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Ruffino forms winemaking council

22 May 2023 By Louis Thomas

Ruffino announced the formation of the Ruffino Winemaking Council last week, an assembly of international viticultural and winemaking experts that will develop a strategy to further improve the Tuscan producer’s output.

Starting this June, the Ruffino Winemaking Council will welcome agronomist Stefano Poni and oenologist Alberto Antonini, who will work alongside Ruffino’s chief winemaker Gabriele Tacconi, and estates director Maurizio Bogoni.

Poni is a professor of viticulture at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna. He suggested that his appointment to the council was due to Ruffino’s climate concerns: “In recent years, climate change has shown us that careful management of the vineyards is fundamental to the quality of the wine and I deeply respect Ruffino for recognising and acting on this.”

Speaking about his involvement, Antonini, who studied oenology at the universities of Bordeaux, Florence, and California at Davis, said: “Being a part of the Ruffino Winemaking Council, a Tuscan company of remarkable tradition and mastery of fine wine, is an honour and a great responsibility. I approach this from a perspective of collaboration, respect, and excitement for what we can accomplish together.”

Ruffino CEO and president Sandro Sartor added: “It is an honour to have the combined excellence of Stefano Poni and Alberto Antonini, who both share Ruffino’s strong connection to Tuscany, famed experience with the Sangiovese grape, and great sensitivity to sustainability. Innovation and new perspectives are not only core to our values but are essential to our ambitions of establishing Ruffino as the ultimate Tuscan fine wine house.”

According to a press release from Ruffino, the first priority of the council is to revamp the brand’s Chianti Classico and Riserva Ducale Oro, the latter of which db‘s Italian correspondent Filippo Bartolotta recently wrote about.

Ruffino has also recently acquired vineyards in the Super Tuscan territory of Bolgheri, and plans to construct a new winery and tasting space there.