The food and wine excellences of the area are the protagonists of the dinner with heads of state of the G7 organized by President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella in the Swabian Castle of Toasts? This is hoped for by representatives of the world of viticulture and agriculture in Brindisi, with the hope that the event will turn into a launching pad also for the image of the typical products of the province.
Dipietrangelo’s letter
The wine producer and former veteran politician Carmine Dipietrangelo he even wrote to the mayor Giuseppe Marchionnato the president of the Province Toni Matarrelli and to the prefect Luigi Carnevaleunderlining first of all how the choice of Brindisi to host this dinner is “an honor, a privilege and a commitment for the city. A great opportunity for Brindisi to make itself known and appreciated for what it has been in history and for what it is today”. Of course, he clarifies, “it will certainly be up to the ceremonial of the Presidency of the Republic to organize the opening dinner of the G7”. Yet, he adds, “during the dinner, despite being in different languages, Brindisi will not only be the name of the host city but will be a word that will unite the guests when, at the invitation of the President of the Republic Mattarella, they will be asked to make a toast to the success of the G7 work. On June 13th in the Swabian castle there will be many glasses of wine raised to toast good wishes and hope for the end of wars and for peace. The city will then be present during the dinner with its name, with its castle, its port, with its products and I hope also with its wines”.
An opportunity not to be missed
On the table at which the world’s greats will sit, Dipietrangelo hopes, “it would be further recognition and valorization of the city if there were bottles of negroamaro and of susumaniello Brindisi Doc, the two native vines par excellence of our territory. The controlled origin wines of Brindisi cannot be missing from that table. Certainly the Brindisi wineries they would not miss their contribution in offering their Brindisi Doc wines possibly with special editions for the occasion. Wine is culture as well as being convivial, and is a trace of the passage of peoples. Brindisi represents the passage and settlement first of the Messapians and then of the Romans. The former brought the vines, the latter extended them, producing the wines that were brought from Brindisi to the Mediterranean. Brindisi, land of ancient vineyards, some of which still extend across the land today crossed by the routes of the old Appian and Traiana roads, has quality wines to be tasted and known.” Don’t miss out, he concludes, “this opportunity to include Brindisi Doc wines among the delicacies of the dinner on 13 June which kicks off the G7 2024”.
The trade associations
A point of view shared by the president of Coldiretti Giovanni Ripa, for which «it is absolutely legitimate to expect, and this is my hope, that the products of our territory will be used. This dinner is a unique occasion and we cannot neglect it or waste it. Ours are highly respectable, excellent products, envied not only nationally but also worldwide. And therefore it would be truly desirable that they were not only used but also valorised in the meeting on 13 June.” Position also confirmed by Giannicola D’Amico, provincial president and regional vice president of the CIA, the Italian Confederation of Farmers. «We – he says – hope that things will go exactly like this. The G7 represents one extraordinary tool to promote the territory at 360 degrees. I imagine that whoever is taking care of the ceremony and all aspects related to the dinner takes into consideration the excellence not only of the Brindisi area but of the entire Puglia. After all, a government that has chosen the food sovereignty as a heading of the Ministry of Agriculture it cannot fail to promote the agri-food excellence of a territory. And Puglia has plenty of top-level food and wine products recognized in Europe and around the world.”
Food and wine culture
But the same reasoning also applies, for Dipietrangelo, to Brindisi’s candidacy as Italian Capital of Culture for 2027. In an open letter addressed to the mayor Marchionna, in fact, he underlines first of all how the candidacy can represent “a great opportunity for the city to rethink itself and to reconstruct the historical thread of its identity Looking at the future. Roots in the past and an eye towards the future is our corporate project. Wine is culture because together with the discovery of the vines and their history it is recorded at the same time a trace of the passage of peoples. Traditions, tastes and customs also start from the wine itself. Brindisi together with Mesagne represent the passage and settlement first of the Messapians and then of the Romans. The former brought the vines, the latter extended them, producing the wines that were brought to the Mediterranean. If this is the history, the present and the future of the Brindisi area, it can find a solid reference for development in cultivation and wine culture”. For this reason, Dipietrangelo suggests to the mayor, “also due to my recent wine experience and activity, to evaluate integrate the application project of Brindisi a Capital of culture with what Brindisi agriculture has represented and represents and for it viticulture”.
A heritage to be valorised
Ripa, for her part, also recalls that «our province has ancient roots, linked to agriculture. I therefore believe that the food and wine culture of the area should have a central role in the application”. And the same goes for D’Amico, for whom «when we talk about culture, we need to take into consideration different facets, including food and wine. In our province we boast an important food and wine schoolhigh-level chefs and structures who promote our dishes, important agrichefs who daily, in silence, in the agritourism companies prepare and serve dishes that are not only very succulent but also important for the Mediterranean diet and consumer health. So I hope that they will be kept in mind when preparing the candidacy all the agri-food excellences of the areawine, baked goods, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, Brindisi artichoke”.
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