2022 – The Year in Review

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | DECEMBER 21, 2022

Two thousand twenty-two was quite the year. Looking back at the last twelve months, it is pretty amazing to think about how much things have changed, some for the better and some maybe not. As we get ready for our tenth year, though, I am incredibly excited about what the future holds.

The outbreak of the Omicron variant caused several of my trips in the early part of the year to be cancelled. That seems like a distant memory now. Obviously, there are a great many other moments that shaped the year to consider, starting with a tragic war in Ukraine to Argentina’s sensational triumph at the World Cup, along with the faltering economy and many other global events that have contributed to the general unease we are all working through at the time of this writing. The very top of the wine market remains red hot and shows little signs of slowing, while there is definite weakness in other market segments. At Vinous, we enjoyed our best year ever. For that, we remain incredibly grateful to you, our readers, for giving us the opportunity to do what we do.

New Vinous Maps in 2022; Santa Lucia Highlands AVA and the Sonoma Valley AVA Set: Moon Mountain District AVA, Central Corridor, Sonoma Mountain AVA, Bennett Valley AVA and Los Carneros (Sonoma) AVA.

On the editorial side, we brought on Angus Hughson to bolster our coverage of Australia and Anne Krebiehl MW, who will start reviewing the wines of Germany, Austria and Alsace in 2023. We meaningfully increased coverage of many regions with a steady stream of reports focusing on both new releases and older vintages. We also updated many of the websites and apps on our platform (4 sites and 6 apps) with the latest technology. In Maps, we published a complete set of Sonoma Valley (6 maps), Santa Lucia Highlands and West Sonoma Coast (digital for now), while making steady progress on several other maps slated to be wrapped up in 2023, including Coombsville and the Sta. Rita Hills. We also completed numerous single ranch maps.

The goal with our collection of vineyard maps is to showcase the unique qualities of each site in order to gain a deeper understanding of how those qualities are ultimately reflected in the glass. 

We were thrilled to return to live events in 2022. It was great to see readers back to enjoying themselves in public. Fall brought smaller events focusing on the wines of Bruno Giacosa and Anselme Selosse, part of our ten-year anniversary, which kicks off in earnest in 2023.

These are a few of the most memorable events of the year.

Festa del Barolo Returns to New York City

We were absolutely delighted to host La Festa del Barolo this year. Given the state of the world, we offered a hybrid program that combined virtual tastings with live events. Virtual events included a seminar on Roagna’s Barbaresco Pajè and a seminar on Brunate featuring wines from Ceretto, Francesco Rinaldi and Giuseppe Rinaldi.

In the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and its variants, we had reserved a backup date for Festa’s main events that came in handy as we pushed everything out by two months. We lowered capacity in the rooms and adopted all the necessary measures to ensure a safe and successful weekend. Thankfully, things went off without a hitch. Attendees arrived early, left late and came with tremendous enthusiasm that we all shared in being able to be together again.

The weekend kicked off with a vertical of Giuseppe Mascarello et Figlio’s Barolo Monprivato and Riserva Ca’ d’Morissio, all from magnum and back to 1989 at The Modern. It was an incredible evening. The wines were simply pristine. I was most impressed by wines from less highly regarded vintages, all of which performed admirably. The energy in the room was electric. Our Gala Dinner & Charity Auction at The Pool was a blast. Everywhere I looked, all I saw were fabulous reference-point bottles of which I was able to taste more than my fair share.

The following morning we hosted our Barolo masterclass, likely the only tasting of its kind anywhere in the world. Fifteen producers showed their wines in a seated format where attendees tasted all the wines, served at the perfect temperature, and heard from the growers themselves in what was a spirited discussion. From there, we adjourned to the Grill Room for our traditional Burgers & Barolo lunch. As morning turned into mid-day and then early afternoon, my impression is no one wanted to go home. I certainly didn’t. What a great weekend it was. For 2023 we have an expanded program that includes our first events in Los Angeles and an expanded schedule in New York.

Clockwise from top left: vertical of Giuseppe Mascarello et Figlio’s Barolo Monprivato and Riserva Ca’ d’Morissio, epic wines at the Gala Dinner & Charity Auction BYOB, the Saturday Barolo Masterclass in action, Barolo Masterclass tasting book. 

Napa in the City…A New Tradition Begins