The future? A table where “good, clean and fair” wines and foods go together at home and elsewhere

The future is a table where “good, clean and fair” wines and foods, synonymous with healthy eating, accompany each other at home and away from home (a channel that, overall, is worth 100 billion euros in 2024, in Italy; Circana data). Suffice it to say that the market for organic products, which is a significant resource for our country that is its leader, is worth more than 5 billion euros, of which more than two-thirds are exported, in a trend of constant growth, and with an incidence of 6% of total agri-food exports, which in the case of organic wine reaches 8.5% of total wine exports (Ice data), and whose sales in Italy are close to 60 million euros (in 2023, at +6.5%; Nomisma data). Italy where the organic vineyard area has reached a fundamental weight in viticulture: it now represents 23% of the national vineyard, with almost 30,000 dedicated operators (Federbio data). But the trend is also linked to growth in consumption of beneficial ingredients (+9.4% in value), “free-from” (+9.7%) and “rich-in” products (+10%; 2023 data from the GS1 Italy Observatory), and the phenomenon of the global plant-based market, whose value has risen from $29.4 billion in 2020 to $52.5 in 2023, with projections to increase to $161.9 billion (+550%) by 2030. It will be discussed at Slow Wine Fair 2025, which, at edition No. 4 with the artistic direction of Slow Food and the world meeting of the Slow Wine Coalition, promotes wines that are the result of sustainable, artisanal agriculture that respects biodiversity and the agrarian landscape, aimed at the sociocultural growth of farming communities and making consumers more aware, and Sana Food, the new guise of Sana, the historic Organic and Natural Exhibition, now in edition No. 36. And which, for the first time, will be together at BolognaFiere (February 23-25) in a major world reference event on organic for enthusiasts, buyers thanks to the support of the Agency - Ice will be at least, 50% more than 2024), horeca and specialized retail.
Specifically, Slow Wine Fair 2025 (where there will also be WineNews, ed.) will see more than 6,000 wines in the glasses, more than 50% certified organic or biodynamic (in 2024 it was 47%), 1. 200 wineries from all Italian regions and from 28 countries with more than 150 foreign wineries, the highest number ever and twice as many as the first edition in 2022 (to the world’s most prestigious appellations, such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Rhône, Loire, Moselle and Rhine, as well as from lesser-known states such as Japan, Georgia, Bolivia and Chile). Slow Wine Coalition producers and wines that are expressions of the values of the “Manifesto of Good, Clean and Fair Wine”, from South Tyrol to Sicily: from Abbazia di Novacella to Arunda, from Cantina Girlan to Cantina Kaltern, from Elena Walch to Kettmeir (Herita Marzotto Wine Estates), from Cantina Bozen to Letrari, from Giacomo Fenoccchio to Ada Nada, from Bava to Braida di Giacomo Bologna, from Anna Maria Abbona to Coppo, from Conterno Fantino to Domenico Clerico, from G. D.Vajra to Ceretto, from Casa E. di Mirafiore to Oddero Poderi e Cantine, from Palladino to Ratti, from Vicara to Vietti, from Arpepe to Frecciarossa, from La Genisa to Consorzio Vini Oltrepò Pavese, from Prime Alture to Tenuta Mazzolino, from Gigante - Wine & Welcome in Friuli to Le Vigne di Zamò, from Vistorta to Cà Du Ferrà Wine & Tasting, from Camerani - Adalia & Corte Sant'Alda to Valentina Cubi, from Vigneti di Ettore to Conte Emo Capodilista - La Montecchia, from Gini to Italo Cescon, from Maculan to Santi, from Speri to Fattoria Zerbina, from Lusvardi to Paltrinieri, from Tre Monti to San Patrignano, from Fattoria Le Pupille to Boscarelli, from Michele Satta to Pietroso, from Cupano to Fattoria del Pino, from Antonio Camillo to Emiliano Falsini, from Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara to Le Chiuse and Paradiso di Manfredi, from Castello Sonnino to Contucci, from Dei to Fattoria Varramista, from Franco Pacenti to I Balzini, from Il Borro to Lamole di Lamole (Herita Marzotto Wine Estates), from Le Ragnaie to Montenidoli, from Panizzi to Patrizia Cencioni, from Petrolo to Piancornello, from Ridolfi to Tenuta di Ghizzano, from Decugnano dei Barbi to Palazzone, from Scacciadiavoli to Sartarelli, from Fattoria Le Terrazze to Pievalta, from Umani Ronchi to Valori, from Barone Cornacchia to Castorani, from Cataldi Madonna to Fattoria Nicodemi, from Nododivino to Tenuta I Fauri, from Fontanavecchia to Pietracupa, from Salvatore Molettieri, from Tenuta San Francesco to Villa Raiano, from D’Araprì to Felline, from L’Astore Masseria to Leone De Castris, from Baglio del Cristo di Campobello to Donnafugata, from I Custodi delle Vigne dell’Etna to Palmento Costanzo, from Serra Ferdinandea to Planeta, from Tenute Dettori to Cantina Santadi, from Giuse
