Italy wine guide 2025: the special awards assigned by Gambero Rosso

The Vini d’Italia guide by Gambero Rosso is now in its 38th edition. Over the years, we have met and talked with winemakers, oenologists, wine entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts, sharing their stories, dreams, and the emotions sparked by tasting the fruits of their labor.

For 38 years, we’ve tasted more than a million labels. This year alone, we sampled nearly 50,000. Though the work is divided among the team members – now more than 70 strong – we have accumulated a wealth of notes, news, and evaluations that probably no other organization in the world can boast.

An edition of the guide, with over 25,000 reviews, is like a high-resolution photo with thousands upon thousands of pixels, providing an image that perfectly mirrors the original: the world of Italian wine in 2025. A world of fascinating complexity that we explore and narrate every year, clinging to millennia-old traditions while remaining open to innovation, experimentation, and perpetual evolution. Each wine we taste for the guide is like a dot in a post-impressionist painting: it’s just a sample. But if you step back and take in the full scene, the vineyard landscape of Italy in 2025 magically appears.

Tre Bicchieri 2025: the 12 special awards

The best way to fully understand our philosophy, beyond the Tre Bicchieri, is by looking at the Special Awards we present each year to wines that have particularly moved us during our tastings and re-tastings, as well as to wineries and the winemaker of the year.

Best wines of the year

Sparkling Wine of the Year

• OP Pinot Nero M. Cl. Pas Dosé Poggio dei Duca ’19 – Calatroni
  A Metodo Classico of extraordinary finesse and flavor tension, now beginning to show a complexity that will develop in the years to come. Waves of red fruit, balsamic notes, offering a vibrant and savory character with textbook persistence. A splendid example of what Pinot Noir, from a single plot at 550 meters in Rocca de’ Giorgi, can offer in a prime Oltrepò terroir.

White wine of the Year

• Alto Adige Sauvignon Gran Lafóa Ris. ’21 - Colterenzio
  Those who thought Colterenzio had reached its full potential should taste this further leap forward. The Gran Lafóa originates from the vineyard that, in the 1980s, began the quality revolution for this winery and beyond. It’s an extreme selection from the most suited portion of the vineyard, at 450 meters, offering a powerful, intensely flavorful white wine that is also extraordinarily elegant.

Rosé of the Year

• RGC Valtènesi Chiaretto Antitesi ’23 - Avanzi
  Seemingly delicate and subtle, *Antitesi* is part of the new wave of Italian winemaking that has revolutionized the style and image of rosé in Italy. The revolution began in Valtènesi, where Avanzi produces this delightful Chiaretto made from Groppello grapes: exceptionally easy to drink, with fine fruity notes, sharp and mineral. It also has great potential to evolve over time.

Red wine of the Year

• Chianti Colli Fiorentini Molino degli Innocenti Ris. ’19 - Torre a Cona
  This was a tough choice given the strong competition, but we chose this wine because it perfectly embodies the paradigm of a great red wine, both classic and modern. A wine of structure but not overly imposing, from a historic terroir and native grape, characterized by depth, fine detail, and elegance.

Meditation Wine of the Year

• Moscato Passito al Governo di Saracena ’15 - Feudo dei Sanseverino
  Calabria, and particularly Saracena, never fail to move us. The Bisconte brothers have crafted another small masterpiece: the Moscato ’15 is spectacularly deep and complex, a true meditation wine to be slowly discovered in all its thousand nuances.

Best Value for Money

• Lambrusco di Grasparossa di Castelvetro 7Bio - Settecani
  This award goes to a wine, the delightful Grasparossa 7Bio, but above all to a cooperative that works in an exemplary way. Thanks to the commitment of its members and management team, it creates authentic products that perfectly express their place of origin, all at a truly affordable price.

Sustainable Viticulture Award

• Resistenti Nicola Biasi
  The introduction of new “resistant” grape varieties in viticulture has sparked wide debate, and the discussion is far from over. Nicola Biasi is an experienced oenologist who has backed his words with actions, producing some of the most interesting and innovative labels with these new varieties under the *Resistenti Nicola Biasi* brand. A well-deserved award.

Solidarity Project Awar

• Lis Neris
  The Pecorari family’s winery, which has always produced top-quality wines, is also behind the *Francesca Pecorari ONLUS* Foundation, which has been involved in assisting children in Myanmar, Andhra Pradesh in India, and Uganda for years. Their vital contribution has helped build 14 schools.

Emerging Winery

• Maugeri
  Etna continues to produce spectacular new labels and new wineries. In just three harvests, the winery of Renato Maugeri and his daughters Carla, Michela, and Paola has established itself as one of the denomination’s most significant, from vineyard-specific winemaking to a complete hospitality system. Big development plans lie ahead.

Cooperative of the Year

• Belisario
  In a challenging period for the cooperative system in the Marche region, we wanted to highlight the work of this solid and virtuous enterprise. In over fifty years of history, Belisario has told the story of the Matelica area through carefully crafted, often unforgettable wines capable of standing the test of time. This success is thanks to a passionate and competent team, rigorous management, and the collective commitment of all its members.

Winemaker of the Year

• Mario Fontana
  Heir to a long tradition of winemakers, Mario Fontana personally tends to his family vineyards, where he grew up and learned the craft as a child under his grandfather’s guidance. If you pass by the Villero vineyard in Castiglione Falletto, you’ll likely find him there with pruning shears in hand.

Winery of the Year

• San Leonardo
  For over 300 years, the Guerrieri Gonzaga family has been the custodian of this splendid estate, which, thanks to the passion and personal commitment of Carlo, the oenologist, and now his son Anselmo, has earned an international reputation for the quality of its wines. But San Leonardo is much more than a famous wine label: it is a place of peace and beauty that has inspired, and continues to inspire, all winemakers in the region and beyond. Visit, and you’ll understand...

Tre Bicchieri 2025: discover the award-winning wines by Gambero Rosso Region by Region

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