Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo takes top honours in Italian wine guide

Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo has been named ‘Winery of the Year’ by the Gamero Rosso Italian Wines 2021 guide.

The group is a Silver Partner of the Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo which started today (12 October).

Santa Margherita was established by Count Gaetano Marzotto in 1935.

His mission was to combine modern, efficient agricultural methods with man, nature and technology.

85 years on and the group has developed into one of Italy’s leading wine producers. Its guiding principles, Santa Margherita says, remain the same.

The group is owned by four brothers, the third generation of the Marzotto family: Gaetano Marzotto as Group President; Stefano Marzotto is the President of Zignago Holding; Luca Marzotto is Group Vice-President and Nicolò Marzotto is a member of the Board of Directors.

As reported, Beniamino Garofalo was appointed Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo CEO earlier this year.

The group’s wines are distributed across the five continents, with a focus on Italy, Canada, Australia, Germany and the US, where the Santa Margherita USA import and distribution company is headquartered in Miami.

The Gamero Rosso guide highlights Santa Margherita’s story of “passion, hard work, values and tradition”.

Its ‘mosaic of wines’ includes ten different estates which contribute to a large and varied range. It is this variety of wines which the guide has honoured.

The Group’s estates extend from Eastern Veneto to the Adige Valley; the hills of Valdobbiadene and Refrontolo to Franciacorta; Alto Adige to Lugana; Chianti Classico to Maremma; Sicily to Sardinia and from north to south of the Italian peninsula.

The estates extend over 712 hectares, 70% of which are directly owned by the Group and more than half are organically farmed.

From vineyard to travel retail: Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo presents its wines at the Virtual Travel Retail Expo

Santa Margherita said its success does not come just from the size of its estates; the range of wines it offers to “satisfy the demands of an every-increasingly globalised market”, also plays a key role.

“Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo has succeeded in producing outstanding wines in all the geographic areas it has estates”, the Gamero Rosso guide adds. It notes the “invaluable contribution” of the group’s Santa Margherita, Torresella, Kettmeir, Lamole di Lamole, Ca’ del Bosco, Cà Maiol, Tenuta Sassoregale, Vistarenni, Terrelíade and Cantina Mesa wineries.

Many of the wineries would not be in the position to market themselves internationally if they were single entities, Santa Marghuerita pointed out. “At the same time, the group would not be what it is today if it offered only the most widely-known labels and not these lesser-known gems of Italian wine,” it added.

The group said it actively sought to achieve a balance between the two, and it is this balance which is its beauty and the strength.

Santa Margherita makes some of Italy’s finest wines. Its reds (pictured), for example, are made in a variety of territories, including Trentino, Lison-Pramaggiore, and Eastern Veneto

Santa Margherita Gruppo Vinicolo CEO Baniamino Garofolo said: “We are extraordinarily proud to receive this award. Positive feedback, such as this, is a gratifying affirmation of what the Marzotto family have created so far and the contribution of everyone who has worked with them to make this dream great.”

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