Rome, Pipero restaurant. This is where Gambero Rosso closed the two-day presentation of the 2026 Italian Wines Guide with a special event: a masterclass dedicated to the four wineries that, over the Guide's forty-year history, have distinguished themselves for their excellence in all types of wine—sparkling, white, red, and sweet. Among these was Sella & Mosca , the historic Alghero-based winery that for over a century has represented the region through its grape varieties. "We wanted to pay homage to those wineries that over time have maintained consistent production and quality across all types of wine , without ever losing their identity and connection to the territory," explained Giuseppe Carrus, curator of the Guide and host of the evening. "It wasn't easy to find them: many wineries today complete their range with sparkling or sweet wines, but few have such a solid and cross-disciplinary history." The other four selected protagonists were Ca' Rugate (Veneto), Roeno (Veneto-Trentino) and Umani Ronchi (Marche): all family-run companies, which over time have made wine their mission.
In 2026, the Vini d'Italia Guide will turn forty : four decades in which Gambero Rosso has chronicled the evolution of Italian wine, from the first Tre Bicchieri labels to the current diversity of styles, terroirs, and languages: " Today, it's no longer enough for a wine to simply be good. It must have a voice, an identity, it must be able to express the place where it comes from . The wineries we discovered in the pages of the Guide and that are here today have succeeded in doing so, year after year."
Giovanni Pinna, general manager and winemaker at Sella & Mosca , spoke about Sardinia's wine scene, beginning with the 2022 Oscarì, a fresh, luminous classic method sparkling wine made from Torbato grapes: "Torbato is a grape variety that Sella & Mosca has always cared for and protected. Having arrived in Sardinia with the Spanish in the 14th century, it was at risk of disappearing, and today it represents one of our defining characteristics. With the arrival of the Moretti family, we wanted to give it a new voice, following the example of Franciacorta but remaining faithful to the local variety. It was a challenge and, at the same time, a way to reaffirm our identity." A wine, as Carrus also emphasized, that "demonstrates that ."
