VinItaly-April 2013 {by Massimo*}
VinItaly, held in April, is definitely the main reference event to get acquainted with the best wine growing and cellar techniques as well as olive growing and olive oil technologies. It is the best place for passion-driven wine drinkers to meet wine producers, importers, distributors, restaurateurs, critics and wine journalists.
95,000 square meters, over 140,000 visitors and 4,000 exhibitors.
Find an Italian who wouldn’t love to spend at least one day at this trade show. Well, I’m one of those lucky guys who got a free ticket from his favorite bar in Montebelluna Café Club Giorgetto .
We hired a small bus with a coach driver and my friends and I left for Verona at 7am. Light clothing and a lot of bread and salami. We needed to have something in our stomachs before entering into the world of wine for a whole day!
Still wines from Sicily like the Donnafugata literally “lady on the run” – grown in warmer climates and with a stronger perfume of fruit.
The wine producer of major interest to our group of guys was Ferrari wine, whose name usually evokes the image of fast cars rather than a wine cellar. Ferrari Wine is located northeast of Trento surrounded by Alpine foothills planted with high-altitude vineyards of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
The young owner, Mr. Lunelli, welcomed us with a glass of his top sparkling wine “Giulio Ferrari“. He explained to us that Ferrari is Italy’s largest, oldest and most celebrated producer in the Champagne style. (110 years old). We tasted our wine with creative, artistic appetizers like “farfalle di polenta” made with slices of thin dry polenta (cornmeal mush) and soft cheese on top. Delicious.
He informed us that, “Ferrari is not Champagne and that they do not want to be. They are Italian.” And he left me with his belief that “In wine, you don’t want to be Usain Bolt- you want to be a marathoner”.
Start planning now for VinItaly 2014 to be held April 6-9 in Verona – maybe I’ll see you there!
* Massimo lives and works in the Veneto and is an amateur wine connoisseur who thoroughly enjoys his research. He feels that he’s like a good bottle of red wine – the older he gets, the better company he is.
Meet Laney Sachs
I’m not just enthusiastic about travel—I live travel, each and every day. From plotting out my clients’ next great escape, to logging airmiles on my own adventures (I always have a suitcase packed and at the ready!), travel drives me in everything I do.
I’ve learned a few things along the way, and I’d love to share them with you. Learn a bit more about my journey to founding my own travel agency—it involves quite a few glasses of Italian wine!
