The Wine Hunter Roma 2017 in Rome, Italy

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 12/05/2017

The Wine Hunter Roma 2017 in Rome, Italy

The second edition of The Wine Hunter Roma 2017 concluded successfully last 3 December in the Acquario Romano (Roman Aquarium) in Rome. Hunters of excellent wines were treated to a two-day (2 - 3 December) tasting of the wines that were awarded with high points in quality and excellence during the recent Merano Wine Festival 2017 last 10 - 14 November 2017 in Merano, Italy. The venue of the event is located right at the heart of Rome in a circular building built in the late 19th-century by renowned architect Ettore Bernich. It was a magnificent setting for an enogastronomic event aimed at the territoriality and superior quality of the products.

The protagonists of The Wine Hunter were the sixty wineries from all over Italy whose wines have garnered high points for the quality of their wines. It is in fact a wine event that’s dedicated to the world of wine with over sixty wineries coming from all over Italy that give the guarantee of excellence.

Out of more than 5,000 wines present at the Merano Wine Festival, only a few received the awarding labels. The Merano Wine Award is a recognition that is given to wines that achieved a minimum score of 88/100 as an independently certified high quality brand. All the wineries that have obtained the RED label (88 - 88.99 points), GOLD (90 - 94.99 points), and PLATINUM (95+ points) were the undisputed protagonists of the Roman edition, where they showcased the awarded wines plus two labels of their choice.

Left: Helmut Kocher

The Wine Hunter is the product of Merano Wine Festival, one of Italy’s most important and biggest enogastronomic events that was co-founded in 1992 by Helmuth Köcher. Because of his fascination with wine and Greek mythology, he and two of his friends created the Gourmet Club Alto Adige and organized the first Merano Wine Festival in 1992. Currently he is also the President of Merano Wine Festival and the sole administrator of Gourmet's International and The Wine Hunter. His list of accomplishments doesn't end there as he has also published four volumes of books about Grappa, Vinegar, Oil and Cheese.

The Wine Hunter was an event of tasting some of the best of the country, just a selected few after garnering high points at the Merano Wine Awards for their optimum quality and excellence. It's a wine tasting event where you can reaffirm the unparalleled stature of what the diverse terroir and wine production that each winery has devoted to their fine wines. I discovered a lot of new producers, small, big, new and old, who have created exceptional wines, where I tasted the typicality of the varieties and the terroir they were nurtured, in their most elegant presence in aromas and tastes.

Not only wine, the two-day event was graced by the presence of starred Italian chefs. Wine and food are inseparable partners on the table and at The Wine Hunter, important chefs from South Tyrol down to Lazio created Christmas dishes linked to their territories. There were some farmers from South Tyrol who created the regional dishes typical of their Christmas as well as four pasta makers of Rome also created their own versions of Christmas tortellini, a symbolic pasta dish on Christmas Day.

What is Christmas without the intoxicating aroma of fresh bread baking in the oven? The bakers of Santi Sebastiano e Valentino prepared three varieties of bread that are ideally for Christmas. The round pagnotta, bottoncini di pane filled with dried fruits and spices, and pane in cassetta (pullman loaf) with annurca apples.

In addition, a competition among the new professional bartenders of the Mixology Academy, were called in to created their original wine-based cocktails using the Shiraz of Casale Del Giglio.

The Wine Hunter is an enogastronomic event pointed at the people of the wine and food sector, both professionals and the general enthusiasts. It guarantees the excellence of the products that are distinguished for their territoriality and superior quality. The third edition will be another much-awaited event of enogastronomic distinction to be presented in the capital of Italy!