Roberto Cipresso, Winemaker of the Year 2025: Twenty Years Later, Everything Changes
Twenty years after receiving his first "Oscar del Vino" from the Fondazione Italiana Sommelier, this second recognition doesn't close a chapter—it reopens one.
Twenty Years Later.
In 2006, I received the title of Winemaker of the Year from the Fondazione Italiana Sommelier for the first time. I was in the middle of my journey, with so much still to experience.
Twenty years later, during the Cinque Grappoli Bibenda 2026 ceremony in Rome, that title has been awarded to me once again.
I don’t write this to boast. I write this because, this time, the meaning is completely different. In 2006, it was a recognition of what I had done. In 2025, it is the seal on what I am about to do.
Twenty years later, during the Cinque Grappoli Bibenda 2026 ceremony in Rome, that title has been awarded to me once again.
I don’t write this to boast. I write this because, this time, the meaning is completely different. In 2006, it was a recognition of what I had done. In 2025, it is the seal on what I am about to do.
The Montalcino Revolution: Open Doors at the Winery-Lab
For forty years, I have captured the world inside a bottle—from the extreme terroirs of Argentina and California to the ancient roots of Armenia, from Spain to Burgundy, and projects like Wine of Silence, born where wine was never meant to exist. I always believed the bottle was enough to tell the story.
It is no longer enough. Or rather: it is no longer enough for me.
With this award, I am inaugurating a new phase. The Montalcino winery-lab is becoming an open space: visits, personalized tastings, and cellar masterclasses for those who truly want to understand what happens behind a label. And not just here—I will bring these experiences throughout Italy, to the venues of those who wish to host them.
It is no longer enough. Or rather: it is no longer enough for me.
With this award, I am inaugurating a new phase. The Montalcino winery-lab is becoming an open space: visits, personalized tastings, and cellar masterclasses for those who truly want to understand what happens behind a label. And not just here—I will bring these experiences throughout Italy, to the venues of those who wish to host them.
The Wine Club Eureka!
The other update is the one that excites me most: the Wine Club Eureka!
Over the years, I have curated a Private Collection—bottles that never entered standard distribution. Wines born from experiments, unique vintages, and territories explored outside commercial circuits. My "liquid stories": forty years of a travel diary in wine form.
The Wine Club is the access point to this diary. It is not just a subscription to a selection of labels—it is a shared, ever-evolving journey for those who want to follow the work closely, not just the result.
Over the years, I have curated a Private Collection—bottles that never entered standard distribution. Wines born from experiments, unique vintages, and territories explored outside commercial circuits. My "liquid stories": forty years of a travel diary in wine form.
The Wine Club is the access point to this diary. It is not just a subscription to a selection of labels—it is a shared, ever-evolving journey for those who want to follow the work closely, not just the result.
"This Oscar is not a finish line. It is the seal on a new philosophy: for forty years I have collected liquid stories from around the world; now is the time to share them without filters."
Roberto Cipresso
Winemaker and Author. Expert in terroir
