Presented the 54° Vinitaly, April 10-13

Minister Patuanelli: Vinitaly is an incredibly important event. Worries about rising costs and attacks on the sector. On sustainable wines there will be a label of recognition.

"Vinitaly is an incredibly important event and the fairs represent an essential value in support of Made in Italy. Wine has grown a lot in the last 20 years: in fact, the value of exports has almost tripled since 2000. That said, I am not satisfied that Italian wine is the second in the world for export value and the first for quantity". This was said yesterday in Rome at the press conference presenting the 54th Vinitaly, by the Minister of Agriculture Stefano Patuanelli.

 

"The sector," added the Minister, "is forced to face a number of critical issues, starting with the increase in production costs and raw materials, difficulties destined to increase as the crisis continues. All is not well - continued Patuanelli - even for the attacks on the world of wine, in particular those related to Nutriscore and the dreaded black label. An unacceptable hypothesis that Italy will do its best to avoid".

 

With regard to the new decree on sustainable wines, the Minister announced the adoption of a label of recognition: "We will have - he concluded - a single brand and a path of integration involving all labeling systems with certification of quality and sustainability.

 

Vinitaly is increasingly central to the sector's business.

A complete exhibition area, an international crossroads of trends and business for 4,400 companies from 19 nations. The most eagerly awaited edition of Vinitaly returns to VeronaFiere from 10 to 13 April after a two-year forced stop. And it does so, for the 54th edition presented yesterday in Rome, by further increasing its positioning on the main markets of demand for Italian wine, from the most mature to the emerging ones. In fact, the top buyers from 50 countries already accredited to Vinitaly are close to 700, led by the delegation from North America. A map, that envisaged by the huge incoming plan created by the Verona-based SpA and the Ice Agency, covering the most strategic areas from the Atlantic to the Pacific to Europe and, as of this year, also Africa; a campaign that over the months has had to take into account both health developments and the unexpected geopolitical scenario.

 

Among the novelties in the 17 pavilions, in addition to the 'fourth color of wine' area on Orange wines, are those of MicroMegaWines - Micro Size, Mega Quality, the new section reserved for niche productions with limited editions and very high quality, Organic Hall, which implements the Vinitaly Bio offer, and Mixology, which, after issue zero in October 2021, makes its official debut with its own format.

 

Services, incoming, digital: the plan of the new Vinitaly to promote business at the fair and wine culture in the city.

International growth and qualitative improvement of buyers, further selective reduction of wine lovers at the fair, greater diffusion of online tools in favour of b2b, better adaptation of logistic services in the city that remains - according to exhibitors - essential added value for the event. Vinitaly is preparing to launch a sort of all-business industrial plan, in part from the next edition; a "pro" turnaround for the most important event of Italian wine, also generated by listening to hundreds of exhibiting companies, fine-tuned over 2 years of work by the management of the Verona-based Spa with the consultancy of Roland Berger.

 

"The forced stop has allowed us to frame the evolutionary scenario of Vinitaly in the best possible way," said the Director General of VeronaFiere, Giovanni Mantovani. "We wanted to do this also by sharing and listening to our historic partners: companies, consortia and sector organisations. The result, after the test of the Special edition last October, is a turnaround - continued Mantovani - that we will start in 10 days and complete in the next two years, with a Vinitaly strongly strengthened in the areas with the highest potential development rate. According to the survey commissioned, one of the main strong points of the event," concluded the general director, "is the presence of foreign (76%) and domestic (53%) buyers".

 

Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor: 9 Italians out of 10 consume wine. Increasing young people (responsible). Red wine symbol of baby boomers.