Cult Oenologist 2026

Leaving a trace

There are people who make wine.
And there are people who, through wine, manage to leave a trace.

Cult Oenologist was born to celebrate the latter: personalities who, through knowledge, experience, intuition and vision, have helped transform Italian oenology and make it one of the highest expressions of wine culture in the world.

We do not want to celebrate technique alone.
We want to celebrate the ability to listen to the land, to understand time, to interpret a territory and turn it into emotion.

This is why we have chosen three great dimensions of contemporary oenology:

The Legends those who have written history. The Masters those who represent knowledge, excellence and continuity. The Visionaries those who, with new sensibilities, are imagining the wine of tomorrow.

The selection

The basis and condition for the selection of the Cult Oenologists is the award of at least one WH Award to a wine from at least three wineries, including at least one WH Award Candidato Platinum above 95/100 points.

Cult Oenologist 2026

The Legends

those who have written history.

The Legend

Franco Bernabei

in memoriam

The wines at the tasting

Elegance has no need to raise its voice. And perhaps this sentence, more than any other, tells the story of Franco Bernabei’s oenology.

A career built on competence, sensitivity, experience and a deep respect for the territory. Over the decades he accompanied some of the most important protagonists of Italian wine, contributing significantly to the qualitative growth of Tuscany and to the international success of many labels that have become symbols of Italian excellence.

His philosophy always had one fundamental principle: the oenologist must not prevail over the wine. He must listen to the vineyard, understand the vintage, interpret the variety and accompany the wine towards its most authentic expression.

The result is wines of balance, depth and longevity. Wines in which technique becomes invisible, because it leaves room for identity.

Cult Oenologist – The Legend celebrates Franco Bernabei, master of elegance and extraordinary interpreter of Italian wine.

The Legend

Riccardo Cotarella

The wines at the tasting

There are personalities who accompany history. And there are others who help to change it. Riccardo Cotarella belongs to the latter.

Oenologist, man of wine, entrepreneur, teacher and protagonist of the institutional life of the sector, he has lived through more than half a century of the evolution of Italian winemaking, contributing decisively to its transformation.

His greatness lies not only in the wines he has helped to create. It lies above all in the ability to understand the potential of territories, grape varieties and producers before that potential was fully recognised.

He has brought scientific knowledge into tradition, modernity into rural culture, an international vision into the deeply Italian identity of wine.

For Riccardo Cotarella, behind every great bottle there are first of all a land, a family and a story.

And it is precisely this ability to recognise the value of origins and project it towards the future that has made him one of the great protagonists of Italian oenology.

Cult Oenologist – The Legend pays tribute to Riccardo Cotarella, for having helped to write one of the most important pages in the modern history of Italian wine.

The Legend

Carlo Ferrini

The wines at the tasting

Great wine is born of identity. And it is to the search for identity that Carlo Ferrini has devoted his professional life.

Tuscany is the heart of his experience, but his oenological culture has crossed different territories, grape varieties and appellations.

Over the course of his career he has contributed to the growth and success of many outstanding estates, becoming one of the most authoritative interpreters of contemporary Italian oenology.

His work unites precision and sensitivity, knowledge and intuition.

For Ferrini, every vineyard has a voice.
The oenologist’s task is to recognise it, understand it and allow it to express itself.

From this philosophy come wines able to combine power and elegance, structure and harmony, immediacy and the capacity to travel through time.

Cult Oenologist – The Legend honours Carlo Ferrini as one of the great masters who have helped to build the international prestige of Italian wine.

The Legend

Luca D’Attoma

The wines at the tasting

To innovate is to have the courage to question what we already know.

Luca D’Attoma has built his professional path on precisely this ability.

Research, observation, sensitivity towards the vineyard and a deeply personal vision of oenology have made him one of the most original interpreters of contemporary Italian wine.

For D’Attoma everything begins in the vineyard. That is where the identity of a wine is born. The cellar must not create it artificially, but recognise it, protect it and accompany it.

His work has contributed to the birth of wines able to combine strength and refinement, concentration and freshness, personality and territory.

Behind this apparent simplicity lies a relentless search.
Because great wine, in his vision, is never a point of arrival. It is a continuous search for balance.

Cult Oenologist – The Legend celebrates Luca D’Attoma, for having turned experimentation, knowledge and sensitivity into one of the most recognisable signatures of Italian oenology.

