Geruchten rondom belangenconflict

Een van de ‘vijftig machtigste heren in de wijnindustrie’, Daniele Cernilli, is afgetreden als hoofdredacteur van de bekende Italiaanse wijngids, Gambero Rosso. Zijn vermoedelijk opvolger wordt James Suckling, eerder redactiebaas van de Italiaanse uitgave van de Wine Spectator. Hij treedt toe onder de titel ‘redactioneel medewerker’. De naam van Cernilli staat nog in de uitgave 2011 van de Gambero. Waarom hij vertrekt, is niet nader toegelicht. Maar Italiaanse wijnjournalisten noemen zijn functioneren in de wijnindustrie niet onomstreden. Hoofdredacteur John Bindels had vorig jaar nog uitgebreid contact met Cernilli, naar aanleiding van een speciale proeverij met nero di troia-wijnen, die hij bij het wijnhuis Torre Vento leidde. Niets wees er toen op dat de Gambero-redactiebaas aan z’n laatste jaar bezig was. Pas later ontstonden er geruchten.

Lees wat de collega’s van de Engelstalige Italiaanse website VW erover melden:

According to a report published Friday by WineNews.it, Daniele Cernilli has parted ways with the Gambero Rosso publishing group, whose flagship Guide to the Wines of Italy was co-founded by him in 1987.

The report of the powerful however controversial editor confirms widespread rumors that began to circulate in the blogosphere mid-December 2010.

Cernilli’s tenure as editor of the now historic guide coincided with the emergence and subsequent popularity of “modern-style” wines and international grape varieties. Although in recent years, the editors of the guide have taken steps to give more coverage traditional-style wines made with indigenous Italian grape varieties, observers of the Italian wine industry generally agree that Cernilli’s tastes and editorial philosophy played a significant role in the rise of the “international style” as a dominant force in Italian winemaking today.

In 2009, Decanter named Cernilli in its list of the 50 most powerful persons in the wine industry. According to the report by WineNews.it, the masthead of the Guide to the Wines of Italy will list Cernilli as its direttore (editor-in-chief) for both the 2010 and 2011.

Cernilli was highly criticized in 2008 when the founder of the Gambero Rosso trademark and publishing group, Stefano Bonilli, was ousted by an as-of-yet unnamed investor who took control of the brand that year and installed Cernilli at the helm of Italy’s most powerful wine guide.

The relationship between Cernilli, the Gambero Rosso brand, and a public relations firm owned by Cerilli’s wife Marina Thompson, Thompson Wine Marketing in Rome, has also been criticized by VinoWire editor Franco Ziliani who has written extensively about the apparent conflict of interest created by the “marriage” of a critical guide and a PR firm.