Wine Enthusiast, the American magazine recognized worldwide for its coverage of wine, has announced the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award of the Year 2024” for Sandro Boscaini, President of Masi Agricola, known as “Mister Amarone”.
"Sandro Boscaini has changed the place of Italian wine in the world and has never stopped experimenting, innovating and looking forward." with the belief that “innovation fuels optimism”. This award acknowledges one of the most emblematic figures on the international wine scene, who has enhanced Amarone and his historic Valpolicella winery.
Since 2002, every year 11 Wine Star Awards are announced in the magazine's special November issue. The official ceremony for this edition will be held on January 27, 2025, in San Francisco, with a gala evening at the Westin St. Francis.
The Lifetime Achievement Award – previously awarded to leading figures such as Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, Miguel A. Torres, Francis Ford Coppola, Piero Antinori, and Angelo Gaja – celebrates wine entrepreneurs who have achieved exceptional results throughout their careers. This award adds to the “Wine Star” accolade Masi received in 2004, when it was named “European Winery of the Year”, further confirming its president’s contribution to the global wine industry.
Born and raised among the vineyards of Valpolicella Classica, where his family has been making wine since 1772, Sandro Boscaini took the reins at Masi in 1978, transforming it from a regional business into a global brand of prestige. With extraordinary entrepreneurial skill, clear vision, and an innovative approach, he expanded his company internationally and significantly promoted the culture, territory, and wines of the Venezie region worldwide. Under his leadership, Masi achieved major milestones, including becoming the first premium wine producer to be listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. His talent as a communicator and storyteller has captured the hearts of consumers across five continents.
Throughout his career, Boscaini has written one of the most significant chapters in Italian wine history. He studied the indigenous grapes of the Venetian region, reviving the ancient Oseleta variety, thus strengthening the biodiversity and identity of regional wines. He has helped make Amarone an iconic wine on par with Barolo and Brunello, highlighting its character as a modern wine with an ancient soul. Together with Masi’s Technical Group, he achieved a perfect balance between territorial identity and the frontiers of new enology, perfecting the Appassimento technique and elevating it to a true expertise, and with Campofiorin, “he created a new category of wines from Le Venezie”.
As early as the 1990s, he opened Masi Group’s estates to enthusiasts and visitors, launching the Masi Wine Experience and the Masi Wine Bar, where wine, food, and the culture of the territory come together to offer unique experiences.
Through the Masi Foundation, he strengthened the link between culture and wine, and for forty-three years, with the Masi Award, he has internationally recognized leading figures in the arts, business, winemaking, and social causes, presenting each recipient with a barrel of Amarone.
"The Lifetime Achievement Award from Wine Enthusiast is an immense honor for me, which I share with my family, with all the collaborators of Masi, with my homeland, and its wine producers. I have always believed in the power of wine as an ambassador of territorial culture. I have worked so that Amarone could become the symbol of Valpolicella, Le Venezie, and Italian excellence worldwide. This award strengthens my commitment over many years and encourages me and my family to take care of, safeguard, and protect wine, in respect of the ancient Masi motto, ‘nectar angelorum hominibus’ (nectar of the angels for mankind)”.
