The verdict of the 18th Gran Vinitaly wine competition is unmistakable:Zonin is the best wine company in Italy and in the world. Not since 2005 has an Italian producer received this extraordinarily prestigious accolade. As is well known, the Special Gran Vinitaly Prize does not reward an individual wine, butrather a wine company’s entire production. On learning the news of this victory, Cav. Gianni Zonin, who last year celebrated fifty years’ involvement in the wine business, made the following comments: “I am absolutely delighted that our over all leadership as aproducer has been recognized in this way, after fifty years of continuous efforts and incessant research of total quality. The pursuit of this goal has expressed itself in massive investments in the vineyard and in the formation of a team of technicians that includes some 32 enologists and agronomists, with aview to fulfilling our companies’ mission of combining maximum quality with enjoy mentof wine for all. And when I say leadership I am referring to quality, to area under vine, totechnological research, to distributional capacities, to safe guarding the identity of the terroirs where we operate and to the championingof wines made from indigenous grapevarieties. If I think about what we have done in Friuli with Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso, in Tuscany with Sangiovese, in Puglia with Negroamaro, in Sicily with Nero d’Avola, in Piedmont with Moscato, Dolcetto and Barbera or in Lombardy with Bonarda and Pinot Noir, I can state without fear of contradiction – and now backed up by this Special Gran Vinitaly Prize – that we are among the most strenuous defenders of Italy’s viticultural heritage. But we have also combined tradition with innovation by reinforcing our distribution network, constantly improving our winemaking practices, and successfully performing the three phases that make up the life of a wine company: growing the grapes, making the wines and marketing them. Our efforts have always been geared towards allowing our clients to drink well and at the right price. Whether we are talking about the wines under the Zonin label or highly exclusive bottles from our estates, our production philosophy has always been designed to giving our clients the maximum possible advantages in terms of taste satisfaction and good value for their money. There really couldn’t be a better or a higher reward than the 2010 Special Gran Vinitaly Prize for these efforts”. The Zonin family owns nine estates in Italy, covering over 4,000 hectares in all, as wellas Casa Vinicola Zonin’s historic headquarters in Gambellara and a top-quality property in the United States at Barboursville in Virginia, which has introduced many Americans to the subtle and complex delights of Nebbiolo. The nine estates are in Piedmont (Castello del Poggio), in Lombardy (Il Bosco, where some of the Oltrepò Pavese’s finest sparkling wines are produced), in the Veneto (Podere Il Giangio), in Friuli Special Gran VinitalyPrize for Casa Vinicola Zonin (Ca’ Bolani is by far the largest single estate in the Region), in Tuscany (with Castello d’Albola, Abbazia Monte Oliveto, and in the Maremma with Rocca di Montemassi), in Puglia (where Masseria Altemura has become one of the leading producers of Negroamaro), in Sicily (with Feudo Principi di Butera, which has Nero d’Avola as its stargrape variety), and produce around twenty million bottles in all. Wines from all of these outstanding estates are available under the Gianni Zonin Vineyards brand, which beatout an exceptionally strong and size able field of competitors in this year’s Vinitaly International Wine Competition.The prize was awarded to Casa Vinicola Zonin after the Jury – selected by the management committee headed up by Ettore Riello, President of Veronafiere, with the backingof OIV, the Italian Ministries of Agriculture and Economic Development, Assoenologi, and Italian Trade Commission – had tasted 3,646 wines from 27 different countries around the world. The winner of the 2010 Special Gran Vinitaly Prize was chosenby taking into account the marks obtained by the various producers’ wines in the several categories of the competition. As Giuseppe Martelli, Director General of Assoenologi (the Association of Italian Enologists), confirms: “For the eighteenth consecutive year, this prize has established itself as being the most selective in the world. Weactually reduced the number of Gold Medals we awarded, even though there were more wines in competition this year”. This proves yet again that the prize awarded to Casa Vinicola Zonin certifies it as the top wine company in the world, as well as rewarding fifty years of constanthard work on the part of Gianni Zonin and the seven generations of his family that have constituted this amazing wine dynasty and who have always considered wine to be an expression of the land, culture and pleasure. Thanks to Zonin’s constant quest for optimum quality, massive investments in improving the vineyards (which have been made even in times of economic crisis) and tireless research, carried out by a team of winemakers on behalf of  Casa Vinicola Zonin and the Zonin family’s estates, which are located in all of the nation’s finest wine-producing regions– Italy has once again claimed the very top award inthe international Gran Vinitaly competition. This istruly a prize of major worldwide significance (the prize sincluded 2 Top Gold Medals, 1 Gold Medal, 1Silver Medal, 17 Highly Commended).