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| 50 Years of Vinitaly |
| By Arjun Sachar |
| Through the year, a large number of tourists flock to Verona, the city that is renowned for the amorous stories of Romeo and Juliet. In April, the city plays host to the wine professionals of the world as it hosts the largest annual Italian wine trade fair, Vinitaly. This year marked a special 50th anniversary of the show, that was spread out over 4 days. |
| Vinitaly 2016 |
| According to the official figures, 130,000 industry professionals from 140 countries attended Vinitaly 2016. And there were nearly 4,100 exhibitors from 30 countries, even if the international representation was a bit short. The agenda was packed with tastings, seminars, conferences and celebrations – in Italy, you can’t miss out on having a good time! |
| With around two dozen halls to walk around, finding one’s way around was not easy – and the guide map was the ‘best friend’. But the wineries had been grouped by the organisers by regions, and navigation became that much simpler. The regional consorzio’s created their own tasting area making it very easy to discover the wines – and in case one found that must-have wine, a visit to the producer was round the corner and not so difficult to manage. |
| A significant difference from the previous years was that entry to Vinitaly was mainly for the professionals. In the past, on the last two days of the fair, anyone could enter by paying a minimal entrance fee – it became the day-off for drinking and having a ball. But, the fun these ‘extra’ visitors were having was becoming an irritant and hindrance for both the exhibitors and the buyers. In 2016, the organisers raised the cost of the ticket to €80/ day which filtered out some of the nonchalant denizens. |
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Around two dozen halls to walk around |
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| The golden anniversary special |
| For the first time in the history of Vinitaly, it was officially inaugurated by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella who likened Vinitaly to a "symbol of quality Italian wine, renowned throughout the world". The official patronage continued with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visiting on the following day to convey the serious intent of the Italian wine industry to the international attendees. The Italian Minister of Agriculture Maurizio Martina was in attendance throughout the duration of the fair. |
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The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella inaugurated Vinitaly |
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| Vinitaly International Academy |
| The Academy initiated two programs – the Italian Wine Ambassador and the Italian Wine Expert – during previous editions of Vinitaly. This year’s program was led by VIA’s Scientific Director, Ian D’Agata, the author of the book Native Wine Grapes of Italy (an indispensable and authoritative encyclopaedia on the indigenous grapes of Italy). The results of this year’s edition are awaited, and the successful candidates will join the prestigious group of three Italian Wine Experts qualified till date. |
| Opera Wine |
| The 5th edition of Opera Wine took place at the magnificent Palazzo della Gran Guardia off Paizza Brá. This exclusive by-invitation tasting event showcases the 100 best wines of Italy, and this year the famous singer Sting performed to accompany the phenomenal wines. Sting and his wife Trudie Styler are amongst other notable celebrities who own vineyards in Italy – their Il Palagio also featured in this top 100 list. |
| Vinitaly and the City |
| Consumers are very important for the trade, especially exhibitors, and since admission to the fair was a bit more restricted, the Vinitaly organisation arranged wine and food stalls in various locations within the city centre of Verona. This was also a way to honour the city and its citizens for coordinating and cooperating with Vinitaly during this rather busy period every year for the past 50 years. With a €12 ticket, one could sample the food and wine fare at various stalls and enjoy the live bands. The organisers reported that 29,000 people were drawn to this feature. The consumers preferred to go directly to the more charming surrounds of the historic city centre to have their fill of wine, instead of the fair grounds. Guess it was a win-win situation for all! |
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A stall at Vinitaly |
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| The digital journey |
| "Innovation" in all forms – product, process and consumption – was the keyword at Vinitaly 2016. The ‘quality’ goals have been achieved and the players are beginning to outline the approach that is being taken to identify the next goals. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina and the President of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese were joined by Jack Ma, Founder and CEO of Alibaba (the biggest e-commerce website in the world that sold nearly 25 million bottles of wine in the few weeks prior to Vinitaly) at a discussion on the importance of online sales and the entirety of the digital world. |
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Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Jack Ma, Founder and CEO of Alibaba |
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| An eye on Asia |
| Most think tanks have heralded China to become the leading wine consuming nation in the world. At Vinitaly, the Italian wine industry led by the authorities laid emphasis on gaining the trust of the Chinese professionals in order to not lose this market of high potential to other international competitor countries. With an eye on Asia, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Hong Kong Trade Development Agency for Wine2Wine Asia, an event dedicated to Italian producers to interact with international experts, that will precede the inauguration of the annual Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Fair. New ideas are expected to emerge and insights into latest trends revealed. |
| Sadly, India may not feature in the wine plans of the international giants. Hopefully, the authorities will wake up to recognise this opportunity. In the meantime, the small (yet very meaningful) number of visitors from India to these trade shows will keep the flag flying. |
| Arjun Sachar was one of the 2357 accredited journalists at Vinitaly. vino india did not accept the invitation from the organisers to join the hosted media group. |
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