Cult Oenologist 2026

The Masters

those who represent knowledge, excellence and continuity.

The Master

Gianni Menotti

The wines at the tasting

There are oenologists who build great wines. Gianni Menotti has also helped to build a culture of wine.

Friuli Venezia Giulia is the heart of his experience and one of the territories through which he has expressed his vision with the greatest force.

A vision founded on precision, on the knowledge of grape varieties and, above all, on respect for their personality.

His professional path is studded with awards, but the true measure of his career is continuity.
Harvest after harvest. Estate after estate. Territory after territory.
Always in search of elegance, balance and authenticity.

For Menotti technique is fundamental, but it cannot be the protagonist of the wine.
The protagonist must remain the territory.

Cult Oenologist – The Master pays tribute to Gianni Menotti, for a professional life devoted with rigour and passion to the excellence of Italian oenology.

The Master

Paolo Caciorgna

The wines at the tasting

Paolo Caciorgna is a traveller of Italian oenology.

A journey across different territories, different cultures, different grape varieties.

From Tuscany to Sicily and beyond, every experience has helped to build a precise philosophy: there is no oenological model valid for every territory.
There is, instead, the ability to listen.

To understand what each vineyard wants to tell, and to find the most authentic language through which to let it express itself.

His oenology is therefore an oenology of identity. It does not look for the winemaker’s signature in the glass. It looks for the signature of the land.

It is precisely this ability to enter into a relationship with different places while keeping their personality intact that makes his path so special.

Cult Oenologist – The Master celebrates Paolo Caciorgna, sensitive interpreter of Italy’s territories and master of an oenology founded on listening.

The Master

Alessandro Cellai

The wines at the tasting

Passion, intuition and determination are the elements that accompany the path of Alessandro Cellai.

Tuscany and Chianti Classico are the heart of a career in which Cellai has been able to combine the great oenological tradition of his land with a modern, international vision.

His work is born in the vineyard, but always looks beyond it.
Because a great wine must be able to tell the story of its territory and, at the same time, speak to the world.

It is this ability to unite identity and contemporaneity that has characterised his professional path.

The international results of recent years bear witness to the solidity of this vision. But behind the awards, above all, one principle remains:
a wine must have a soul.
That of the territory, that of the vintage and that of the people who imagined it.

Cult Oenologist – The Master honours Alessandro Cellai, for having contributed with talent and passion to the new international image of great Tuscan wine.

Cult Oenologist 2026

The Visionaries

those who, with new sensibilities, are imagining the wine of tomorrow.

The Visionary

Gabriele Gadenz

The wines at the tasting

Every generation receives a legacy. But its task is not only to preserve it: it is to carry it into the future.

Gabriele Gadenz represents this new generation of Italian oenology.

A generation that has had the chance to learn from the great masters, but that today must face entirely new challenges.

Climate change. New balances in the vineyard. Sustainability. Protection of biodiversity. The promotion of native grape varieties.
The search for an ever greater territorial authenticity. Gadenz looks at these transformations not as a limit, but as an opportunity for research.

His oenology is born of curiosity and the will to experiment, always keeping a strong bond with the territory.

Looking ahead without forgetting where we come from. This is the responsibility of the new generation.

Cult Oenologist – The Visionary honours Gabriele Gadenz, as the interpreter of a new oenological sensibility and a representative of that future of Italian wine which is beginning to take shape today.

Friday 6 November 2026 · 10:00 – 16:30 · Kurhaus, Merano

The tasting

Within TasteTerroir bio&dynamica, the Cult Oenologists present the wines born of their consultancy at the estates they follow: a tasting journey through different styles, unique terroirs and iconic vintages — and the chance to meet the protagonists of Italian oenology in person.

