Barack Obama raises toast with Trentodoc fizz

Former US president Barack Obama has given a helping hand to the Italian wine region of Trentodoc by raising a glass of its traditional method sparkling wine at an event in Milan.

L to R: Camilla and Matteo Lunelli with Barack Obama

Earlier this month Barack and Michelle Obama were in Milan to attend ‘Seeds & Chips – The Global Food Innovation Summit’ – an international event on food innovation devised by entrepreneur and food technology expert Marco Gualtieri. The event’s aim was to bring global entrepreneurs, investors and executives together to discuss the future of food and the global food chain, taking into account the increasing population, climate change and the scarcity of available resources.

At a dinner hosted by the Cerea family restaurant Da Vittorio and organised by the Obama Foundation, Obama was served sparkling wine from the Ferrari Winery in Trentodoc, specifically a glass of its Ferrari Maximum Brut Trentodoc, much to the delight of its president Matteo Lunelli.

Following the event he tweeted: “Such an honor to meet with #President #BarackObama He tasted @FerrariTrento the night before and he told us: “it was delicious!” Wow!”

Producers of bottle-fermented Trentodoc sparkling wines, and also Franciacorta, have been keen to showcase its prowess against the might of Prosecco, which has captured the attention of the UK market and is able to operate at much lower price points, helping to grow its volume sales.

Speaking to the drinks business last year, Lunelli said that Trentodoc, the first DOC created in Italy for traditional method sparkling wine, needed to promote itself more outside of Italy, positioning itself as the ‘Champagne’ of Italy.

In particular, he cited the UK and US as two target markets for the fizz, which is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Trentino, located in the foothills of the Dolomites.

“We don’t want to be like Champagne, but we want to promote the fact that there are other regions where you can produce high quality sparkling wines with their own quality and personality – and Trentodoc has its own character and traditions, and this is what we want to express.”

Ferrari, which makes 4.5 million bottles of Trentodoc each year, is not only the largest operator in the region, but the biggest producer of traditional method sparkling in Italy.