The opening, on February 23, sees the ribbon-cutting ceremony with Gianpiero Calzolari, president BolognaFiere, Giancarlo Gariglio, Slow Wine Coalition coordinator, Barbara Nappini, Slow Food Italia president, Maria Grazia Mammuccini, FederBio president, and Brunella Saccone, Ice Agribusiness Office manager, alongside Daniele Ara, Councillor for School, Environmental Education, Agriculture and Agribusiness Municipality of Bologna, and Alessio Mammi, Councillor for Agriculture and Agribusiness Region of Emilia-Romagna, to tell why the two events were combined into one big event dedicated to all aspects of the organic universe. Next, among the masterclasses, Sarah Abbott, founder and director of Swirl Wine Group, shares her experience as a leader in the promotion of wine heritage with the Old Vine Conference, of which she is also founder, whose mission is to promote historic vineyards and their preservation, together with Giancarlo Gariglio and Alessandro Marra, editor and deputy editor of the Slow Wine guide, and wines from wineries that, from Piedmont to Tuscany, from Veneto to Marche, from Campania to Sicily, are the custodians of the so-called “patriarchs” of the vine. Then we talk about the theme of the 2025 edition of the “Slow Wine Fair”, which is sustainability in wine packaging, exploring alternative solutions, and their reduced environmental impact, with all the players in the supply chain, between those who produce cardboard boxes and those who pallets, a regulatory body that ensures the sustainability of the forestry-derived supply chains, and a company that communicates wine, without using paper labels. And we also talk about wine as a landscape narrative: some territories are Unesco World Heritage Sites, from the Viticultural Landscapes of Piedmont, Langhe-Roero and Monferrato to the Prosecco Hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, next to the Vite ad alberello of Pantelleria, but, in reality, there are many vineyards in Italy that offer incredible opportunities to taste exceptional products and to discover that good wine clean and fair is also a wine capable of enhancing the landscape, as explained by Leandro Ventura, director of the Central Institute of Immatterial Heritage, and Slow Food Vice President Giacomo Miola, along with wine producers who are “custodians of the landscape”. But, as mentioned, as the world moves toward a more conscious approach to production and consumption, it is time for wine packaging to do the same, and in the “unpackaging wine” masterclass, Marta Mendonca and Cristina Crava of Porto Protocol, a global movement to promote a culture of sustainable packaging, bring together exceptional French, Italian and German wines produced by wineries that strive to offer clean, fair and good wine, embodying the principles of Slow Wine and the Slow Wine Coalition.
Among the meetings, on February 24, focus on “The U.S., will it continue to be the first market for Italian wines?”: a question that arises in the complex international scenario, and in particular markets, and the U.S. one is far from simple, according to Mirella Menglide, International Senior Trade Analyst Food & Wine at the Italian Trade Commission New York - Ice, Giuseppe Lo Cascio, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Lucidity Wine, Luca Venturelli, Account Director, Colangelo & Partners Colangelo & Partners, and Alessio Piccardi, founder and ad Fieramente. Another question is “What do consumers look for in a wine? Does only its goodness matter or do other factors come into play, such as assessing the environmental footprint of what we are drinking? Do only the practices adopted in the vineyard count, or does the bottle also matter?”: to answer, in a meeting where the motivations related to packaging, bottle weight and the miles the wine has traveled from the winery to the restaurant table or to the wine shop shelf are also analyzed, and how different the approach to these issues is in the markets of the main wine consuming countries looking at future trends, importers and industry professionals such as Stephanie Guth, portfolio manager of The Living Wine (Canada), Gianpaolo Giacobbo, sales director Arkè, Antonio Prati, buyer director Tannico, Iacopo Di Teodoro, partner of Artisanal Cellars and Lucidity Wine Merchant (U.S.), and Kim Quist, Ceo Quist Wine (Denmark; moderating these meetings, “La Stampa” and “Il Gusto” journalist Roberto Fiori).
On February 25, we talk about the wine ingredients of which, from 2023, EU Regulation 2117/2021 imposes the list on the label, presenting an editorial tool for communicators, technicians and operators in the sector, an ebook on authorized oenological additives, also illustrating the activity of the oenological associations in the international field and the importance of the Codex Alimentarius, created by Fao and Oms in 1963, a reference for food safety and international trade of wine as well, often adopted in the national legislations of importing third countries. Speakers will include Alberto Cugnetto, viticultural oenologist, professor at the Academy of Agriculture in Turin, Ugivi member and member of the Oicce innovation group; Simone Giacosa, oenologist and associate professor of Oenology at Disafa of the University of Turin and in Oicce; and Elisabetta Romeo-Vareille, Senior Policy Officer Unione Italiana Vini - Uiv moderated by Stefano Sequino, director of Consorzio Vini Doc delle Venezie.