Franco Biondi Santi: The Gentleman of Brunello

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8872501156 ISBN 13: 9788872501153

Publisher: Veronelli Editore, 2005

From the Inside Flap

Kerin O'Keefe combines the story of celebrated wine producer Franco Biondi Santi and the history of one of the world's greatest wines, Brunello di Montalcino, invented by the Biondi Santi family in the 1800s. O'Keefe recounts Biondi Santi's life from the time he was a young child and accompanied his father in the vineyards and cellar to today when his Brunello is sought out the world over. In the middle, a succession of struggles, transformations and Franco's unflagging determination to defend the identity of his wine against the dangerous trends towards standardized tastes and globalization which threaten to obliterate the world's greatest wines. The story is enriched with numerous anecdotes, such as when during WWII Franco and his father walled up hundreds of precious bottles of aged Riservas in the cellar before the Front passed through Montalcino because, "Either they'll drink them or steal them". This is the story of a man whose impeccably good taste and refinement have made him one of the symbols of Made in Italy, and of the wine that forever changed Italian viticulture and enology.

Editorial Review:

With her book Kerin O'Keefe not only gives us a documented, passionate, well-told biography of Franco, gentleman of Brunello. We need to be grateful to O'Keefe, as in her book proves to believe in her own idea of Brunello, and with courage, without beating around the bush, reminds us that we face an "alarming situation now threatening the future of one of the world's greatest and most singular wines, endowed as it is with terroir driven attributes", and that "with Brunello's destiny now at stakes thanks to the desire of some producers to again change the production code", Franco Biondi Santi chose to join the Consorzio to fight from the inside,"in the hopes that he and other traditional producers can stop these trends that threaten to make Brunello unrecognizable".-- Franco Ziliani, Wine Report, March 2005

About the Author:

Kerin O'Keefe is Italian Editor for Wine Enthusiast. According to the New York Times: "Ms. O'Keefe is thorough and authoritative. She is a critic in the best sense of the word, not shy with her opinions, which she offers without polemics or bluster."

Review:

With her book Kerin O'Keefe not only gives us a documented, passionate, well-told biography of Franco, gentleman of Brunello. We need to be grateful to O'Keefe, as in her book proves to believe in her own idea of Brunello, and with courage reminds us that we face an alarming situation now threatening the future of one of the world's greatest and most singular wines, endowed as it is with terroir driven attributes, and that with Brunello's destiny now at stakes thanks to the desire of some producers to again change the production code." Franco Ziliani, Wine Report, March 2005