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VINITALY 2008
Around the World of Wine in Five Days
at one of the largest wine fairs in Europe
Verona, April 3 to 7, 2008
By Simone Zarmati Diament
Verona, Italy, April 2008. Once a year in April wine makers, leading importers and exporters of wine from around the world, restaurateurs and the international press descend on Verona, the second largest city in the Veneto after Venice.
In the city of Romeo and Juliet and of the tragic Capulet and Montague feud, romanticism is not on the agenda at this time of year. At the 42nd annual edition of Vinitaly, one of the largest wine fairs in Europe, there is “another love story in Verona.” With over 4,300 exhibitors from more than 30 countries, winemakers are here to sell wine, wine buyers to get the best deals, and business - “Passionate Business” as the logo is this year - is the name of the game.
During the week of April 3 to 7, 2008, competitions, tastings and events, seminars and press conferences send throngs of people – over 250,000 visitors this year – from one building to another. It is almost impossible to cover it all: winemakers from the southern Sardinia and Sicily, the central Tuscany and Piedmont, the northern Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Alto Adige, as well as a roster of winemaking regions from around the world: from Slovenia to Australia. Yet, newer, emerging wine regions had a chance to showcase their wines alongside the usual suspects.
In 17 pavilions sprawled over an awesome 100,000 sq. feet at VeronaFiere – the Fair grounds: a city within a city - winemakers from different regions and/or consorzio had booths and spaces which they competed to decorate as lavishly as they pleased: a trattoria with tables and chairs where wine dealers tasted, spitted, munched on prosciutto and cheese and wheeled and dealed; or like the Veneto installation with Renaissance motifs and lions guarding its gates, while in pavilion 11 the more modest Sardinia and Liguria vied for attention with the foreigners like Poland, USA, France, Russia, Slovenia among others.
Verona during Vinitaly
Verona, April, 2008 -- The first day of the Fair is fierce: the excitement level is high and the traffic is dense, uncontainable, clogging the arteries and the narrow streets of this medieval city. The center of town which spreads from the first century Roman Arena on Piazza Bra – with 22,000 seats one of the biggest and best preserved amphitheaters from the Roman times which is now used for the world famous Summer Opera - to the imposing fourteenth century Castelvecchio, is busier than usual, alive with people strolling or sitting at cafes for aperitivos, between 6 and 7 p.m. - after which it gets too cold to sit outdoors .
Not too far, a walk through the chic Via Mazzini takes you to Piazze Delle Erbe – formerly the Roman Forum and a charming medieval square that still houses stalls of produce as well as the usual tourist baubles Made in China. This is where Juliet’s house is, and her balcony, still standing, has become a magnet for tourists - literate or not. The 13th century Capulet’s home, very well kept, is flanked by cafes where people drink the popular AperoSpritz, a bright orange tasting liquor with seltzer.
After aperitivo hour, the town’s street gradually empty and the light go on the walls of buildings and illuminate the arena.
People are getting ready for dinner - the many restaurants of Verona all request reservations during the week of VINITALY. Others linger on undeterred by the cold that sets it; women hurry home, their high heels cliquing on the pavement, carrying shopping bags. Groups of young people start gathering in Piazza Bra under the statue of Vittorio Emmanuele, the meeting point for all rendez vous.
Verona, one of the richest and most prosperous cities in Northern Italy, is a hub for high fashion: Via Mazzini, between Piazza Delle Erbe and Piazza Bra, is a delightful collection of designer clothes, shoes, bags, gloves. The opulence of this merchant city is apparent in the elegance of its inhabitants.
The ladies and gentlemen of Verona, with their designer telefonino or cell phones, shoes, bags, ties, suits are oblivious of the foreigners at night, after doing business with them during the day. The traditional Italian joviality fades with the last rays of the sun.
Italian politics don’t mix with wine
Verona, first day of the Fair -- A gray cloud hung over the opening of the fair: the honor of Verona and Vinitaly had been assailed. This time by the press.
An article in the national Italian Espresso Magazine on the day of the opening of Vinitaly had everyone in a tizzy. The reputation of high end Italian wineries has been tainted, the wines were adulterated, said the magazine. Espresso denounced the adulteration of millions of bottles of wine, smearing the good name of VeronaFiere the Fair which hosted them.
The adulteration of wine by those considered as the sacred cows of Italian wines: Chianti, Brunello and Veneto put into a new perspective on the “Made in Italy” badge of quality and honor.
An epic feud of Shakespearian proportions ensued confronting Luigi Castelletti, President of Vinitaly and the press.
Mr. Castelletti reacted to Espresso’s injurious title naming the prestigious Fair “Velenitaly” (meaning roughly VillainItaly or poisonitaly) and defended the reputation of his institution which has for 42 years grown into of the most important wine fairs internationally.
The fire of the battle spread to national press, yet, at Vinitaly itself, the tempest was quelled by wines offered by 4,300 exhibitors, while lunches, tastings, seminars and business went on briskly in the huge 100,000 sq. feet fair grounds, a city within the city of Verona.
Here were some of the activities:
VINITALY 2008 Competitions
International Wine Competition: This year saw entries by 3,669 wines from 32 countries in all continents.
International packaging competition: 210 samples were entered from 10 countries for “aesthetic packaging.”
Vinitaly International Award: A Veronafiere award of excellence for individuals and companies, Italian and world wide.
International Wine & Spirit Competition. An award for promotion of wine and spirits culture, won by Karen McNeil, author of the Wine Bible.
VINITALY 2008 – Focus Meetings and Seminars
- Presentation of the European Art de Vivre project: Wine in Moderation.
- USA – The Impact of the Euro/Dollar exchange rate on consumption of imported wines in the USA with special reference to Italian wines.
- USA – Miami: leader for US imports and gateway to Latin America
- CHINA – Impact of the tourism industry on wine consumption in China, focusing on Macao, Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai Expo.
- Vinitaly-Eta Meta srl Research: “Wine lovers and the sustainable environment: A New Alliance.”
- JAPAN – Profile of Japanese wine consumers.
- RUSSIA - The Russian Consumer: from large-scale distribution to High Cuisine, from Moscow to Vladivostok.
- INDIA – Between tradition and change: New lifestyles and wine consumption.
- BRAZIL – Brazil: which market?
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VINITALY 2008 Guided Tastings
Taste Italy. Over 5,000 international buyers were invited to tastings by professionals sommeliers
Tasting ex…press Media tour focusing on Ice wines and Mountain wines of Australia, Hungary and Italy
Trendy today, Big tomorrow. Tasting of a selection of wines from emerging companies with emphasis on quality/price ratio.
The great red – legendary 1997 wines by Cività del Bere. Tasting of 12 wines from one legendary vintage.
The great grape varieties of Italy. Guided tour of Barolo, Nobile di Montepulciano and Taurasi by Gambero Rosso.
Sparking wines of Italy. Another Gambero Rosso guided tour of the best in terms of quality/price.
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For a list of the exhibitors and more information, log on to www.vinitaly.com
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