Portraits

Cantine Riondo is set in the beautiful rolling countryside around Verona, one of Italy’s most storied towns and the nexus of the sprawling Veneto wine region. Behind this bucolic setting, though, is one of the country’s largest co-operative groups and a range of wines that reads like a digest of global best-sellers.

How did a bodega, founded in 1890 in Jumilla – perhaps Spain’s most under-the-radar wine region – to produce wines for France, then in the throes of phylloxera, become Europe’s leading winery by sales and the fourth largest in the world in just 130 years? Its director, José García-Carrión, recounts the incredible story of this exceptional company.

Founded by Christopher Vanpoulle in 2010 to promote Iberian wines worldwide, in just a few years Very Fine Vinos has successfully carved out a prime position for itself in the Spanish wine arena. It has even become the official wine distributor of MasterChef, an institution in the country. Despite its success, the company has always favoured quality over quantity and demonstrates a new way of viewing distribution, one that is based on trust, interaction with people and good wine. After the untimely passing of its founder, the company is determined more than ever to continue on its journey.

The world of Italian wine is increasingly 'female'. In fact, one in four farms is now run by a woman, as are 30% of wineries. Enrolments at viticulture and oenology faculties are also increasing, as is the number of female winemakers across the country. We have selected eight of them to illustrate the fundamental roles played by women in the Italian wine industry.

Roederer Champagne, Louis Jadot, Famille Perrin, André Lurton, Ramos Pinto, Sassicaia, Marqués de Murrieta, Bodega Norton, Coppola… The impressive line-up in the Wine4You portfolio makes it seem the perfect match for one of the world’s more mature wine markets. Its founder, wine collector and expert Jaroslaw Cybulski, describes how the Polish wine market has come on in leaps and bounds.

The 72-year-old Dane answers our questions in impeccable French, in the car driven by his wife.