Jan. 28 – “The quality of our wines is rooted in the history of their areas of origin: it must combine intelligently tradition and innovation,” said Gianni Zonin, president of the homonymous winery in Vicenza. Zonin, on the company’s website, explains what has always been the commitment behind his policies: respect for the territory and local grapes and the continuous research better combinations. Thanks to this philosophy, Casa Zonin Winery has become one of the most important Italian private wineries and one of the first in the international arena. The company has a broad portfolio of quality wines – including those of the well-known Zonin brand and other wines produced on 2,000 hectares of vineyards in the 7 finest wine-growing regions in Italy – in addition to the property in Virginia. With such a wide range of wines, a distribution network in over 100 countries around the world, the largest team of winemakers and agronomists in Europe, and over 190 years of history and passion for wine, it comes as no surprise that yesterday Gianni Zonin was in New York to receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for “Most Influential Figure.” Sponsored by the American magazine ” Wine Enthusiast,” Zonin was rewarded for his overall contribution to the sector and his extraordinary entrepreneurial intuition to bring viticulture in the East Coast of the United States, in Virginia, creating from nothing a true wine culture throughout the territory. The “Wine Star Awards” reward individuals, organizations and businesses whose work in the wine sector is exceptional in terms of quality and international foresight. Before Cavalier Zonin, Miguel Torres (2012), Baron Eric de Rothschild (2010), Piero Antinori (2008), Ernest Gallo (2003 ), and Robert Mondavi (2002) received this prize. “Gianni Zonin has achieved an unprecedented number of successes in the course of his life,” said the director of “Wine Enthusiast,” Adam Strum, stressing that “he was the first to ‘look beyond’ not only over their Italian region, but even across the ocean. He was the first also to grasp the most significant business opportunities in America and China. Gianni Zonin embodies, in short, what it really means to be a pioneer in the field of wine.” “I’m really proud and honored to receive this prestigious award and to join those who before me received this well-deserved recognition of their work,” admits Gianni Zonin, who adds: ” This is not just an honor for me, for my family and for all the people who work with us, but also for Italy. It’s an acknowledgment of the excellent work done by Italians in enology, viticulture and wine tourism.” Zonin also received the compliments of the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, “this is a well deserved recognition: an award rightly attributed to an undisputed protagonist of Italian and international enology, who is also a great entrepreneur, able in the course of his career to accept and win extraordinary challenges, bringing his business to the forefront. We are grateful to Zonin, his family and the many people who work in his companies because their work enhances the ability of the Veneto region to do business, and certifies the professionalism, knowledge and passion for viticulture quality of the Venetians.”
