Maculan Award 2025: Pietro Famengo of the Corte Villa Rossi restaurant wins the third edition

First place went to Pietro Famengo , owner and chef of the Corte Villa Rossi restaurant in Noale (Venice), who won over the jury with his Pappardelle di Primavera dish paired with Maculan's 2013 Torcolato .

“We are happy with the return of our Award – says Fausto Maculan , owner of the company together with his daughters Angela and Maria Vittoria –. ​ The enthusiasm of the candidates, the quality of the recipes collected and the high profile of the judges demonstrate that sweet wine represents fertile ground in terms of food and wine culture and experimentation, which as a company we intend to support and encourage”.

The competition, now in its third edition , has received an excellent response from the public, with pairings developed by both professional chefs and enthusiasts united by the desire to reinterpret the approach to sweet wines in a contemporary and creative way. After an initial selection by a technical committee, the four finalists prepared and presented their recipes and pairings to a jury of food and wine critics chaired by Daniel Canzian , chef and owner of the restaurant of the same name in Milan, as well as European president of the JRE - Jeunes Restaurateurs association. The quality jury includes food and wine journalists Paolo Massobrio , Marco Colognese , Alberto Tonello , Sissi Baratella , Mariella Tanzarella , Liliana Savioli and Ario Gervasutti . The commission evaluated the recipes based on criteria such as taste balance, originality, presentation, skill of execution and pairing with the chosen wine.

The finalists were: Carla de Iuliis from Teramo, Andrea Petucco from the La Torre farmhouse in Colceresa (Vicenza), Riccardo Savignoni from Savignoni Pasta Fresca in Voghera (Pavia) and Pietro Famengo .

The Spring Pappardelle consisted of a nest of fresh durum wheat semolina pasta on which morels were placed in a veal demi-glace , enriched with a herb sauce, dotted robiola, asparagus, sliced ​​black truffle from the Berici Hills, tarragon oil and lightly seasoned herbs. The pairing with Maculan's Torcolato 2013 , thanks to its evolved notes, enhanced the mineral notes of the truffle and asparagus, giving life to an interesting play of contrasts between the sweetness of the glass and the acidity of the robiola and morels. Pietro Famengo was awarded a selection of Maculan wines and a borosilicate glass work created for the occasion by Massimo Lunardon , an internationally renowned artist and glass designer. This is a unique piece, a wasp-shaped decanter, to pay homage to the native Vespaiola variety.