MiscellaneaPot-Pourri

Sebago and Antica Bottega del Vino, one icon for another

Bottega del Vino Verona serata Sebago aperitivo

The world of fashion, with the Sebago brand, has met the world of wine. A common style: right compromise between accessibility and exclusivity, balance between elegance and functionality. Sissi Baratella talks about it.

If Amarone della Valpolicella was a shoe? Which one would it be I will tell you at the end.

Premise: reading myself writing about fashion is not practical and perhaps never will be, yet I couldn’t help myself. On the other hand, inspiration when it comes, my accomplice theAntica Bottega del Vino in Verona., of course…

Bottega del Vino Verona, Sebago Evening
Bottega del Vino Verona, Sebago Evening


That Antica Bottega del Vino can be inspiring is certainly not my discovery. Thanks to the
numerous goliardic hours spent there, sometimes even more or less decently beyond the threshold of sobriety. Yet always hours of quality; thanks to those hours it is now clear to me that what is born there is always special. So are the collaborations that La Bottega (as the Veronese call it) puts up, or rather at the feet. Most recently, the one with the Sebago brand. World-famous for shoes and clothing, born in 1946 in the U.S., becomes 100 percent Italian part of the BasicNet Spa group, and has been dressing the feet (more than 40) of Bottega’s boys and girls since 2024.

Sebago and its style

Bottega del Vino Verona, Sebago aperitif evening in the wineryDenim, cotton, velvet, yarn and leather. There is no shortage of technical materials, interspersed to make performance, functional and modern products from a brand that knows how to be Classic, functional, with a casual touch. Life Style is the watchword, to dress Sebago is to espouse a philosophy of life that sees us as protagonists without having to shout it to the whole world. In short … a bit like drinking Amarone for me, definitely a life choice!

The company in Antica Bottega del Vino has recognized a deep affinity of values, to unite the realities in fact the love of tradition and from the commitment to quality.

Yearbook 02 release

They confirm that. Luca Nicolis, for the past 11 years the manager (the Director, the Oste, a true “host”) of the Antica Bottega del Vino, and his staff casually wearing the brand’s iconic loafers, albeit in an unassuming orange color. Young and lively, deliberately contrasting with the historicity of the Bottega. A color that communicates the essence of the profession of innkeeper, sommelier and waiter. Kind, accommodating, polite and helpful, but also quick and efficient.

I got yet another confirmation of this when Sebago presented to the press edition No. 2 of the Yearbook, “a publishing project that goes beyond the simple concept of a magazine, transforming us into a bookazine collectible. Evocative portraits of Maine’s wilderness, the region’s culinary traditions, and fascinating descriptions of its iconic lighthouses…” this and much more tells Yearbook, the word of Marco Tamponi, Sebago Global Brand Manager.

Neologisms and ease

Bottega del Vino Verona, Sebago evening orange loafers
Bottega del Vino Verona, Sebago evening orange loafers


Now, I am a little uncomfortable using neologisms like bookazine, I am more comfortable talking about aromas, tannins and persistence. Just the
persistence however, an enological concept well understood by me, opens up new vistas when applied to publishing and fashion. Persistent is indeed a work like the Sebago Yearbook that celebrates the past, present and future of a historic brand. Persistent is the iconic “Micheal Jackson-style” moccasin; the Hurricane, a sneaker from the retro sailing charm repurposed from the 1980s in a modern key but true to itself. And I could go on and on, finding endless similarities between the world of wine and the world of fashion, talking about the importance of style, of that right compromise between accessibility and exclusivity, of balance between elegance and functionality. All this is to say that nothing comes about by chance. Everything can have various keys to interpretation, but above all that beautiful things are destined to meet sooner or later. So, if Amarone della Valpolicella were a shoe it would be a moccasin. Iconico, gender-less, versatile; destined, with the help of some evolution and adaptation, to endure.

During the luncheon presentation

Marco Tamponi, Sebago Yearbook
Marco Tamponi, Sebago Yearbook


As I flip through the pages of the new Sebago Yearbook, in between dishes, in full Bottega style with some Maine contamination due to the special occasion, the still-fresh smell of ink on paper combines with the scent of Amarone della Valpolicella. Tantalising the senses and the palate even more and creating yet another beautiful memory in an iconic and timeless place, practically… a moccasin!

TO READ THE WINE DESCRIPTIONS, WITH SCORE AND AVERAGE SHELF PRICE, CLICK ON THE TABS BELOW.

TASTINGS

PRODUCER

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