A new start with Vinitaly: Italian wine meets the world again in Verona

Everyone at Vinitaly for a new start, in search of some peace of mind following the strong recovery in 2021, with record exports of 7.1 billion euros (out of a production value of 15 billion), which had brought wineries in Italy. And then the high prices (and the difficulty of finding them) of raw materials, glass and paper in primis, the strong increase in energy and transport costs, and the negative effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine have definitely dimmed. Yet, with 4,400 exhibitors, 700 top buyers from all over the world, USA and Canada in the lead, but also from Europe, Asia and Africa, and with the entire Italian trade, the one on stage from April 10 to 13 in Verona (with the preview of “Opera Wine” by “Wine Spectator” on April 9, with 130 great Italian wineries selected by the popular American magazine), will be a Vinitaly that, despite the prudence of all the sanitary measures still to be respected to overcome the pandemic - with great “horizontal” tastings on the territories, and “vertical” in the vintages and companies, focus and in-depth analysis on many aspects of current events, from markets to the geopolitical situation, from research in the vineyard to trends in consumption - will mark the restart of the sector. Of Italian wine and the great fairs in attendance, “which are fundamental above all for the many small and medium enterprises, because if on the whole exports have grown, looking at the data this is only true for the largest and most structured realities”, said the president of Veronafiere and Aefi (representing all Italian fairs) Maurizio Danese, pointing out that, from a study by Aefi itself, it emerged that 1 euro invested in a fair generates 60 in business and 23 in induced. But it will also be a Vinitaly that will be the first step towards the new future of the most important Italian wine fair, “co-designed” with companies (surveyed with the consultancy of the German company Roland Berger), based on international growth and qualitative improvement of buyers, further selective reduction of wine lovers at the fair, greater diffusion of online tools in favor of business to business, better adaptation of logistic services of the city that remains - according to exhibitors - essential added value for the event”, added the managing director Giovanni Mantovani.
And if at the fair there will be more and more, or almost only, business and professional trade, it will be Verona, the city of the Arena and the love of Romeo and Juliet, with its beauty, its streets and squares and its historic buildings, to be a widespread container of many opportunities for fans and wine lovers, with the wine that is mixed with music, cinema, poetry, cooking, art, culture and more.