Auszeichnung

Presented during the Gala Evening for the 35th VINITALY

THE «A. BETTI» 2001 AWARDS FOR JOURNALISM TO SWISS JOURNALIST BERTHOUD AND ITALIAN MARCHI

The Jury, following extensive and demanding analysis, announced the awards in the «radio and television broadcasting» and «newspaper and magazine» sections

The «Angelo Betti» International Award for Journalism, founded in 1999  in memory of the human figure and passionate professional activity of Angelo Betti, Secretary General of the Verona Exhibition Authority from 1976 to 1987 (who died in February 1998), was made by the Jury to Swiss journalist Annette Frei Berthoud for her documentaries about the world of wine valorising the profound link between wine and territory, and to Italian journalist Paolo Marchi, for his rich and delightful «Affari di Gola» column published every Sunday in newspaper «Il Giornale».

This sought-after recognition, now at its third edition and already one of the most prestigious competitions for the national and international trade press, radio and television, was presented to the winners at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, during the Gala Evening for the 35th VINITALY. This year’s show is «hallmarked» by the Abruzzo region. It has long since become the fundamental appointment for the national and international wine system following the first event held in 1967 – thanks to the inspiration of Betti himself, who personally followed up the impressive growth of the exhibition until 1987.

Once again in this edition, the topic of «wine and territory» stimulated considerations, assessments and thought about the cultural, social, employment and economic aspects that the wine system generates, encouraging not only the valorisation of territorial identity but also the rediscovery of the traditions and history of peoples.

Wine has always been, since the dawn of time, an integral part of life and society accompanying the development and progress of civilisation. Rediscovering today, through articles and radio and television programmes of refined cultural impact, the role and function of this product means helping public opinion not only to recover its roots, reassess Nature and lay down a bridge between past and future but also to understand the culture underlying wine, thereby stimulating a wide range of activities – such as wine tourism –  which restore a more direct and responsible relationship with Nature and the entire system of agricultural and agro-food production.

The Jury – chaired by Pierluigi Bolla, Special Commissioner of «Fiera di Verona» – included: Mario Rigoni Stern, writer; Burton Andersson, English writer and journalist and a well-informed expert of the Italian wine-growing reality, Donatella Cinelli Colombini, entrepreneur; Giovanni Vicentini, journalist; Carlo Petrini, President of Arcigola Slow Food – met on 2nd April to examine the previously «sifted» entries and announce the winners of this edition of the Award.

After attentive, in-depth analysis and «blind» assessments, the Jury decided to assign the award – which involves for each section a single prize worth 10 million lire, in part comprising an artistic reproduction in gold and silver by a master goldsmith and part in cash – for the «Italian and international radio and television broadcasting» section to Annette Frei BERTHOUD, journalist with Neue Zürcher Zeitung TV, for the TV documentary «The World of Wine» televised in December 2000-January 2001, with the following motivation: «for having re-introduced in a highly professional and majestic style the documentary format to discuss food, wine and territory, even to the extent of going against the current. Stylish journalistic insight, sensitive awareness of territorial realities and producers make her documentary an excellent tool for the promotion of wine culture».

In the «National and International Daily Press and Periodicals» section, the award was made to Paolo Marchi for his weekly «Affari di Gola» column published in newspaper Il Giornale, with the following motivation: «for the continuity with which he tackles, every week, the different aspects of the wine-territory bond. Competent and curious, gourmet and knowledgeable expert of the rich and varied heritage of wines and foods in Italy and elsewhere, attentive to change in dietary habits and sensitive to environmental problematics, Marchi expresses in his column the harmony of a relationship which today offers significant opportunities for income and employment among young people».

Verona: 5th-9th April 2001

Press Office VeronaFiere