Luigi Veronelli (2 February 1926 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

– 29 November 2004 in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

) was an Italian

gastronome Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between food and culture, the art of preparing and serving rich or delicate and appetizing food, the cooking styles of particular regions, and the science of good eating. One who is well versed in gast ...

wine critic Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

and

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

Career

In 1990, Luigi Veronelli founded the Veronelli publishing house with "the specific objective of thoroughly classifying the immense national gastronomic inheritance and contributing to the heightening of awareness of the touristic appeal of the loveliest country in the world".Veronelli Editore website
His classical training was evident in his writing, and he was often described as ‘the bard’ as he coined many of the common phrases used to describe Italian wine. ‘Vino da meditazione’ for dessert wines and ‘Vino da favola’ (which means fairy tale wine, instead of

Vino da tavola Table wine (rarely abbreviated TW) is a wine term with two different meanings: a style of wine and a quality level within wine classification. In the United States, the term primarily designates a wine style: an ordinary wine which is not fortifi ...

) are just a few examples. Italian wine producers recognized him as their guru. In the words of

Bruno Giacosa Bruno Giacosa (died 21 January 2018) was an Italian wine, Italian wine producer from the village Neive in the Langhe region (Piemonte (wine), Piemonte), who produced a number of Barbaresco and Barolo wines, as well as bottlings of Arneis, Barbera, ...

: "Gino (as he was known to friends) was all heart, he was the first person to teach us that a great wine was born in the vineyards. He was the first to point out the absolute necessity of carefully selecting grapes in the vineyards, the importance of terroir, of realising the potential of one vineyard or cru over another. He believed Italian wine could be brought to exceptional levels if we worked closely with the earth. Back in the 60s and 70s, no one thought like this. He truly was a pioneer."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Veronelli, Luigi 1926 births 2004 deaths Writers from Milan Italian anarchists Italian food writers Italian publishers (people) Wine critics Wine writers Journalists from Milan Italian gastronomes