As we celebrate leading women in the wine industry this week during NH Wine Week, it’s fitting to recognize Marilisa Allegrini, an Italian leading lady of wine. The Allegrini family roots date back to the 16th century and it is one of the most prominent wine producers in Italy today. Marilisa Allegrini, a sixth-generation member of the family, became one of the first women to successfully promote wine as well as the Valpolicella region, located just north of Verona in Veneto, around the heart of Valpolicella Classico.

Marilisa currently runs four companies hands-on within Allegrini Estates. I first met Marilisa when she was a keynote speaker at the “Women in Wine Symposium” in New York City, then at the prestigious event “Allegrini Art of Wine,” a milestone anniversary for Allegini’s wines at the Guggenheim Museum, and at several wine tastings where she was pouring her acclaimed wines.