Our Profiles

Carlo Macchi
Born in Florence despite the whole city was definitely against this, he became Doctor in philosophy (you don't deny a degree to anyone) in the University of the same poor town that had already to endure his birth.
After having invested many years in the hunt of walruses at the mouth of the Orinoco River, he thought he needed a change of career and entered the (only just sown) field of oenogastronomy in 1988. He contributed and/or still contributes to many important specialized publications in Italy and abroad. Unfortunately he wanted to be part of that group of Italians that do not feel fulfilled if they do not publish a book or a wine guide. He overdid it, and was one of the creators of a TV program on food and wine: that was possibly the single most important cause of that famous network going bankrupt. Well conscious of not understanding much about wines, he attended many courses and master classes around the globe and he is taking (very eeeasily) the Master of Wine course. He should be able to give the exam in just a few decades, more or less the same time it will take his beloved Inter Milan to win the Italian championship.
He is married to a martyr and has two fantastic, unique, wonderful children.

Francesco 'Tin Tin' Annibali.
Francesco 'Tin Tin' Annibali was born in Bologna in 1973, but already in 1976 his family moved to Civitanova Marche (MC). He's got a degree in philosophy and teaches wine tasting techniques in the AIS courses, working also as a food and wine critic since 1997. He cooperated with, amongst others, Vini d'Italia of the Gambero Rosso/Slow Food, Bibenda's Duemilavini, Vini Buoni d'Italia (Gribaudo) and the kept the column 'Wine Trends' on the weekly Bloomberg Investments. From 2002 he cooperates with Autoctono. Amongst the great loves of his life are the LEGO trains (as a kid), Marco Van Basten and Andrea Giani (as a boy), Francis Bacon, Caravaggio, volleyball, Bruce Springsteen, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Krug, Trimbach, Hermann Dünnhoff, the wines of Gevrey Chambertin, Barolo, Moscato d'Asti, and Aglianico.
He wouldn't mind seeing Inter Milan in Serie B and neither Carmen Consoli working in an assembly line.

Giuseppe Colamonaco
Giuseppe Colamonaco, Peppino for his friends, 54 years old from Altamura (Bari). Amongst the first to join Arcigola (the first name of the actual Slowfood) at the end of the eighties, he acted as a Governor for this association in Apulia until he received the sack, in the mid nineties. Sommelier, olive oil taster and co-author of many publication on food and wine (Almanacco dei golosi, Osterie d'Italia, Guida ai vini del mondo, Il buon Paese, Il piacere del vino, Vini buoni d'Italia, I Ristoranti d'Italia, Alta Murgia in Cucina, Il Golosario). One of the promoters of Slowfood's Presidia on the Altamura bread, founder of the association of the 'Friends of Cardoncelli mushrooms' and great expert on the traditions of his native Apulia. He is the author of the will-be proverb 'It is better to live healthily and then die ill, rather than living ill to die as an healthy man' and firmly believes that life should be 'enlarged' and not stretched. His hobby is being a GP.


Giapietro Ferri
Barolo, the king of wines, escorted me personally out of Mount Olympus on the 13th June 1969, at 7.05pm, as I had been sent to Earth by my father Bacchus of Saten, against the will of my mother Cucurbita (memorable her hand made 'tortelli').
Before letting me go, my father told me 'My dear young shoot, go and teach men to grow vines, go and teach them how to make wines and, last but not least, teach them how to drink them'.
That is why, once on Earth, at the tender age of three, I was already gulping the leftover wines from all the glasses on the table: I immediately understood the difference between reds and whites.
Once completed my compulsory studies I moved on to the desired ones and thanks to a stint on the shores of the river Benaco, I figured out what the beauty of a light wine was about.
Then I moved on to more important destinations and after Hessen and Alsace I finally landed in Burgundy, where I've got a clear picture of what the Good Stuff was.
I went back to my country on the shores of the river Oglio to work at the 'Pescatore', where amongst great wines and superb food my reason of living was understood.
Then I've open my own place, where wine and food are served to amaze.


Giampaolo Giacomelli
When it was time to make a choice, he preferred to follow his passion for good things rather than an easy job behind a desk. This brought him to London to follow the courses for Master of Wine, but he run out of time and money before giving the exam. He run a wine bar for 10 years and at the moment owns a wine shop where, in the past 5 years, he has never been seen: he is always travelling and tasting. He thinks of himself as a winerider: travelling every distance in the perpetual search of his 'perfect wine'. He lent his expertise for three years to the Espresso Wine Guide with Alessandro Masnaghetti, then for three years to Vini Buoni d'Italia with Carlo Macchi and now for the next three years?
Born in Lerici in 1965 lives now in Castelnuovo Magra.

Pasquale Porcelli
quasi sessant'anni, si occupa di cibo da quando è nato per nutrirsi e di vino da quando ha capito che è meglio dell'acqua.
Si è formato bevendo e mangiando in giro per l'Italia e per il mondo, formazione faticosa, dispendiosa e soprattutto continua. Nei ritagli di tempo: lavora non potendone fare a meno per continuare a formarsi. E'guidaiolo per vanità : Guida dei ristoranti dell'Espresso, Guida delle Osterie, Guida al Vino Quotidiano, Guida Vini Buoni d'Italia, Guida agli oli extravergini, ecc. Attualmente impegnato a dimostrare a se stesso e se ci riesce anche ad altri che si può scrivere di vino e cibo senza rompere le scatole e senza prendersi sul serio, nel contempo vive.

Roberta Rocchi
Food and wine are her favourite subjects, so much in fact that she always tried of putting them at the centre of her working experiences. She started in her family's restaurant, where she moved her first steps into this world, and made her most important tastings (just don't tell her father about it, he would surely faint). This brought her to cooperate with publishing houses, magazines and organizations for the touristy valorisation of her area. After a short break due to giving birth to her son, she can't wait to go back to tasting her beloved Gavi. Her idea of a blind tasting? 'Close your eyes and enjoy the wine: high scores for all!..'

Andrea Sturniolo
Even though his metabolism is on a slowing down phase, his close friends still prefer to buy him a suit rather than inviting him for dinner. Food and wine columnist for different magazines and newspapers in Italy and abroad, he gave his fundamental contribution in 2002 to the opening of Rome's International Wine Academy, as he was the only one who had the key.
Judge in international wine competitions he followed the WSET courses in London, where he also contributed to the birth of the local delegation of the AIS.
For what concerns wine he's got very precise preferences: for his own admission he can only drink white, red and ros? ones.