The iconic event dedicated to exploring the authentic roots of taste. Roots of Excellence is back for its first summer edition with a programme full of flavours and inspiration, under the banner of authenticity and sustainability. From 27 to 29 July, Alta Badia was the setting for three days of tastings, meetings and conversations with the best artisans of taste. Organised by the Wieser family, owners of the iconic Ciasa Salares Hotel for over 60 years, the event was a celebration of raw materials and authenticity, in search of absolute quality without territorial boundaries. The protagonists were producers from all over Europe who brought their vision of conscious food and wine to the table. On Saturday 27 July, the dances began at high altitude, with lunch at the Ciasa Salares shepherds’ huts, on a day dedicated to the excellence of cured meats, cheeses and sausages. The second day was dedicated to fire, meat and its traditional cuisine at Sass Dlacia, at the gates of the Fanes-Senes-Braies Natural Park. The grand finale took place at Ciasa Salares, the home of the Roots of Excellence, where it all began: among tasting booths, wine shops and restaurants, the delicacies of chefs, producers and wine-growers were tasted.

There are places that reconcile you with the world thanks to their history and charm. Tenuta Mazzolino is one of them, a small oenological jewel in the valleys of Oltrepò Pavese. Just a few kilometres from the chaos of Milan, you will find yourself immersed in greenery, vineyards and woods, which are not lacking here because of the desire to protect the land from uncontrolled deforestation. So, when you organize a visit for the press, you’re sure to get everyone’s attention. This is what happened on the 17th of July last year, when we visited the winery with a large handful of journalists from the wine, business and costume/tourism press, travelling on the Milano-Voghera line in a somewhat antiquated train. We were met at the station by Giuditta Brandolini, hospitality manager, and Stefano Malchiodi, winemaker at Cantina di Corvino San Quirico. Welcoming us through the gate with the image of the two roosters that symbolize the winery itself was Francesca Seralvo, the third generation at the helm since 2015, when she received the baton from her mother Sandra and the official investiture of her grandfather Enrico Braggiotti, vigneron founder of Tenuta Mazzolino in the 1980s. Here the day passes quickly between the history of the vineyards, the vines, the organic choices, the progress of the season; it continues with a visit to the cellar and culminates in a wine tasting, with even an exclusive spoiler on a new reference: the Blanc de Noir (so good!), which with its handwritten label in urban style conquers everyone’s palate.  But it’s the Villa, with its Italian garden and deliberately old-fashioned style, that will definitely win your heart. It is here, among works of art (Atchugarry) and original posters from exhibitions from the 1960s onwards, an imposing map of Paris, period ceramics and floors, that Francesca tells us its story: it was Alfonso Corti, an Italian anatomist credited with the discovery of the Corti’s organ of the ear, which still bears his name, who made the Mazzolino estate his happy retreat. The informal lunch on the veranda overlooking the vineyards is the icing on the cake. We return to Milan not only with a story to tell, but also with a new place in our hearts.