Millesima Blog Awards 2017: Perlage Suite winner for Europe in the Food & Wine Pairing category

In short, this week started off really well: Today was the official announcement of the winners of the Millesima Blog Awards 2017 and... did I win ? A dream week awaits me in the sponsor's beautiful castle, Château Pichon Baron, where I will feel like a fairytale princess (olé, only the prince is missing) ❤

The public vote for the 18 finalists chosen by the Technical Jury of the Millesima Blog Awards closed at 23:59 on Friday 27 January with 4030 voters voting for their favourite bloggers. That evening I was in Franciacorta, at the Riccafana Winery, where Riccardo Fratus presented its Satén Millesimato Eredità from the Fratus line (a Franciacorta DOCG to be tried, with notes of candied orange, melted butter, freshly baked biscuits and a truly remarkable creaminess in the mouth) with a delicious aperitif (credit to the egg, shrimp in kataifi paste and sweet and sour onions) organised by the Chef Alessandro Ferrera of the Templari Restaurant in Brescia... and I admit it: at midnight I started uncorking with Riccardo and it was almost 3 o'clock! Even though my victory was not yet official, I was hoping for it with all my heart and... I was already ready to celebrate 😀

As a finalist, I had already received a magnum by Château Pichon Baron 2011 (Second Cru Classé 1855 from Pauillac) and a magnum by Château Suduiraut (Primo Cru Classé 1855 from Sauternes) last week. I would like to congratulate Millesima for the lightning shipment from France (it was delivered to me 2 days after they announced its departure), they should learn from the Italian postal service that today delivered me an envelope that left Manfredonia on 4 January!

The 18 finalists, 9 European and 9 American in 3 categories, were chosen by an international jury: the French Aurélien Valance (General Manager of Château Margaux), the American Panos Kakaviatos (wine journalist) and the English Mike Turner (blogger and consultant for wine events). The final stage, on the other hand, was entirely up to our community: among the 3 finalists in each category, the winner was the one who had the most votes, i.e. the most-followed wine blogger! The 2017 Millesima Blog Awards have 3 winners in Europe (one in each category) and 3 winners in America (one in each category). Well today I am delighted to announce that my wine blog Perlage Suite has won for the geographical area Europe in the Food & Wine Pairing category, with a oyster report de The Fish Square of Bergamo, proposals with 2 sparkling wine pairings (Selected wineries: Biasotto Wines, in Veneto and Maso Martis in Trentino).

Here are the five finalists with whom I will spend an exciting week at the Château Pichon Baron in Pauillac and visit Bordeaux, a UNESCO heritage city:

Winners in the Food & Wine pairing category:

• Lisa Denning (USA - New York, Manhattan) - blog The Wine Chef
• Chiara Bassi (Europe - Italy, Lovere) - blog Perlage Suite

Winners in the Wine Travel category:

• Rob Frisch (USA - Illinois, Chicago) - blog Odd Bacchus
• Daniel Ercsey (Europe - Hungary) - blog WineSofa

Winners in the Wine Reporter category

• Jeff Burrows (USA - Minnesota) - blog Food Wine Click!
• Agnes Nemeth (Europe - Hungary, since 2016 living in Spain) - blog Hungarian Wines

To read the official announcement and discover the profiles of all the winners, I invite you to visit the Millesima IT Blog by clicking HERE.

In short, as of today I officially start brushing up on my English, because the awards ceremony will take place in Bordeaux, France, on Sunday 2 April 2017. An exciting wine week awaits me at the Primeur des Grands Crus de Bordeaux with the other 5 winners in the other categories who, as you saw, are 3 Americans and 2 Hungarians... so yes, I do need to study... especially the wine terms 😀

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for me again. And also everyone who wrote me a congratulatory message today... thank you, really: you are so nice! What can I say? I'll keep you updated!

Cheers <3

Chiara

All my notes on wine and food in one book.