Thursday, September 1, 2022

Rocca delle Macìe Celebrates ‘Trinity’ Westerns with Special-Edition Magnums

 The Chianti Classico estate recently honored its film producer founder and his smash-hit spaghetti Western comedies with 50th anniversary celebrations and limited-edition magnums

Wine Spectator

By Collin Dreizen

August 17, 2022

[From left: Rocca delle Macìe winery founder and film producer Italo Zingarelli, director Enzo Barboni and actor Terence Hill on the set of “They Call Me Trinity”. (Courtesy of Rocca delle Macìe)]

In 1970, Italo Zingarelli, a former boxer and stuntman, produced the internationally renowned Spaghetti Western “They Call Me Trinity”, starring comedy duo Terence Hill and Bud Spencer. Zingarelli followed it with the even more popular “Trinity Is STILL My Name” in 1971, likely Italy’s most-watched homegrown movie. (The Trinity trinity was finally completed with 1995’s ”The Sons of Trinity”.) But, as wine lovers know, these films weren’t Zingarelli’s only triumphs before passing away in 2000; in 1973, he founded Chianti Classico powerhouse Rocca delle Macìe, which has been hosting some very cinematic celebrations as of late.

Led by Zingarelli’s children—Fabio, Sandra and winery president Sergio—Rocca delle Macìe celebrated the 50th anniversary of “Trinity is STILL My Name” this past July, delaying celebrations a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over two evenings, the winery held exclusive Trinity screenings in its olive grove in the hills of Castellina in Chianti, the setting dressed to look like Trinity’s sets and backstage. Hundreds attended, including Spencer’s daughters and Terence Hill. “The beauty of every film, like those made by our father, lies above all in the eyes and emotions of those who have watched them and still watch them today,” Sergio Zingarelli told Wine Spectator via email.

Rocca delle Macìe has also released a limited-edition Trinity “Is STILL My Name” magnum of its 2019 gran selezione Chianti Classico dedicated to Italo Zingarelli, with a label designed by Florence-based studio Officina Grafica. The wine’s grapes are from the winery’s Le Macìe and Sant’Alfonso vineyards, which Zingarelli planted in 1974 (the winery replanted them in 2000). Fittingly, Rocca delle Macìe released 1,971 bottles.

[Rocca delle Macìe's Trinity Is STILL My Name 2019 gran selezione. (Courtesy of Rocca delle Macìe)]

If you weren’t there to celebrate in July, you can still get a look at rare Trinity memorabilia, filmstock, awards and photos at Rocca delle Macìe’s Little Trinity museum, which opened in July 2021, as part of festivities for the 50th anniversary of “They Call Me Trinity”. Rocca delle Macìe released a limited-edition magnum of its 2016 gran selezione for those celebrations, 1,970 bottles altogether.

“It is not only to celebrate the Trinity saga that in these two years we have pleasantly met in Rocca delle Macìe,” said Sergio Zingarelli. “These two great films have allowed us to start a new path for our family, that of wine which, like cinema, arouses strong, concrete emotions, thanks above all to the beauty of our territory.

[Actor Bud Spencer (left) and Italo Zingarelli take a break on the set of They Call Me Trinity. (Courtesy of Rocca delle Macìe)]

The party doesn’t stop here. The Rocca delle Macìe team is planning celebrations for the winery’s 50th anniversary in 2023. These will take place primarily at Rocca delle Macìe, but some events may be held in the U.S.A. as well.

1 comment:

  1. Bud Spencer and Italo Zingarelli also worked on "The Five Man Army" from 1969 where Bud played "Messito/Panchito".

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