Friday 6 November 2026 10:00 – 16:30 Kurhaus, Merano

The wines of the Cult Oenologists 2026 at the tasting on Friday 6 November
Oenologist	Estate	Type	Wine · grapes	Ageing · farming
The LegendFranco Bernabeiin memoriam
The LegendFranco Bernabeiin memoriam	Antichi Poderi Jerzu	White	2021Filare Vermentino Di Sardegna DOC100% Vermentino	Large cask	Meet the producer See the award
	Icario	Red	2020Sansasia Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano DOCG100% Sangiovese	TonneauNew barriques ≥70%	Meet the producer See the award
	Tenuta Villa Trasqua	Red	2021Fanatico Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG95% Sangiovese, 2% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon	Large caskOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Il Poggio – Famiglia Fusco Viticultori	Red	2022Safinos Aglianico Del Taburno Rosso DOCG100% Aglianico	Steel tankLarge caskNew barriques ≥70%	See the award
	Selvapiana
	Molino di Grace
The LegendRiccardo Cotarella
The LegendRiccardo Cotarella	Famiglia Cotarella	Red	2023Montiano Lazio IGP100% Merlot	New barriques ≥70%	Meet the producer See the award
	San Salvatore 19.88	Red	2020Omaggio A Gillo Dorfles Paestum Aglianico IGP100% Aglianico	New barriques <70%Steel tankLarge cask	Meet the producer See the award
	Cristo di Campobello	Sparkling wine	2021Cristo Di Campobello Sicilia Grillo Metodo Classico Extra brut DOC100% Grillo	Steel tank	Meet the producer See the award
	Costa Arènte	Red	2019Amarone Della Valpolicella Valpantena Riserva DOCG60% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 10% Rondinella	TonneauLarge cask	See the award
	Leone de Castris	Rosé	2025Five Roses Anniversario Salento IGT80% Negroamaro, 20% Malvasia	Steel tank	Meet the producer See the award
	Muratori		2020Franciacorta Millesimato Brut		Meet the producer
	Boschetto Campacci		2022Ruello Chianti Classico Riserva
The LegendCarlo Ferrini
The LegendCarlo Ferrini	Petrolo	Red	2024Galatrona Valdarno Di Sopra Merlot DOC100% Merlot	New barriques ≥70%Organic	Meet the producer See the award
	San Leonardo	Red	2021San Leonardo Vigneti delle dolomiti Classico IGT60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, 10% Merlot	New barriques <70%Organic	Meet the producer See the award
	Il Pollenza	Red	2022Il Pollenza Marche IGT90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot	Tonneau	Meet the producer See the award
	Camigliano	Red	2020Gualto Brunello Di Montalcino Riserva DOCG100% Sangiovese	Large caskOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Tenuta San Vincenti	Red	2021Esperimento I Toscana IGT100% Merlot	Tonneau	Meet the producer See the award
The LegendLuca D’Attoma
The LegendLuca D’Attoma	Bocelli 1831	Red	2022Alcide Toscana IGT100% Cabernet Sauvignon	TonneauUsed barriquesNatural wine	See the award
	Bulichella	Red	2021Coldipietrerosse Suvereto Cabernet Sauvignon DOCG100% Cabernet Sauvignon	New barriques <70%Organic	See the award
	Duemani	Red	2020Duemani Vènti Costa Toscana Cabernet Franc IGP100% Cabernet Franc	New barriques ≥70%Glass / bottleBiodynamic	Meet the producer See the award
	Fattoria Castelvecchio di Filippo Rocchi	Red	2021Il Brecciolino Toscana Rosso IGT70% Merlot, 20% Petit Verdot, 10% Sangiovese	New barriques ≥70%Steel tankOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Fazio Casa Vinicola in Erice	White	2025Aegades Erice DOC100% Grillo	Steel tank	See the award
	Filodivino	White	2024Coccio Marche IGT100% Verdicchio	AmphoraOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Fonzone	White	2024Sequoia Fiano Di Avellino Riserva DOCG100% Fiano Di Avellino	Large caskTonneau	Meet the producer See the award
	La Lupinella	Red	2023La Lupinella Rossa Chianti Superiore DOCG100% Sangiovese	Large caskTonneauSteel tankOrganic	See the award
	La Valentina	Red	2022Binomio Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC100% Montepulciano	New barriques <70%Used barriquesTonneauSteel tank	Meet the producer See the award
