Verona 3 April 2023. Inspired by an idea of Angelo Betti in 1973, the "Cangrande Award for Merit in Wine-Growing" over the course of 50 years has become the most highly respected and regarded award among the many presented year by Vinitaly.
It is assigned on the basis of the indications of Regional Departments of Agriculture, who nominate persons whose professional or entrepreneurial activity has contributed to and sustained the qualitative progress of vineyards and wine production in their home regions and towns.
On the occasion of the 50th Vinitaly, this prestigious acknowledgement was renamed the "Angelo Betti Award for Merit in Wine-growing" and this year also marks the 25th anniversary of his death.
"Naming this award after Angelo Betti on that occasion was a simple but very meaningful gesture," said Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere, who presented the 2023 Awards together with Managing Director Maurizio Danese. "Angelo Betti was the founding father of Vinitaly and the inventor of many successful initiatives at Veronafiere. Dedicating to his memory an award he created, and which today is the most coveted of all those made every year by Vinitaly, perpetuates his memory and ensure the recognition he fully deserves in the long history of Veronafiere."
And precisely on the 50th anniversary of the award and the 25th anniversary of Angelo Betti's death, Veronafiere commemorated both occasions with a Medal presented to his grand-daughter Maria Neve Betti by the Mayor of Verona, Damiano Tommasi, and the President of the Province, Flavio Pasini.
The "Angelo Betti Merit in Wine Growing Award" at the 55th Vinitaly went to: Camillo Zulli (Abruzzo); Giuseppe Avigliano (Basilicata); Paolo Ippolito (Calabria); Andrea Ferraioli (Campania); Roberto Monti (Emilia-Romagna); Alvaro Pecorari (Friuli Venezia Giulia); Azienda Colle di Maggio Wine Farm (Lazio); Famiglia Bosoni (Liguria); Davide Lazzari (Lombardia); Azienda Agricola Pantaleone di Federica Pantaleone (Marche); Michele Lauriola (Molise); Chiara Soldati (Piemonte); Christine Mayr (Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano); Maddalena Nardin (Provincia Autonoma di Trento); Antonio Michele Coppi (Puglia); Antonello Pilloni (Sardegna); Andrea Franchetti (Sicilia); Agricola Calafata società cooperativa agricola solidale (Toscana); Cantina Scacciadiavoli della famiglia Pambuffetti (Umbria); Giorgio Lale Murix (Valle d’Aosta); Valerio Cescon (Veneto).
The names of these professionals and entrepreneurs will enhance the Roll of Honour that already boasts figures who have contributed significantly to the growth of the Italian wine system to the extent that it has become an international landmark.