Meet the 2022 Premio del Gusto Winners: 4 Italian Food and Wine World Players to Watch

Gusto, the Italian word for taste, carries multiple connotations, much like its English counterpart. First, there’s the physical sense, or the senso del gusto. But then there’s that more subjective skill of discernment that we’re referring to when we say someone has good taste (avere gusto), or that an object, project or phenomenon is “in good taste” (di buon gusto).

All these meanings are surely apropos if we’re talking about the latest recipients of the Premio del Gusto (Taste Prize), awarded by the Gruppo del Gusto, an enogastronomy committee of the Foreign Press in Italy. Backed by main sponsor Visit Elba with support from the City of Portoferraio (and seven other municipalities on the island), along with tourism entity Gestione Associata del Turismo (GAT), the Premio del Gusto ceremony took place on October 1 at the Teatro Napoleonico dei Vigilanti in Portoferraio.

Four recipients were honored in four different categories. Apincampo, based in Marsciano (Umbria), took home the honors for Produttore (Best Producer), and was lauded for preserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable agriculture through their work with bees. On hand to accept the award was Virginia Ruspolini, the 30-year-old entrepreneur at the helm of the honey-focused company who is both carrying on and modernizing her grandfather's original mission.

Elba-rooted Montefabbrello, an organic farming company with a centenary tradition of wheat cultivation, earned recognition in the “Historical” category, created to honor longevity (100 or more years of activity) in family-run enogastronomic businesses. Noted Sicilian food and wine journalist and commentator Carlo Ottaviano was recognized in the Divulgatore (“Disseminator”) category for his careful analysis and in-depth columns in Il Messaggero and La Cucina Italiana. Finally, citrus took center stage when the Consortium for PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) Oranges and Lemons from Gargano, near Naples, was recognized for its diligent work in protecting Campanian treasures that are less in the “lime-light,” so to speak, than icons like the Amalfi Coast lemon. 

Spotlighting worthy change-makers and committed but under-covered producers is the core of the mission at these “gastronomic Golden Globes.” The selection committee, the “Gruppo del Gusto,” is a sub-group of Italy’s Foreign Press Association aimed at improving international press coverage of Italy’s food, wine and agri-business through developing closer contact with food and wine producers and other key players in the sector. Formed in 2002, the Gruppo runs conferences, ceremonies like the Premio del Gusto, refresher courses and workshops to help Italy-based foreign journalists and the general public deepen their understanding of the Italian food sector.