Bruno Vespa's wine in the Chamber

Bruno Vespa, a well-known television journalist and host of the Porta a Porta living room, has also dedicated himself to the world of wine for some years. Vespa for wine is an ancient passion, born from the acquaintance of the great Luigi Veronelli in the 70s, a true pioneer of the rebirth of Italian wine and awareness of the value and potential of our peninsula in the wine field. The Vespa Vinaioli winery, in addition to Bruno, sees the sons Alessandro and Federico involved in the project. The company is based in the magnificent Masseria Li Reni, in the Manduria countryside, surrounded by 34 hectares of vineyards planted with Primitivo, Negroamaro, Nero di Troia, Aleatico and Fiano. The first bottles arrived on the market in 2014, greeted by curiosity and a certain skepticism for those who, coming from other sectors, suddenly discover themselves as wine growers, without actually changing their lives to devote themselves and full time to countryside. The winery uses the advice of Riccardo Cotarella , one of the most famous and award-winning Italian winemakers, who oversees production by dictating its guidelines. The wines are actually honest, nothing memorable, but pleasant and well made. The different versions of Primitivo di Manduria are undoubtedly the most successful labels.

So far nothing new, Bruno Vespa is not the first famous person who decides to produce wine: among the many we remember: Francis Ford Coppola, Gerard Depardieu, Sting, Albano Carrisi, Francesco Moser, Marzotto, Ferragamo, Oliviero Toscani, Massimo d ' Alena, Jarno Trulli, Andrea Pirlo.

But the Vespa case broke out earlier this year, when nothing less than on the shelves of the Buvette di Montecitorio the labels of his winery appeared on sale. In particular, the wine "Il Bruno dei Vespa" , a pure Primitivo di Manduria , which is sold inside the Parliament for the price of 15 euros. Codaconds also intervened in the matter, presenting an application to the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Roberto Fico, to have clarifications on the case and above all to find out if the price is in line with the market average. On the company website, the wine is on sale for € 8.90, but as claimed by the same producer, in any restaurant the price is not only higher than 8.90 but also 15 €. And knowing the average mark-up of Italian restaurants it is very likely to be so. In short, a lot of noise for nothing.