What made Franco Allegrini a great winemaker was not any wine wizardry, but a commitment to his part of the world, a great curiosity, and making the right choices even when they were hard.
What made Franco a great man and friend were other traits that embodied much of the best of Italy and the wine world : a love of traditions, a big generous heart, and a frank honesty that could border on gruffness. He was a farmer-gentleman (not the other way around) who thought it vulgar for a winemaker to order his or her own wine in a restaurant.
Days ago, Franco died at home from cancer in the Valpolicella hills west of Verona at what seems an unjust age — only 65. His funeral is this afternoon in the village of Fumane where he spent his entire life.
Read my tribute to Franco at winespectator.com