BRUSSELS – The wine of the journalist Bruno Vespa also lands in Brussels, in an event organized by the importer Giuseppe Gambardella of “Peppe’s Wine cellar” in a hotel in the Belgian capital. A tasting to let a group of restaurateurs and food and wine professionals in Belgium discover the labels of “Vespa Vignaioli per passione”, seven wines ranging from the award-winning ‘Raccontami’ Primitivo di Manduria DOC, to the latest, the PGI Nero di Troia ‘Helena’. “I came to Puglia by chance, but I’m very happy to have been there,” the journalist explained to ANSA. “It is a region that has great prospects, has magnificent grape varieties and is beginning to make its way in the world in an impressive way. While other regions have started earlier and are mature, we still have huge territories to conquer.
Launched in 2014 with his sons Federico and Alessandro, and with the collaboration of oenologist Riccardo Cotarella, the Futura14 winery has grown rapidly. Around the Masseria LI Reni, in the province of Taranto, a former convent of nuns from the end of the 16th century recently renovated by the Vespa family and transformed into an exclusive resort, the company cultivates 26 hectares, producing 200,000 bottles a year and exporting to fifteen countries around the world, from Europe, to Asia and America. Only in Belgium, the distributor “Peppe’s Wine Cellar” buys 10,000 bottles a year which it sells only to Italian and Belgian restaurants, in particular in Flanders and Brussels, specifically avoiding large-scale distribution. “I met Vespa at a wine fair four years ago, I respected the journalist, now I appreciate his wines,” added the importer Giuseppe Gambardella.
“I believe that Primitivo, if well made, has nothing to envy to the great Italian wines, such as Barolo and Brunello, as those wines have been lucky, we have been and will be lucky too,” emphasized Bruno Vespa. “In the future, we will continue to focus on quality” and then, joking, during the presentation the TV journalist let slip an anecdote: “Our wine was also on the flight of Pope Francis from Sweden, they told me that the Cardinals asked for several glasses of our Primitivo di Manduria ‘Raccontami'”.