The Vinitaly “Special Edition” will be in person. Buyers from all over Italy and 35 Countries

The most important Italian wine fair is returning, though it will be in a different format, to ride the crest of the rebound that seems to be definitely solid for the sector. Following the past several challenging months, it physically and symbolically signifies restarting. The “Vinitaly Special Edition”, in Verona, will be a “three day” event (from October 17th to 19th, and the Minister of Agriculture, Stefano Patuanelli will be there to cut the ribbon) of business and services to accelerate the recovery of the sector on the leading target markets. It will also take stock of the future of Italian wine, in light of the new purchasing and consumption trends. More than 200 buyers from 35 Countries are expected in Verona, thanks to a highly specialized and profiled incoming campaign, carried out by Veronafiere and the Italian foreign commerce, ICE Agency. The buyers will be coming from the current main markets for Italian wine: the consolidated United States, China, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Balkan countries, Russia, Poland, Kazakhstan and the Northern European Countries. Germany, France and Switzerland instead lead the main European delegations. And, of course, there will be the Italian professionals of outside the home, tourism and mass retail. More than 400 companies will participate at the Expo. There is a full program of seminars, conferences and tastings, which is constantly updated (which WineNews has partially reported in two special newsletters, here and here), including all of the top names in the sector, which VeronaFiere explained is, “the last Italian stage towards edition 54 of Vinitaly 2022”. In addition to an already full business-to-business agenda, the “Vinitaly Special Edition” calendar includes 12 Italian and International meetings of conferences and market focuses, and 50 tastings (for professionals and buyers). One of the most prestigious meetings scheduled is titled, “Italian Excellence”, organized by the Italian farmers, Coldiretti, led by the president of Italian enologists association, Assoenologi (and coordinator of the wine sector of Coldiretti, ed.) Riccardo Cotarella, and includes iconic wines from wineries such as Antinori, Bellavista, Casanova di Neri, Dal Forno, Donnafugata, Cotarella Family, Mastroberardino, Renato Ratti and Vie dei Romans - ranging from organic to Orange wines, and mixology, which is the thematic area that debuts this year and focuses attention on an increasingly dynamic market whose privileged channel of consumption is HORECA (hotels, restaurants, catering). It is an exceptional agenda. Simultaneously to Vinitaly Special Edition, there is also Enolitech, dedicated to technologies for the production of wine, oil and beer, as well as the quality agro-food companies of Sol & Agrofood.
Training courses and networking, instead, will be at the center of the “Wine2Wine Business Forum” program (Veronafiere, October 18th -19th). The program includes 100 international speakers, 17 thematic areas, more than 1500 experts and managers, 70 speed meetings (lasting 30 minutes each) on current issues for companies and the wine community.
“Vinitaly Special Edition represents the trade fair Renaissance of the wine world. We are honored to host it in the Veneto Region”, said the President of the Region, Luca Zaia, at the presentation of the event in Venice, “which produces 11 million hectoliters each year, and represents the number one wine producing Region in Italy. This is an excellent sign of recovery, added to the fact that we were the first, thanks to Veronafiere, to organize an in-person event. The Veneto Region boasts 53 denominations and the wine sector is growing by double digits. Production is booming, quality is high and so is product identity, now all we need are the markets”.
“Returning to wine trade fairs”, said the president of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese, “is a fundamental tool for the internationalization of Italian SMEs, which develop 50% of their exports from business events. This "social" function for the real economy impacts the wine sector positively, which is a champion of Made in Italy products, boasting an active trade balance of 6.5 billion euros a year, whose connective fabric is represented by small and micro-enterprises. Vinitaly is restarting through this important preview, and will continue in December in China, with Wine to Asia. Above all, though, in 2022 Veronafiere will reconfirm to the world the full strength of Italian wine, which thanks to Vinitaly, has seen 150% increase in sales abroad over the last 20 years”.
“We are now experiencing a transition phase out of the Pandemic, deeply aware that the sector”, commented Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, “has been able to react to the challenging economic situation by focusing on innovation and quality. The situation related to world trade has turned to a positive note, and our surveys show Italian wine is on the rise on the main world markets. In order to continue winning the challenges on the markets, it is necessary to change gears, especially in positioning our wines. In this context”, continued Mantovani, “Vinitaly Special Edition” represents not only an impetus to restart following a forced pit stop, but it is also a turning point. This is the first decisive step towards a renewed edition of Vinitaly number 54, which already has a full calendar of events, and that from April 10 -13, 2022 will host the entire sector in Verona”. Federico Sboarina, mayor of Verona, said, “Vinitaly Special Edition has been inserted into a context of recovery in the sector, and the economy in general. This is the reason it is a fundamental event that will take us towards Vinitaly 2022, in full momentum on the International markets as well”.