Chatting with the pen of international wine and food critics
It’s 5 o’ clock p.m. Tea time for English people, the right time for us from So Wine So Food to talk about wine and food critics. This time we do that when the new edition of I vini d’Italia 2017 (Italian Wines 2017) is published. We meet one of its two editors, Antonio Paolini, journalist from Il Messaggero. From his roots in the Abruzzo, Mr. Paolini comes to a “food schizophrenia” that lead him to finish his critical judgment showing his big talent in the new edition of Vini d’Italia 2017 by l’Espresso: “A simplified and revolutionary – as he tells us – guide.” Revolutionary? Yes, because it is directly oriented to the consumer. Perhaps is it finally known that writing guides only pro-companies is useless? Will this be the right time that guides are oriented to those who use them? And Mr. Paolini answers to us: “We do not want to be the photographer at marriages anymore,” but he underlines that aware of all risks, his editors have (finally) chosen to focus on honesty and sincerity. We are worried about that finally, but we move forwards. According to Antonio “the unforgivable sins of a critic pen are presumption, extremism and racism against those who do not think the same way as you do”, possible risks and tricks from critics on the web. TV formats linked to the world of cuisine have surely pushed young people closer to schemes that remained closed for too long in a sort of golden ghetto. The image of the chef can be misled by the appearance of the dish instead of real talent though. Antonio understood he had that talent after a course of degustation of wines in Burgundy at the end of which he has been cooperating with Gambero Rosso for seven years. Nowadays he is by Enzo Vizzari’s side, director of l’Espresso: “older brother and more talented” this is how Antonio himself calls him, and he called him together with Andrea Grignaffini to select in Italy 100 wines to drink immediately, 100 wines to buy and 100 wines to preserve. The tricks must not be revealed but Antonio Paolini’s advise, and in particular a praise to us from So Wine So Food, is to keeping on focusing on languages remembering to “learn in French, communicate in English and write in Italian” for a solid journalistic deontology.
“We do not want to be the photographer at marriages anymore”
– Antonio Paolini –
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