificant. Soon after arriving in Verona I was hectically steaming my black tie suit trying like mad to get all the long distant travel wrinkles out. With a modicum of success and my bow tie properly tied I was out the door and rushing to the dinner. What happened next was truly ineffable, but as a writer I’m professionally obliged to try to put the experience into written word. The intrinsic beauty of the evening merited my best effort.
Verona is certainly one of the world’s most romantic and beautiful cities in the world and the site for Vinitaly which is the most important wine event in Italy and the second biggest wine exhibition in the world. In my opinion, it’s also the best organized wine fair in the world. I’ve attended Vinitaly twice before as a guest of the Italian government but this time I was going on my own, with the sole purpose of attending the Gala Ball held on a Friday night. My “ISACS Wine Guide Best 100 Wines in China” had been nominated for the “Best International Wine Guide 2011” by the Grandi Cru d’Italia who are also the organizers of the evening event. This elite organization consists of the who’s who of elite Italian winemaking representing the 120 of the highest-rated and most prestigious wine producers in Italy.
Arriving at the elegant Palazzo della Ragione, an ornate Renaissance hall where Gala Ball is held, I was immediately impressed by the synergistic mix of the striking architecture and elegantly attired crowd. The hundreds of gentlemen in their black tie suits and women in their evening gowns added to elegance of this special evening. The evening comprised the crème-de-la-crème of Italian wine society replete with princesses, dukes, barons, viscounts and other nobility as well as renowed international wine media. I was lucky to run into two old friends, Jesse Fang, the CEO of top Taiwan importer Leading Brands Wines and Spirits, and Francisco Ricasoli, the 32nd Baron Ricasoli and the owner of one of Italy’s best and most historic wineries. The evening was yet another reminder that in matters of elegance, style and presentation, few people can compete with the Italians.
My table number 39 initially meant little to me until I walked to the front of the room near the stage and realized I was seated with Marchese Vittorio Frescobaldi, Chairman of Grandi cru d’Italia and Mr. Paolo Panerai, Vice Chairman of the committee. In China we respect and value fengshui, and believe me this table had the best fengshui in the place. Messers Frescobaldi and Panerai are dignified gentlemen who walk in the most rarified air of Italian winemaking. I deemed this a good omen for my chances of winning until the evening wore on and doubts began to surface.
The carefully arranged stack of awards dwindled as the fortunate winners of the “Best Wine Italian Store”, the best International Wine Store, “Best Wine Writer, luckily won their trophies my trepidation grew. Did I really fly this distance to go home empty handed. To comfort myself I thought, being nominated is honor enough and in light of the prominent competition not winning would be no embarrassment at all. Convincing myself of this made me feel better but I still had a burning desire to win.
Finally as dessert was served Messers Frescobaldi and Panerai surmounted the stage along with a terribly attractive Italian hostess to announce the next prizes. My time of judgment was upon me. The culmination of my evening unfolded, “and now for the best international wine guide of 2011, the nominees are, “as our picture popped up on a giant screen a la Oscar’s style. Then suddenly as our wine guide was announced as the winner, the trepidations, the doubts and the distance of my travel evaporated into an exhilaration of pride and appreciation. I had my own silver grape leaf!
Accepting a prestigious award on stage in front of many of the wine world’s most important and beautiful wine people is certainly a heady experience but as proud and honored as I was about receiving this important and prestigious award, in my heart I realized that winning this prize was just as much about the importance and potential of China as it was about the recognition and professionalism of our guide. In fact, this realization made me even happier and more at peace as I have always known that my future and the future of our ISACS Guides is one with the future of China. This prize was an acknowledgement and victory for us all of us who love wine in China.
