A gourmet with passion
Biagio Tropeano
Biagio Tropeano - A gourmet with passion
Like so many stories where the enjoyment of food is at the centre, this one begins in the kitchen of sommelier and restaurateur Biagio Tropeano’s grandmother. As a little boy, he watched her cook and it was she who advised the young Biagio to study hospitality management – a piece of advice that he has never regretted following, as it led him to his great passion.
During his training at Amerigo Vespucci, a hospitality management school in Milan, Biagio Tropeano worked at Piccolo Gourmet where a meaningful encounter with his mentor Giuseppe Birolini led to his fascination with the profession of sommelier. Birolini, then acting president of the Italian Sommelier Association, took Biagio personally through the fine art of the sommelier, the specialisation in which he concluded his studies.
He subsequently held positions in prestigious luxury hotels in Italy, Germany and Switzerland. In 1983, Biagio became the first certified sommelier in Germany at the Park Hotel Bremen. Two years later, he was taken under the wing of Jean-Marie Stockel, Sommelier of the Year 1972 in France, and deepened his knowledge at Au Crocodile, the three-star restaurant in Strasbourg run by Emile Jung. In 1989, Biagio was invited by Bernd Gisy to open Gallo Nero in Hanover, a restaurant with an adjoining wine store, and with which he subsequently reached the peak of gastronomy in Germany. In 1995, Biagio was named ‘Best Sommelier Germany’.
In 1997, Biagio opened his first restaurant, Tropeano. To crown his momentous career achievements, Biagio was invited in 2002 by the then President Azeglio Ciampi to Rome where Tropeano was honoured along with other top restaurants from around the world and Biagio was appointed Ambassador of Italian food and wine.
The restaurant and wine bar Tropeano Di-Vino was opened in 2003 as Tropeano's little sister and rapidly developed into a meeting place for gourmets from the region and beyond. Tropeano, the restaurant, moved in 2005 to the site of Tropeano Di-Vino in Hanover-Kirchrode. When Biagio is not teaching at his wine academy, travelling as an ambassador for Italian wine or discovering new wines at vineyards throughout Italy, he can be found advising guests as passionate sommelier. For Biagio Tropeano, wine is a fascination that never ends.
"it's not just Wine - it's liquid Passion"