All about Vinitaly
The hopeful expressions and the work carried out by the wine makers during the largest Italian wine fair. The courageous proposals by Veronafiere for Asia.
Carlo Gardini and Violante
Seen for you by Donatella Cinelli Colombini
What is amazing is the lack of enormous traffic jams we were used to in the past, even though the Vinitaly pavilions were overflowing with people even more than usual. One was even scared to take an escalator in case it was not possible to get off again.
What most explains peoples desire to work hard is the type of shoes worn: no heels, and lots of walking shoes, a proclamation saying “no one is going to stop us!” In the Donne del Vino restaurant, on the first day of the fair, they continued serving lunches until 5pm, as there was such a crowd.
Maybe it’s just an impression, but something seems to have changed. It’s as if the wine sector, still quite in health thanks to exportation, remains an isle in
Chiara Lungaroti Giovanni Mantovani Vittorio Frescobaldi
the tempest at sea where Italy is sinking in the crisis. And what a crisis! All of the producers at Vinitaly have in their pockets a long list of insolvent clients and hope that at least someone will come to pay and order again.
However these producers are optimistic, there is the desire to work and most of all hunt out new importers. And there are so many of them! Mostly from Russia and China, but also from Poland, Germany…… so lots of business in the air.
Wine fair with no high heels
The greatest and most innovative ideas come from Veronafiere that proposes a sort of Wine Club producers of excellent wines to sell wine in China through the web. In fact e-commerce travels across the Asian giant at such a velocity, superior than any other nation, and to buy online goods that have been imported is, for the Chinese, a status symbol. The volcanic Stevie Kim has done it again!
Conventions, conventions, conventions, as many as three at the same time and all so interesting,for example the one where Professor Fulvio Mattivi and Dottoressa Grando give anticipations regarding the research into the traceability of Sangiovese for Brunello, or the other one organized by “Informatore Agrario” regarding business networks. But how can one go everywhere! And then one appointment after the other in the stand, we’ve had or importers from Venezuela who have returned after years of absence, and then the Canadian one who proudly announce that <<Il Drago e le 8 Colombe>> as been chosen by the British Columbia monopoly.
Such a chaos! But this Vinitaly is the most beautiful wine kermess in the world.