Vinitaly 2024: Italy’s Premier Wine Event Returns to Verona – Everything You Need to Know

The country’s litmus test wine. Vinitaly 2024 is coming (14-17 April) and Italy flocks to Verona. A sector that sparks discussion, that sparks debate. Which brings history, culture, tradition, conviviality. But also wealth with an industry that employs 303 thousand. All numbers that will be revealed by the research “If you take wine away from Italy – A dive into the half-empty glass”, presented by the Uiv Vinitaly Wine Observatory on Sunday 14th afternoon, on the occasion of the Made in Italy Day, which falls the next day, April 15th. A sector that is being questioned but remains solid, and which finds its key showcase at Vinitaly: 4,300 exhibitors present, with 1,200 top buyers and 30,000 foreign operators from over 140 nations, numbers that consolidate the crucial role of fair for business. While the center of Verona welcomes wine lovers in Vinitaly and the City.

The program is very rich. The masterclasses on the great Italian wines, from the hundred years of Chianti Classico to the verticals of Brunello di Montalcino, the tricolor labels “under pressure”, selected by the Master of Wine Gabriele Gorelli, the women of Bolgheri, one of the most successful denominations in the world, up to “The 4 “B” Barbaresco, Barolo, Brunello, Bolgheri and the Supertuscans”. And then the conferences on the crisis of red wines, on the women of wine sommeliers, on consumption according to generations. Forums that analyze the phase of uncertainty that the sector is experiencing: decline in sales, exports and consumption, but with good value stability. The tastings, many rich and full of news and curiosities, including numerous international gems (South African wines will be the protagonists on Tuesday at 4.30pm at Palaexpo, to taste one), make the program incandescent. A reflective Vinitaly – fears are not lacking – but optimistic, where the experts, who in Italy are also wine lovers, meet to do business, talk and study, between one VIP catwalk and another (among the politicians present, the prime minister Giorgia Meloni, the Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida, that of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano and the holder of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, but artists and footballers are also expected).

The opening ceremony is set for Sunday 14th at 11am at the Verdi Auditorium: numbers, testimonies, in the presence of, among others, the president of Veronafiere Federico Bricolo and the CEO Maurizio Danese, and the state of the art of the world of wine. Minister Lollobrigida will also be present, traveling from Franciacorta, where the first world wine conference hosted by Italy took place, and Verona for the fair. «In recent days, in Franciacorta and Verona, the first international wine conference has been scheduled, organized by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (Oiv) on the occasion of the celebrations of the centenary of the foundation – said the Minister of Agriculture, interviewed on Giorno – Carlino – Nazione. – An event of extraordinary importance. This is the first ministerial-level meeting of the OIV. It is the comparison between thirty nations on strategies regarding the production, quality and conscious consumption of this product. Vinitaly is a top-level event, where sector operators from all over the globe are present. The world looks to our nation, synonymous with excellence and quality.”

A Vinitaly that looks at millennials and genZ, at new trends such as dealcohols, artificial intelligence and screw caps, and that gives the floor to young people: at 11am in Room A (1st floor Pad 10) Young to Young: Young Producers meet young communicators (Paolo Massobrio and Marco Gatti).

For those who love bubblesthe place to be is the Grand Tasting “Cool Under Pressure” by Gorelli, Monday at 3pm: “We will taste 12 Italian bubbles, from the most recognized such as Giulio Ferrari and Dosage Zero by Ca’ del Bosco to the most revolutionary such as the Apulian D’Araprì based on Bombino, Murgo sull’Etna and others based on Aglianico and Montepulciano: all sparkling wines with an interesting history and an identifying sensorial profile”.

A curiosity. During the days of Vinitaly, “La Dolce Vita Orient Express” stops in Verona, the first Italian luxury hospitality initiative on rail. “La Dolce Vita Orient Express Vinitaly Lounge” will be present at the Fair in the external area Hall 9-11 where six wine excellences present at the Show will be selected, representative of Northern, Central and Southern Italy, which will become part of the wine list of the train. With three-starred chef Heinz Beck signing the menu.

Here is the calendar of events: https://www.vinitaly.com/en/events-calendar/?page=6&activeFilter=AdvancedFilter&exhibition=18848&category=-1&language=Italiano

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