	Perticaia	Red	2022Montefalco DOC80% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, 5% Merlot	Steel tankOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Tenuta Maryamado	Red	2022Arali Toscana IGT80% Sangiovese, 20% Colorino	TonneauOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Terra Costantino	White	2023Contrada Blandano Etna Bianco DOC90% Carricante, 10% Catarratto	Large caskOrganic	See the award
	Tenute Lunelli – Tenuta Podernovo	Red	2020Solenida Costa Toscana IGT100% Sangiovese	TonneauLarge cask	Meet the producer See the award
	Tenute Lunelli – Tenuta Castelbuono	Red	2023Lampante Montefalco Riserva DOC70% Sangiovese, 15% Sagrantino, 15% Cabernet E Merlot	TonneauLarge caskNew barriques ≥70%	Meet the producer See the award
	Zorzettig Annalisa	White	2023Myò I Fiori Di Leonie Friuli Colli Orientali DOC60% Tocai Friulano, 15% Pinot Bianco, 25% Sauvignon Blanc	Steel tankNew barriques <70%Used barriques	Meet the producer See the award
The MasterGianni Menotti
The MasterGianni Menotti	La Viarte	White	2024Liende Friuli Colli Orientali Sauvignon DOC100% Sauvignon Blanc	Steel tank	Meet the producer See the award
	Alessio Komjanc & Figli	Red	2021Dedica Collio Merlot DOC100% Merlot	New barriques ≥70%	Meet the producer See the award
	Galliussi	White	2023"Arimanni" Friuli Colli Orientali Pinot Bianco DOC100% Pinot Bianco	Used barriquesOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Scubla Roberto	White	2024Pomèdes Friuli Colli Orientali Bianco DOC60% Pinot Bianco, 30% Friulano, 10% Riesling	New barriques <70%	See the award
The MasterPaolo Caciorgna
The MasterPaolo Caciorgna	Vignaioli del Morellino di Scansano	Red	2022Sicomoro Morellino Di Scansano Riserva DOCG100% Sangiovese	Large caskNew barriques <70%	Meet the producer See the award
	Abbadia Ardenga	Red	2021Brunello Di Montalcino Vigna Piaggia Classico DOCG100% Sangiovese	Large cask	Meet the producer See the award
	Dei	Red	2019Madonna Della Querce Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Cru DOCG100% Sangiovese	Large cask	Meet the producer See the award
	Roberto Mazzi e Figli	Red	2020Castel Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico DOCG65% Corvina, 5% Corvinone, 20% Rondinella, 10% Molinara	New barriques ≥70%	See the award
	Vestini Campagnano	Red	2020Connubio Terre Del Volturno IGT50% Casavecchia, 50% Pallagrello	New barriques ≥70%Organic	See the award
The MasterAlessandro Cellai
The MasterAlessandro Cellai	Podere Monastero		2024La Pineta
	Panizzi	White	2022Panizzi Vernaccia Di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG100% Vernaccia Di San Gimignano	New barriques ≥70%Steel tankGlass / bottleOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Domini Castellare di Castellina	Red	2022I Sodi Di San Niccolò Toscana IGT85% Sangioveto, 15% Malvasia Nera	New barriques ≥70%	Meet the producer See the award
	Podere La Villa	Red	2022Giacomo Toscana IGT100% Merlot	New barriques <70%Organic	See the award
	Vallepicciola		2022Rosso Grand Cru Sangiovese		Meet the producer
The VisionaryGabriele Gadenz
The VisionaryGabriele Gadenz	Buranco	Sweet white	2021Cinque Terre Sciacchetrà Riserva DOP60% Bosco, 30% Vermentino, 10% Albarola	Steel tankOrganic	Meet the producer See the award
	Poggio Ulivi	Sparkling wine	2021XVIII Diciottesimo Toscana Metodo Classico Pas dosé IGT100% Sangiovese	Traditional method	See the award
	Muscari Tomajoli	Red	2024Pantaleone Lazio IGT100% Petit Verdot	Steel tankOrganic	See the award
	Degli Azzoni Wines	Sparkling wine	S.A.Thurisia Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico Classico Extra brut DOCG100% Pinot Nero	Traditional method	See the award
	Arrigoni Pietraserena	White	2024Cretula Vernaccia Di San Gimignano Cru Riserva DOCG100% Vernaccia Di San Gimignano	New barriques ≥70%TonneauSteel tank	See the award

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Visiting

Cult Oenologist 2026

Leaving a trace

The Legends

Franco Bernabei

Riccardo Cotarella

Carlo Ferrini

Luca D’Attoma

The Masters

Gianni Menotti

Paolo Caciorgna

Alessandro Cellai

The Visionaries

Gabriele Gadenz

The tasting

Listening to the land.