The field of action of the 50 Best is expanding, a global ranking that, after taking into account restaurants, bars and hotels, now also includes the planet’s wineries. A list that takes into account not only the quality of the wine produced but also the architectural and landscape beauty of the winery itself, attention to sustainability and hospitality, thereby paying tribute to the company as a whole.
It must be said that Italy’s performance is somewhat disappointing, with the first Italian winery only in 19th position, held by Ceretto Wines, in the Langhe, a place of absolute excellence not only thanks to the beautifully landscaped vineyards but also thanks to the modern hospitality structures but in perfect harmony with the surrounding panorama, but also thanks to initiatives for the region (such as the purchase and restoration of the Barolo Chapel, transformed by the artists Sol LeWitt and David Tremlett into a cheerful triumph of bright colors) and the contribution to the gastronomy of the area, with restaurants at a very high level. Tristellato Piazza Duomo by chef Enrico Crippa. A reality that perhaps deserves an even higher rating.
No other Italian winery made the top fifty list dominated by the United States and with heavy representation from France, Spain, Argentina and Chile. In first place is Vik, a futuristic and even slightly dystopian winery from the Mullahue Valley in Chile, in second place is the German winery Schloss Johannisberg, in third place is the Spanish Bodegas Ysios, with its cellars that resemble lost modernist cathedrals in the Rioja region. Also in the top ten are Bodega Garzòn in the Uruguayan region of Maldonado (fourth place), Château Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux, France (fifth place), South Africa’s Klein Constantia Winery in the Western Cape region (sixth place), another South African Creation in Hemel-en-Aarde (seventh place), maison Ruinart, the first address in Champagne, with its magnificent limestone mine, the most beautiful in the region (eighth place), another French legend Château D’Yquem, the royal Sauternes (ninth place) and finally another Chilean winery, Montes, in the Colchagua Valley (tenth place).
To find other Italian wineries, you have to browse the second ranking, from 51 to 100, which gives us more satisfaction.
Here, in 61st place we find Castello Banfi in the Montalcino area, in Tuscany; in 78th place Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti in Etna, Sicily; on the 80th Marchhesi di Barolo, again on the Langhe; in the 81st Tenuta Cavalier Pepe in Irpinia, in the 83rd Masi in Valpolicella and in the 87th Casanova di Neri in Montalcino. Last year Italy ranked Tenuta Cavalier Pepe in 14th place, while in 2023 it fared worse with Ceretto in 29th place. Hopefully there will be improvements next year.
