How a cooking competition preserves culinary traditions: “A Tavola con il Nobile”

There are cooking competitions that simply celebrate the tastiest dish, and others that, on the other hand, manage to link the competition to the preservation of history, ancient traditions brought into the modern era, and important anniversaries, and that transform a public festival in the town square into a moment of vibrant and profound material culture. Such is the case with “A Tavola con il Nobile (Dining with the Nobile”, a food and wine award conceived by journalist Bruno Gambacorta and the “culinary highlight” of Montepulciano’s “Bravio delle Botti”, promoted by the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano in collaboration with the Magistrato delle Contrade, which, over the years, has facilitated the recovery of over 240 recipes from the local culinary tradition. And in this 2026 edition, dedicated to the poet and scientist Francesco Redi, a man of letters and the highest-ranking physician at the Court of the Medici, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of his birth (with Winenews serving on the event’s Scientific Committee; the event will take place in March 2027, ed.), it was the Contrada di Poggiolo (one of the eight contrade that will compete on August 30 in the historic barrel race through the streets of Montepulciano’s historic center, the pearl of the Renaissance) triumphed with its “Pigeon Soup in a Crust”, in a competition themed “Cooking in Earthenware Pots Over a Low Heat: The Manna of Montepulciano – A Tribute to Francesco Redi”. On the podium, in second place was the Contrada di Voltaia, with the recipe “Ogni coccio per la coda è il re”, which also won the jury’s special prize for its relevance to the proposed theme. In third place was the Contrada di San Donato, with “Ossobuco di Chianina al Coccio”.
“A Tavola con il Nobile was created with the goal of preserving and promoting Montepulciano’s culinary heritage, highlighting the deep connection between Vino Nobile, the Contrade, and the local culture”, stated Bruno Gambacorta, president and creator of the “A Tavola con il Nobile” award. “Over the course of twenty-four editions, we have recovered and passed down hundreds of traditional local recipes, a result that demonstrates how cuisine can be an extraordinary tool for memory, identity, dialogue, and sharing across generations”.
“This initiative confirms just how important it is for Montepulciano to create strong synergies among the various local entities”, emphasized Susanna Crociani, vice president of the Consorzio del Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (led by Andrea Rossi, ed.). “Our collaboration with the Magistrato delle Contrade allows us to highlight not only our wine, but also the history, traditions, and community involvement”.
But, as mentioned, “A Tavola con il Nobile di Montepulciano” is not only a cooking competition but, above all, a cultural journey: “Thanks to the insights of one of the award’s judges, Anna Maria Pellegrino, a member of the Italian Academy of Cuisine, the cultural value of traditional cuisine is highlighted, along with the symbolic significance of earthenware as a tool that teaches patience and the art of taking one’s time. Through a journey that weaves together anthropology, history, and local traditions, culinary knowledge has been passed down over time not only through recipes, but above all through gestures, experience, and collective memory. “In the context of Montepulciano, the earthenware pot thus becomes a symbol of the deep bond between the territory, the community, and cultural identity, reminding us that tradition remains alive when it engages with the present and renews itself without losing its meaning”, explains a statement.
With the culinary contest—which served as a mouthwatering prelude to the “Bravìo delle Botti”, the competition among the town’s eight districts, Cagnano, Collazzi, Le Coste, Gracciano, Poggiolo, San Donato, Talosa, and Voltaia, all located throughout the historic center of one of Italy’s Renaissance capitals, involves rolling barrels weighing 80 kg each along an uphill route of over one kilometer, which winds through the historic center and concludes with the finish line on the steps of the Duomo in Piazza Grande. Piazza Grande, where we like to imagine Francesco Redi sipping a glass of the wine that would become Nobile di Montepulciano, a wine that Redi himself, the chief physician at the Medici court, immortalized in the verses of his famous dithyramb “Bacco in Toscana”: “Beautiful Ariadne, with your white hand/pour the manna of Montepulciano/which is the king of all wines”.

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