“Earlier this year, Master Distributors started representing Italian prestigious wine-makers Piccini from the Chianti region in Tuscany. This was an important business move for our company because it formed part of a defined wider strategy – that of enhancing our profile through an association with successful prestigious foreign wine-makers. This strategy was proven right following Piccini’s recent announcement of a very positive 2005 grape harvest that was described as very good, with points of real excellence,” said sales and marketing manager of Master Distributors, Claudio Camilleri.
Mr Camilleri was commenting during a recent wine-tasting event organised to celebrate the introduction in the local market of Piccini – a new range of wines from the Italian region of Chianti that are now being imported and distributed in Malta exclusively by Master Distributors. The event at Master Cellars in Naxxar was attended by a number of clients, members from the media and the public and was co-hosted in collaboration with television programme 118.
The evening was introduced by wine advisor of Master Distributors, Josef Bonello, who gave interesting tips on how best to serve and taste wine, how to store it, what types of glasses should ideally be used and what food best complements the wines. Mr Bonello also referred to the origins of the Piccini brand and the high reputation it is currently enjoying within the Italian wine industry.
The tasting event of the Piccini wines follows a recent visit by Claudio Camilleri, Louie Camilleri and Josef Bonello to the Piccini Estates in Cianti. During this visit, they were hosted by Mario and Martina Piccini, who today represent the brand’s fourth generation.
Commenting on their visit in Chianti, Mr Camilleri said: “our visit to the Piccini Estates confirmed our satisfaction at having started this new collaboration with such a renowned Italian wine maker. During our visit, we recognised that more than the prestige that we share in this collaboration, we share a common philosophy – the appreciation of the traditional meticulous processes in the art of wine-making following the most rigorous of methods. We are now looking forward towards a closer collaboration and even though we are backed by different markets with different expectations, we share common goals and we will seek to learn from each other’s experience and expertise.”
Piccini have carved a name for themselves among the most prestigious wine-makers in Tuscany. Backed with a long-standing family tradition, Piccini saw its birth in Poggibonsi in 1882 by Angiolo Piccini who passed on the company to his son Mario, who turned the Piccini brand into a nation-wide brand of high- quality wines exportation. At the start of the 1960’s the company experienced a phase of increased growth in business guided by Pierangiolo Piccini. In the 1980s Piccini moved to Castellina in Chianti, in the heart of the Chianti Classico, an area highly-dedicated to the production of high-quality Tuscan wines. Today, Mario and Martina Piccini, represent the brand’s fourth generation who together with their father, Pierangiolo, are constantly perfecting both the production and commercial sectors of their business.