Forthcoming — date unconfirmed
Bergamo doesn't need to prove its food credentials. Casoncelli, polenta taragna, the cheeses of the Val Brembana already make the case. But this week the region picks up a new one. Ornitodrinko, made in Brembate by Roberto Colnaghi, has taken Gold in the BBQ Chili Sauce category at the European Hot Sauce Awards 2026 (heatawards.eu), Europe's flagship hot sauce competition.
Ornitodrinko is Colnaghi's own kitchen project, built around fermentation rather than heat-chasing. Chilis grown from seed in Lombardy soil, fermented over weeks, bottled by hand in small batches. The line is still expanding, with each new sauce tested on the balance between heat, acidity and the depth that long fermentation gives it.
Smoked Ananas BBQ is what placed: smoked pineapple, fermented chili, a tropical-meets-grill take on the category. Sweet and smoky up front, with the acidity long fermentation gives it. The kind of sauce that amplifies whatever you put it on, taking BBQ flavours well beyond the ketchup-and-sugar version most people grew up with.
"We grow, ferment and bottle everything ourselves, starting from the seed, so seeing this process recognized at a European level is incredible. Ornitodrinko has always been about patience, experimentation and real craft across a growing range of sauces, and this result means a lot to us." – Roberto Colnaghi, Ornitodrinko
A new producer like Ornitodrinko taking Gold says something about what the independent hot sauce scene is producing right now. EHSA 2026 ran across 16 categories with producers entering from across the continent, ten of them in BBQ Chili Sauce alone. Every sauce was tasted blind in coded bottles, scored on five rigorous criteria, by a deliberately mixed panel: professional chefs, sommeliers and food critics on one side, serious chilli specialists and fanatics on the other.
"EHSA exists to identify the European hot sauces that are genuinely exceptional, and BBQ is one of the hardest categories we run. Heat, smoke, sweetness, acidity and depth all have to land together, and most entries fall down on at least one. For a brand-new producer to take Gold first time out is remarkable, and we'll be watching closely to see what Ornitodrinko does next." – Neil Numb, Founder, European Hot Sauce Awards
The category as a whole proves European producers no longer need to read from the American BBQ-sauce playbook. The strongest entries this year worked from regional flavours and locally-grown ingredients, fermented chili and the kind of depth only craft production gives. Anyone who loves BBQ sauce, and anyone who's written it off, should try this sauce and see for themselves.
"We taste hundreds of European hot sauces a year at Republic of Heat for our hot sauce subscription. Our first taste of Smoked Ananas BBQ and we knew exactly why it had taken Gold. Phenomenally well-made sauce, the judges got this one right. Brembate should be proud to have a sauce maker like this in its midst." – Nathan "Naga" Austin, co-founder, Republic of Heat (republicofheat.com)
Ornitodrinko's Smoked Ananas BBQ is currently available via Instagram (@ornitodrinko), with website and shop in development. Republic of Heat will release limited-edition EHSA winner boxes in June 2026 at republicofheat.com; the full BBQ Chili Sauce reveal sits on its YouTube channel (https://youtu.be/L5IhjgVIE4M). Full EHSA 2026 results across all 16 categories: heatawards.eu. Berlin Chili Fest runs 29–31 May at Berliner Berg Brauerei (Treptower Str. 39, 12059 Berlin), independently of EHSA.
ABOUT ORNITODRINKO Ornitodrinko is a craft hot sauce producer based in Brembate, in the province of Bergamo, run by Roberto Colnaghi. Chilis grown from seed, fermented and bottled by hand in small batches. The brand is in its early stages with multiple sauces in development. No website or shop yet, Instagram @ornitodrinko is currently the only public channel.
ABOUT THE EUROPEAN HOT SAUCE AWARDS The European Hot Sauce Awards (EHSA) is the professional competition for commercially produced hot sauces in Europe, run annually since 2024 from heatawards.eu. Over 400 sauces from producers across the continent were entered in 2026. Entries are judged blind across five criteria: aroma, heat profile, flavour, creativity and finish. The 2026 edition covers 16 categories, with Gold, Silver and Bronze medals awarded across multiple positions in each. Each category also names a Best in Category, the top Gold. EHSA is run independently of any single producer or retailer.
ABOUT REPUBLIC OF HEAT Republic of Heat is a Berlin-based hot sauce subscription founded in June 2025 by Nathan "Naga" Austin and Simon "Scoville" Gardner. The Discovery subscription delivers three handpicked European craft hot sauces plus a spicy extra to subscribers across the EU for €35 per month, postage within Germany included. Republic of Heat stocks only European producers who are as passionate about flavour as we are. No American sauces, no extract-based products. Press partner of EHSA 2026. Website: republicofheat.com
PRESS CONTACT Simon "Scoville" Gardner Press, European Hot Sauce Awards contact@republicofheat.com +49 176 41601284
On behalf of: European Hot Sauce Awards (heatawards.eu)
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