MASI, Sandro Boscaini Receives Wine Enthusiast’s Prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award”

WINE: Sandro Boscaini receives the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the international magazine Wine Enthusiast

Recognition to the President of Masi, who by promoting Amarone has contributed to transforming the role of Italian wine in the world, without ever ceasing to innovate with an eye to the future.

Verona, November 15, 2024 — Wine Enthusiast , the leading American magazine in the world of wine, has announced the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award of the Year 2024” to Sandro Boscaini , President of Masi Agricola, known as “Mister Amarone” .

“ Sandro Boscaini has changed the meaning of Italian wine in the world, and has never stopped experimenting, innovating and looking to the future” convinced that “innovation is a source of optimism ” : this is the motivation that recognizes one of the emblematic figures of the international wine scene, who has valorized Amarone and his historic cellar in Valpolicella.

Since 2002, 11 Wine Star Awards have been announced each year by the magazine in the November special issue. The official award ceremony for this edition will be held on January 27, 2025 in San Francisco with a gala evening at the Westin St. Francis.

The “Lifetime Achievement” award – previously given to prominent figures such as Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, Miguel A. Torres, Francis Ford Coppola, Piero Antinori and Angelo Gaja – celebrates entrepreneurs in the vine and wine industry who have achieved exceptional results throughout their careers. The “Lifetime Achievement Award” joins the previous “Wine Star”, which in 2004 honoured Masi as “European Winery of the Year” , further confirmation of its president’s contribution to the international wine industry.

Born and raised among the vineyards of Valpolicella Classica, where his family has been producing wine since 1772, Sandro Boscaini took over the helm of Masi in 1978 and transformed it from a regional company to a prestigious global brand. With extraordinary entrepreneurial ability, clear vision and an innovative approach, he has grown his company internationally and contributed significantly to making the culture, territory and wines of the Venetian regions known throughout the world. Under his leadership, Masi has achieved important goals and was the first premium wine producer listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. With his talent as a communicator and storyteller, he has won the hearts of consumers on 5 continents .

Over the course of his career, Boscaini wrote one of the most significant pages in the history of winemaking in the Bel Paese. He studied the native grapes of the Venetian regions and brought the ancient Oseleta variety back from oblivion, thus strengthening the biodiversity and identity of regional wines . He helped make Amarone an iconic wine, a symbol of excellence on a par with Barolo and Brunello, and he exalted its character as a modern wine with an ancient heart . With the Masi Technical Group , achieving a perfect balance between the identity of the territory and the frontiers of new winemaking, he perfected the Appassimento technique, elevating it to a true expertise , and with Campofiorin “ he created a new category of wines from the Venetian regions ” .

Already in the 1990s, Sandro Boscaini opened the doors of the Masi Group estates to enthusiasts and visitors, creating the Masi Wine Experience and the Masi Wine Bars : wine, food and local culture meet to offer unique experiences.

Through the Masi Foundation , it has strengthened the link between culture and wine, and for forty-three years, with the Masi Prize, it has recognised internationally leading personalities in the various fields of the arts, entrepreneurship, viticulture and solidarity, rewarding them with a barrel of Amarone.

“The recognition of my career by Wine Enthusiast is an immense honor for me, which I share with my family, with all the collaborators of Masi, with my land and its winemakers,” commented Sandro Boscaini . “I have always believed in the power of wine as an ambassador of the culture of the territory; I have worked to ensure that Amarone became the symbol of Valpolicella, of the Venetian regions and of Italian excellence in the world. This award strengthens my commitment of many years and encourages me and my family to take care of, protect and defend wine, in accordance with the ancient motto of the Masi house “nectar angelorum hominibus” (nectar of angels for men)”.