From 10 to 13 april, the Veronafiere event facility welcomes 4,400 companies from 19 countries and international buyers from 50 countries for the 54th edition of Vinitaly.
Vinitaly, the most awaited business and promotion event in the wine sector returns with attendance in person after two years on the side-lines. The event will be held in Verona from 10 to 13 April.
The 54th International Exhibition of Wines and Spirits comes forward with a “sold out” tag with 4,400 companies from 19 countries, more than 30 conferences and 76 super-tastings on the schedule. An integrated system with the on-line VinitalyPlus b2b platform, with more than 17,000 labels uploaded in digital format by producers.
Seven hundred top international buyers of Italian wine are accredited at Vinitaly from 50 countries: 650 will attend thanks to the campaign promoted by Veronafiere together with the Italian Trade Agency; they are joined by 50 operators profiled in relation to demand making their debut in Verona – part of a new, tailor-made incoming project developed through Veronafiere’s direct collaboration with 30 companies exhibiting at Vinitaly.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Stefano Patuanelli, the President of the Italian Trade Agency, Carlo Ferro, the President of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, the Mayor of Verona Federico Sboarina, the President of the Province of Verona, Manuel Scalzotto, the President of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese, and the CEO of Veronafiere, Giovanni Mantovani.
“Events such as Vinitaly, after an interruption lasting two years, are opportunities for Italian production chains to exchange information with various market players capable of strengthening commercial relationships on a national and international scale,” said Minister Patuanelli. “That we can meet again in person is extraordinary, just like the facts and figures that emerge. Record wine exports in 2021 worth 7.1 billion euros, with growth of 12.4% – statistics that by no means explain all the potential we still have to offer and in which we must continue to invest.”
According to a paper published by the Italian Farmers’ Association, Coldiretti, the Italian wine sector sold €13 billion of goods in 2021, a record-breaking figure linked to the boom of Italian export and to the growth of domestic consumption. In 2021, Italian exports grew by 18%, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Maurizio Danese, president of Veronafiere, reminded the public that “Italy is the largest producer in the world in this sector, with a share of 18.5%, thanks to 130,000 agricultural companies, more than 45,600 wine-making companies and 1.3 million employees.” In this context, “the return to full capacity at the exhibitions in terms of attendance in person is an occasion to relaunch exports for small and medium-sized enterprises even in the wine sector” and, therefore, “Vinitaly returns to play a central role as the true protagonist for promotion and internationalization.”
Carlo Ferro, president of the Italian Trade Agency, underlined the important role that international fairs and exhibition play in the internationalization of Italian enterprises.
“Vinitaly is an opportunity to confirm once again the central role of national trade fairs. For ICE, the allocation of 30 million euros to support events in Italy precisely takes the direction of working with trade fairs at home towards the internationalization of the industry. Trade shows are fundamental tools for supporting and promoting exports. From this point of view, I am extremely pleased that our partnership with Vinitaly goes precisely in this direction: I refer to events held in New York, London and Hong Kong, as well as other initiatives to promote wine around the world,” said Mr. Ferro.
Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, explained that for this year’s edition, the organizers of the fair decided to focus on a very important market for Made in Italy products. “We made great efforts to ensure attendance by a record number of buyers from the United States and Canada. A record not only in terms of numbers but also of quality – the result of an important, weighted process implemented with the ICE Trade Agency to select the individual operators with us today in Verona,” explained Mr. Mantovani.
Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto Region, said in his closing remarks: “after two years of pandemic Vinitaly returns at last in its historic format. We have lost two editions along the way, but this year is a restart, albeit in difficult times. Today, we are inaugurating a sold-out event – an important signal because it testifies to a desire to be involved, meet each other and do business in person.”
Vinitaly is flanked by sister-shows Sol&Agrifood, the international exhibition of quality agro-foods, Enolitech, the international exhibition of technologies for wine, olive oil and beer production, and Vinitaly Design, the area dedicated to objects for tasting and service, furnishings for wine cellars, wine bars and restaurants, and customised and gift packaging.
Wine lovers, on the other hand, can take part in the off-show Vinitaly and the City event, scheduled until 11 April with a programme of events, performances and tastings in the streets and squares of the historic centre of Verona.
