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Field Morris & Verdin launch new Italian fine wine division, headed by former Berry Bros buyer

Published:  05 June, 2015

Field Morris & Verdin, the agency and wholesale division of Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd, is launching a new Italian fine wine division, DBGitalia. 

Field Morris & Verdin, the agency and wholesale division of Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd, is launching a new Italian fine wine division.

The new venture, which will specialise in Piedmontese and small boutique Italian wines, will be headed up by David Berry Green, who joins FMV from parent company Berry Bros.. & Rudd, where he was a wine buyer and Italian wine expert since 2001, and the eight generation of the family to work at the firm. 

Damian Carrington, managing director of FMV, told Harpers.co.uk Berry Green's prominence and in-depth knowledge of the regions and his wide contacts with Italian wine producers made him ideally suited to discovering interesting fine wines from forward-thinking producers to offer to its customers.

Berry Green, lives in Serralunga d'Alba in Piedmont, will curate, promote and sell the portfolio of ex cellar wines, which will be available both to UK and international customers. The initial focus will be on the classic fine wines of Piedmont but also includes wines from across Italy.

Berry Green said he was thrilled by the opportunity to work with Fields Morris & Verdin. "This venture coincides with a greater appreciation worldwide of the high quality, good value & inimitable expression of indigenous wines now emerging from this ancient viticultural utopia," he said.

Carrington told Harpers.co.uk there was a resurgence of interest in Italian wines. "Italy has always been on the cusp and we feel now is the moment, especially from a fine wine point of view," he said.

"Spain had grabbed a lot of the limelight both gastronomically and in terms of its wines, but there has been a generational shift in Italian vineyards and we're seeing a younger generation taking over from their parents and bringing a more worldly view on the way Italian wines are made."

He said Piedmont was a particular area of interest in the fine wine market. "Bordeaux has slightly shot itself in the foot and Burgundy is becoming ever more exclusive and expensive. We feel Piedmont is ready to be the next big spot," he said.

DBGitalia, which be run from FMV's Battersea offices officially launches on Tuesday. A selection of the wines will be shown at the FMV bienneial portfolio tasting in London on Tuesday.

See our feature on Italian wine in this month's edition of Harpers (subscribers only).

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