Oenologist Riccardo Cotarella will also produce dealcoholised wine: "My first bottle will be out in October and it won’t be bad"

The oenologist of oenologists, Riccardo Cotarella, has changed his mind about dealcoholised wines and, in an interview with Corriere della Sera, announces that he too will begin producing them. A turnaround that comes after another major name in Italian viticulture, Angelo Gaja ("I started off against them, they seemed like a mistake. Now I’m no longer opposed," declared the Piedmontese producer at the inauguration of the year of the Italian Academy of Vine and Wine). In fact, the president of Assoenologi had already shown signs of openness following the decree on alcohol-free wines approved by Minister Lollobrigida.

Why the oenologist changed his mind

Cotarella retraces his battle against alcohol-free wines himself: "As president of the world’s oenologists, I was actually the most aggressive – he explains in the interview – At first, we reacted badly to this production proposal. We let our hearts lead us, because it’s no longer wine. We fought to prevent it being called wine, but we didn’t succeed. Then we reasoned a bit more with our stomachs—for the producers."

Italy’s most famous oenologist speaks of the wine crisis and of dealcoholised wine as a possible response: "It’s a time of crisis for our product, a major crisis. Consumption is down and all the problems mentioned earlier are still there, so we have to give it a try. Our job as oenologists is to make these products as little unpleasant as possible, provided they remind people of and create desire for real wine. That is, the kind with natural alcohol that grapes bring into the cellar."

Cotarella’s first dealcoholised wine will be released in October

Cotarella, who is also honorary president of the Union Internationale des Oenologues, will present his first dealcoholised wine in October, but he doesn’t reveal any potential collaborations. "From Italy to Japan, to Spain, to France, to Hungary, to America. In many of the places where I work. In any case, we oenologists have to think practically, like workaholics. If there’s a product to make, regardless of what we think of it, we have to make it. If the producer wants it, we have to make it, and make it as well as possible."

To take on this new challenge, the oenologist of oenologists will start with aromatic grapes: "They’re the best: the aroma covers the flaws caused by acidity and lack of structure. So silvaner, in this case. Moscato, aleatico… anything with a strong aromatic profile. And there it’s fairly easy. For other non-aromatic wines we’re working on it, but we’ll still make something that isn’t unpleasant even in that case."