10-13 April sees the return of the event postponed for two years to Covid, with an increasingly more business-oriented footprint: over 4,400 exhibitors from 19 countries, more than 700 top buyers from 50 countries. For amateurs, there is "Vinitaly and the City", the "fuori salone" in the city.

The last edition in attendance was in 2019. Then came two years of darkness due to the pandemic. But now it's off to a real start with Vinitaly number 54, scheduled in Verona Sunday 10-Wednesday 13 April and just presented in Rome. "This will be a very business-oriented edition, with over 4,400 exhibitors from 19 countries and more than 700 top buyers from 50 countries selected together with Ice. The aim of the event is to increase the positioning of Italian wine in international markets, starting from the more mature ones and reaching emerging ones," said Maurizio Danese, President of VeronaFiere Spa, during the official presentation on 30 March in Rome. In fact, among top buyers, the largest delegation is from North America (130 attendees, including Canadian monopolies), but there is no shortage of Asia and Africa (5 countries, for the first time: Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon and Angola), while the Russian Federation will not be present (some buyers, however, may arrive independently). In order to recreate a pre-pandemic Vinitaly that also looks to the future, precise guidelines have been followed: "Strengthening business at the Exhibition, selecting operators and increasing the foreign share are the work guidelines for 2022, which will also involve VeronaFiere in the medium term," explained Danese. Not to mention the increasingly tailor-made nature of the offer: "This year," added Giovanni Mantovani, Director General VeronaFiere Spa, "we are recording an even more stringent alliance with the companies of Vinitaly, which have adhered to the incoming initiative of Taylor-made buyers, i.e. selected directly by producers and invited by the exhibition. An effort, also in economic terms, that enables us to hit the target and further expand the international professional audience, which represents one of the strong points of the event". This approach has been studied during the two-year stop, also thanks to the survey conducted on 230 Italian wine companies by the Roland Berger consulting company. "The guidelines for the exhibition of the future," clarified Mantovani, "are international growth and further qualitative selection of buyers, reducing the number of wine lovers at the Exhibition Centre, improving logistics services, creating ad hoc shows in the various production sectors dedicated to buyers, and developing the Vinitaly Plus online platform". In addition to buyers, influencers, international journalists, judges and wine critics have already been invited this year. The objective? "To transform Vinitaly into a world reference point for this sector," said Roberto Luongo, Ice Director General. The Minister for Agricultural Policies Stefano Patuanelli pulled the economic strings: "Since 2000, the value of Italian wine exports has tripled, except in 2020 for Covid, with an increase in sales of PDO wines and sparkling wines, driven by Prosecco. But things could be better: as exporters we are second in value and first in quantity in Europe, I am not satisfied. We must become the first in value, to justly remunerate producers, who are often the weak link in the chain. This chain is also paying for the increase in production costs, from finding glass to finding paper. So our guard remains high, including on the issue of labelling, which must not penalise wine with Nutriscore. We will do everything we can to exclude it, because it is not an informative element but one that distorts the market and influences consumers. On the other hand, we are working on an integrated system to certify the sustainability of Italian wine, and in 2023 we will have a single label.

The data: 9 out of 10 Italians consume wine, a figure that is increasing compared to the pandemic

But it is impossible to talk about wine without talking about consumers. The latest Vinitaly - Nomisma Wine Monitor "Italians and Wine" shows that 89% of Italians consume wine, a figure that is up compared to pre-Covid. This is due above all to a surge in the number of young people over 18. Compared to 2019, consumers belonging to Generation Z and Millennials (18-41 years old) have in fact increased considerably (from 84% to 90%) but not in terms of quantity, while the incidence of Generation X consumers remains unchanged (89%, 42-57 years old) and the quota of Baby Boomers (over 57 years old) is lowered, who lose the primacy of numbers (not of frequency of consumption), dropping from 93% to 90%. Compared to three years ago, the preferred types have also changed. According to the survey, the most marked growth trend concerns the consumption of mixed wines - mainly spritzes - which meet a penetration of 63% of the audience (vs. 56% in 2019). All other types are also on the rise, with sparkling wines, reds and whites all at 81% (they were at 77%) and rosés at 63% (vs 57% in 2019). But sparkling wines, rosés and spritzes are consumed occasionally, particularly by the under-40s. The approach to red wine is different, as it remains the hard core of habitual drinkers, with around 60% of Baby Boomers consuming it 2-3 times a week. For the head of Nomisma Wine Monitor, Denis Pantini: "The growth of premium wines in large-scale distribution, starting with sparkling wines, is an inheritance that Covid has left us and which, combined with the recovery of consumption outside the home, can lead to an increase in the market value of wine consumed in Italy, currently standing at 13.8 billion euros, 7% less than in 2019". The wines of the future for Italians? Native wines are losing ground, while organic and sustainable wines are gaining ground, loved by Millennials (24% of this age group are already frequent users, while one Boomer in two has never tasted them in the last year). The growth of rosé wines also continues.

What's new at the Fair

In the 17 halls of the Exhibition Centre, there are four new areas: Orange wines, MicroMegaWines - Micro Size, Mega Quality, a new section reserved for limited edition niche production of the highest quality, Organic Hall, which implements the Vinitaly Bio offer, and Mixology, which makes its official debut with its own format. In terms of events, there are about 30 conventions scheduled in Verona and 76 super-tastings also bearing the Vinitaly signature, with proceeds donated to help Ukrainian refugees. A few examples: "Iconic Women in Italian Wine" (10 April), a tasting led by Monica Larner and Alison Napjus, respectively of Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator, for the first time together to tell the story of 6 Italian female wineries. "Indigenous Italian reds, the power of lightness" is the theme chosen by the first Italian Master of Wine, Gabriele Gorelli (11 April), who will conduct the tasting in tandem with Spanish MW Almudena Alberca. The change of generations is the focus of the grand tasting "From father to son: the future of Italian wine", a tasting by Riccardo Cotarella and Luciano Ferraro that brings to the glasses the history of some of the most representative companies in Italy where the baton is being passed on. There will also be space for foreign exhibitors in the International Wine Hall, the pavilion reserved for international production. Present this year are France, Brazil, Slovenia, Argentina, Spain, Serbia, Macedonia, Lebanon and South Africa. These are joined by tastings at the 4,400 stands of companies that, to date, have registered a total of more than 17 thousand labels on VinitalyPlus, the VeronaFiere business platform open all year round. Vinitaly is also flanked by Sol&Agrifood, Enolitech and Vinitaly Design.

"Vinitaly and the City"

"Today sees the launch of the Vinitaly of the future," said the mayor of Verona FedericoSboarina, "The new high-speed train station will arrive and the current freight terminal will become a park. The city is investing in its flagship exhibition by improving the urban area where Vinitaly is held. And wine lovers are expected at Vinitaly and the City, scheduled 8-11 April with a schedule of events and tastings in the streets of central Verona".