Father of Italian wine named Decanter Man of the Year

Giacomo Tachis, the father of Italian wine, has been named Decanter's Man of the Year 2011. Tachis is recognised as the guiding light behind the renaissance of Italian wine in the 1970s and 80s.

In his five decades at the forefront of Italian winemaking, Tachis has been instrumental in the introduction of practices that are now standard at the top end of Italian wine production such as clonal selection and high-density, low-yielding vineyards. But it is for the introduction of Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varietals in the original ‘SuperTuscans’ that Tachis is most renowned. Despite his retirement he retains a deep interest in the future. He speaks out, for example, against the modern obsession with high prices and recently said that Modern wine producers should take off their designer ties and get back into the vineyard.