Cult Oenologist 2026

Born in Abano Terme on 19 October 1952, into a family that had already been in wine for a century. His first experiences are at the side of his father, an importer and distributor of French and Italian wines, hotelier and winemaker in the Euganean Hills.

After his first agricultural studies in Padua, in 1974 he qualifies as an oenologist and begins working full time for the Folonari family’s Ruffino, in direct contact with Dr Ambrogio Folonari.

In 1978 he chooses independent practice, going on to consult for estates in Tuscany, Sicily, Puglia, Veneto, Sardinia and Trentino-Alto Adige.

A Friulian oenologist born in 1981, Nicola Biasi trains in Friuli, then follows harvests in South Africa and Australia. On his return Tuscany becomes home, and there his almost ten-year journey with Marilisa Allegrini’s Tuscan estates begins.

In 2012 he launches his well-known Vin de la Neu project, which opens the way to his place among Italy’s pioneers in the use of disease-resistant grape varieties. In 2015 his solo career begins, confirmed in 2020 by the founding of Nicola Biasi Consulting, the consultancy through which he currently guides more than 25 estates across Italy and his new project in the German Mosel.

He is the promoter and president of the “Resistenti Nicola Biasi” project, a network of estates sharing a single goal between quality and sustainability. He was the youngest of the Cult Oenologists of 2021.

Giuseppe “Beppe” Caviola is an oenologist and the owner of Ca’ Viola, a wine estate in Dogliani (Piedmont).

He started in 1991, tending vines in his parents’ garage after studying at the Scuola Enologica di Alba; his first wines were the Dolcetto Barturot and Bric de Luv, made in the Langhe.

Besides producing with Ca’ Viola, he consults for many estates in Piedmont and in other Italian regions.

In 2002 he was named “Oenologist of the Year” by Gambero Rosso.

His oenological approach combines respect for terroir with sustainable practices: fermentation with indigenous yeasts, little or no filtration, a strong connection with grape variety and territory.

Stefano Chioccioli is an agronomist and oenologist with a degree in Agricultural Sciences (1985), recognised for over 25 years of consultancy in Italy and abroad.

He has worked with many prestigious wineries in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Sicily, Hungary and France, overseeing wines acclaimed by major international guides.

He owns the family project Chioccioli Altadonna in Gaiole in Chianti, where he works alongside his sons Niccolò and Enrico in the production of the top-range wines and in the technical aspects of vineyard and cellar.

His style brings out the territory, with particular care for soil composition, the choice of clones, meticulous vineyard management, and an approach that balances elegance, structure and local identity.

Riccardo Cotarella represents the second generation of a family devoted to growing grapes and making wine.

Born in 1948 in Monterubiaglio, a village in the province of Terni, he studies at the school of viticulture and oenology in Conegliano Veneto.

In 1979, together with his brother Renzo, he founds what is today Famiglia Cotarella, one of the most important and qualified wine estates in Italy, with 200 hectares of vineyard and almost 2 million bottles sold throughout the world.

He founds the consultancy “Chiasso Cotarella srl”, which provides viticultural and oenological consultancy in Italy and around the world with numerous collaborators.

More than 100 estates in Italy, France, Palestine, Japan, Russia, Romania, Spain, Serbia and Georgia entrust their vineyards and their wines to the professional care of Riccardo Cotarella.

“I have always been drawn to nature and to the world of agriculture. So much so that I chose them as my companions in life.

Driven by this passion, I directed my studies towards viticulture and oenology.

I feel free of preconceived patterns, and I have the ambition to create something unique. Something that is distinctive of my work and able to bring out the very best in grape varieties and territories. My passion for wine drives me every day to broaden my knowledge and seek new horizons.”

After graduating in Florence in 1999 and various experiences abroad, in 2000 Emiliano Falsini began his path as a consultant oenologist within the Gruppo Matura, working with Alberto Antonini and Attilio Pagli.

Today, after 25 years, he works with more than 50 estates from Piedmont to Sicily, in the most suited territories of Italian viticulture (Barolo, Bolgheri, Montalcino, Montefalco, Etna).

His focus is artisanal wines of territory, wines with a strong identity in which he seeks to express grape variety, territory and producer without ever losing sight of elegance, pleasure and organoleptic cleanliness.

In parallel, since 2019 he has developed a project of his own, buying vineyards in Bolgheri, where he grows Cabernet Franc, and on the northern slope of Etna, where he produces Nerello Mascalese: two small projects that are also the fulfilment of his professional and human journey in the world of wine.

Born in Florence in 1954, he grows up with a strong passion for the countryside and for wine, passed on by his father, a farmer and viticulture enthusiast.

After secondary school he graduates in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florence in 1978, with a thesis on the mechanisation of viticulture.

He begins his career at the Consorzio del Chianti Classico, where he stays for over ten years, becoming technical director and contributing to the qualitative relaunch of the appellation.

In 1992 he goes independent, starting an oenological consultancy that brings him to work with leading estates in Tuscany, Sicily, Abruzzo and on Etna.

Named “Oenologist of the Year” and “Winemaker of the Year”, he is known for his approach, respectful of the territory and of Sangiovese in particular.

Since 2002 he has also signed wines of his own with the Podere Giodo project, in Montalcino and, more recently, on Etna.

Born in Voghera, Donato Lanati falls in love with wine at a very young age, inspired by the vineyards of Monferrato he discovers with his father during his childhood and their excursions.

After secondary school he enrols at the University of Turin, where he graduates in Agricultural Sciences and specialises in Viticulture and Oenology.

In Monferrato he founds the Enosis Meraviglia research centre in Fubine (Alessandria), a project that unites scientific research, sustainability and respect for the territory.

He is a university lecturer, a member of the OIV’s Oenology Commission, and a consultant to many Italian and foreign estates (Switzerland, Georgia, Bulgaria, Chile and others).

Known as the “oenologist-scientist”, he places the study of the berry, the soil and the molecules at the centre of his work, to give back wines with a strong territorial identity.

Vincenzo Mercurio is a consultant oenologist from Campania with almost 30 years of experience, a graduate in food technology and in oenology, trained in France as well. Since 2007 he has practised independently, offering consultancy in vineyard and cellar in many Italian regions, including Campania, Lazio, Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia, Sardinia, Tuscany, Veneto, Friuli, Umbria and Sicily.

In 2022 he received the “Oscar del Vino – Premio Giacomo Tachis” as Italy’s Best Oenologist.

His approach is based on the recognition of terroir, wines with an identity of their own, and tailor-made protocols; great attention to sustainability, biodiversity, territorial yeasts and care at every step from the vineyard to the bottle.