By Enrico Zamboni

How does it feel to be President of the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine?
It is above all a great honor, since the Academy has a long tradition. It was established following a proposal by the National Wine Committee on 30 July 1949 and it then became a Moral Entity by a decree of 25 July 1952 signed by the then President of the Republic, Einaudi. Today the Academy is under the direct control of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

Which contributions provided by the Academy under your guidance are you most proud of?
It is difficult to list them all, as the Academy organizes several annual conferences to discuss the problems of viticulture, oenology and the wine trade […]. Currently, we are working on a project to provide accurate information on the so-called “resistant” vines, because they represent a great opportunity. However, we are firmly convinced that they should be used with caution, since they risk ruining, so to speak, the image of our wines, which we decided to call “The Italian Way to Wine”. These are among many other initiatives that I am proud of, for one simple reason: everything that is organized by the Academy contributes to a single purpose, a fil rouge aimed at enhancing Italian wine.

Is the Academy carrying out or considering initiatives related to the importance of the landscape?
First of all, I would like to make a premise on the meaning of the term “landscape”, because it is often used as a synonym of “territory” or “environment”. In this regard, allow me to recall a work by Bruno Andreolli from 2007, which links the previous two terms with a political, institutional and ecological meaning, while attributing an aesthetic meaning to landscape, related to the sphere of perception. Therefore, this allows to extend the concept – so to speak – to the landscapes of the mind, which inevitably are also connected to wine. We are carrying out a series of initiatives that link the effect of a landscape on production. We also have a publication that demonstrates the clear correlation between harmony, order, the beauty of the landscape, and the quality of the wine produced.