Tommaso Ciuffoletti, professor of our brand-new wine culture and appreciation class, recently became the first recipient of the Beatrice Torrini Journalism Prize. Ciuffoletti helped develop Treedom, a social forestation project that allows people to plant trees at a distance and follow their growth online. He also writes for online wine magazine Intravino, is the former marketing director for a group of important wineries, and is now a wine entrepreneur himself.
The award was presented by the Vice President of the Region of Tuscany and Councillor for Agriculture Stefania Saccardi, along with Beatrice Torrini’s parents, Marco and Miralba. They established the prize in memory of their daughter, a correspondent for La Nazione newspaper specialized in wine who passed away at age 42 in December 2020.
The ceremony that took place in Palazzo degli Affari included reflections on the vital contributions young professionals are making to promote and share information about Tuscan wine like Beatrice did. Francesco Mazzei, president of Tuscan wine association Avito, stressed the importance of supporting young journalists in such efforts. RAI documentary production manager Lorenzo Di Dieco proposed developing new TV documentary stories on women producers, technicians, and writers in the wine world in Tuscany.
The award was also supported by Intesa Sanpaolo bank with the patronage of the Region of Tuscany, the Municipality of Florence, and RAI Toscana.