BolognaFiere “hub” of small producers: after the Slow Wine Fair (by Slow Food), arrives Fivi

After the Slow Wine Fair, staged in Bologna (from 26 to 28 of February), signed together with Slow Wine, the “wine branch” of Slow Food, which was the leading movement in one of the most profound cultural revolutions in the food industry, BolognaFiere is increasingly becoming the “hub” of that productive galaxy represented by small producers and artisans of Italian wine: and now it will be the “new home” of the Mercato dei Vini dei Vignaioli Indipendenti, the most important (and among those with the most recent success on the Italian scene) of the Federazione Italiana dei Vignaioli Indipendenti (which brings together those producers who “cultivate their own vineyards, make their own grapes, bottle their wine, and personally take care of the sales under their own responsibility, with their own name and label”, as stated on the Fivi website), which after years of their events taking place in Piacenza, will now move to Bologna, with edition no. 12, on stage from 25 to 27 November 2023.
“We are delighted to welcome the Mercato dei Vini dei Vignaioli Indipendenti to the BolognaFiere pavilions, and we are confident that we can provide Fivi with new growth opportunities for this important event. BolognaFiere is increasingly establishing itself as the leading exhibition center in the agri-food sector, with Slow Wine Fair, Marca, Sana, and this new event that joins our trade fair calendar”, commented the president of BolognaFiere, Gianpiero Calzolari. There are now more than 1,500 Fivi wineries and as many as 870 have participated in the 2022 “Market” (over 200 more than in 2021): a constant growth rate that required a careful assessment of the various options, to arrive at identifying in BolognaFiere the space and the right partner to carry on and develop the main association event. According to a note, the program will be communicated in the coming months, with the format remaining completely similar to what has been consolidated in recent years despite many innovations: a three-day exhibition market (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) with hundreds of Winemakers from all over Italy, arranged in random order according to drawing on the over 20,000 square meters (Pavilions 29 and 30) of BolognaFiere, with a space dedicated to food artisans (Pavilion 28), without forgetting the Fivi partners. Despite the change in venue, the costs of the 2022 edition for exhibitors and the general public have been confirmed, tangibly ensuring the inclusiveness of an event that, looking ahead, maintains the roots on which it has grown over time.
The Mercato Fivi, therefore, runs on the “Via Emilia”, moving from Piacenza to Bologna, but remaining true to itself in spirit and objectives: “when we talk about the Mercato dei Vini, we always like to start from an assumption: it is not just a fair, but a feast of winemakers and winemakers, a unique opportunity for producers, the public, and operators to meet”, explains Lorenzo Cesconi, president of Fivi. “First and foremost, we want to thank Piacenza Expo for accompanying us on this first important step: “If the Mercato dei Vini has become a successful event”, adds Cesconi, “it is also due to those who believed in it from the beginning”. However, the “Mercato” has grown steadily and naturally over the years, almost in lockstep with the growth of Fivi, both in terms of numbers and recognition: we had reached our limit in terms of exhibitor and public participation in 2022, and it was therefore unavoidable to begin imagining new solutions and new spaces while adhering to the original philosophy. The governing council of Fivi studied for a long time, discussed openly, and finally unanimously chose the new headquarters of the Mercato, as in the best spirit of our association, made up of winegrowers for winegrowers”. A choice that fell on a Bologna, that in addition to being one of the capitals of the Emilian “food valley” with BolognaFiere, is increasingly becoming the capital of small-scale food and wine production and craftsmanship, with ever greater spaces, projects, and investments in the most famous of made in Italy on the table, which is wine.