Autumn. A time to take stock, to look inward, and to face the season of wine guides. For us, the end of harvest often coincides with the release of results: scores, awards, acknowledgments. Every year it’s a small ritual, with the same quiet hope of good news.
People often wonder if these awards still matter. Ten years ago, maybe a high score could really make a difference in sales. Today, not so much. But curiosity remains, and you can’t resist a peek at the list of winners. It’s that same feeling you had at school, scanning the names of those who passed. A small thing, but one that still makes you smile.
And let’s be honest — it’s always nice to know that one of our wines has managed to win over even the professionals. Because the opinion of consumers is what keeps us going, but when praise also comes from a critic, it feels like an extra sign, a small confirmation.
This year, though, one recognition struck me in a special way. The DoctorWine guide by Daniele Cernilli awarded 95 points to our Teresa Manara Negroamaro Salice Salentino Riserva 2023 and, to our surprise, named the Rohesia Rosato Italy’s Most Beautiful Label.
I must admit, the news made my heart skip a beat. Making wine is real, physical work — I see it every day on my brother’s face during harvest and in the eyes of everyone on our team. To then find yourself holding an award is, for Gianni and all of us, a moment of deep satisfaction. But great wine alone isn’t enough. It needs a name. It needs a dress. And finding the right one is among the hardest things: it has to tell the story of the wine, but also a part of who we are. It has to please, to last, to be recognized.
For thirty years, Elisa Costa of Label Design has guided this part of the journey. Everything you see on our bottles bears her signature. Twenty years ago, the Amativo label won first prize in the Art category at the Merano Wine Festival. Today, history repeats itself and the joy is the same.
DDoubts, revisions, sleepless nights wondering if that shade or that word was the right one. Then, one day, an email arrives: “Congratulations, yours is Italy’s most beautiful label.” In an instant, all the fatigue, all the second-guessing, all the waiting disappear. And together with Elisa — and with Seriprint of Locorotondo, who brought her design to life through material and color — we savor the moment, as if it were the very first time.
