The G8 summit was held from July 8-10 in L’Aquila, Italy and was attended by the heads of the 8 richest industrialized nations. Among other things, the Italian Prime Minister and Council President, Silvio Berlusconi, gave the Heads of State Castello D’Albola’s Acciaiolo 2004 at the conclusion of the summit. This wine won the Tre Bicchieri award in the last edition of the Italian Guide Gambero Rosso and was chosen by Berlusconi as a representation and symbol of Italian excellence.

As thanks for the Italian hospitality, US President Barack Obama gifted to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano an exclusive selection of wines which either came from Italian owned American estates or were created by Italian oenologists working in the United States. One of the wines selected was Octagon, a wine born from the Zonin family wine passion and created at the Barboursville estate in Virginia thanks to the experience of the Piedmontese oenologist Luca Paschina.

The Octagon wine label represents the plan developed by Thomas Jefferson, third US President, for his own villa known as Monticello. Thomas Jefferson was a confirmed admirer of the great Italian architect Andrea Palladio and integrated some of his styles into the designs for Monticello. To embellish this unique gift, Barak Obama made the wine’s crate with wooden boards that were once part of the White House Oval Office floor.