Verona, December 2008 - Business is served. Vinitaly, now at its 43rd edition (2-6 April 2009, www.vinitaly.com), confirms its international leadership year after year thanks to its capacity to create a system of initiatives and events that over time have transformed the exhibition of wines and spirits from a simple showcase into a network of contacts between trade operators.
Inasmuch, competitions, tastings, internet services for B2B meetings, seminars focusing on consumers and new markets and the huge trade offering (which also includes spirits) have seen the Exhibition successfully combine business with product promotion and company training.
This range of services has made Vinitaly the top exhibition in the world with more than 4,200 exhibitors from 35 countries and 157 thousand specialist visitors, of which more than 43 thousand from 110 countries (2007 data certified by FKM).
Every edition also sees Vinitaly strengthen its synergy with Sol, Agrifood, Grappa Tasting and Enolitech to extend the perspectives of the sector by offering wine and extra virgin olive oil together with quality gastronomy products, top-of-the-range spirits, cellar and olive oil technology and accessories for tasting and table service.
The offering of services is sustained by the network of VeronaFiere delegates in the most important countries world-wide; while the Vinitaly World Tour - by now operative from a decade - has become an effective tool in improving the internationalisation of companies and the Made in Italy agro-foods system.
The World We Love is the concept that summarised the mission of Vinitaly 2009: wine first of all, but also quality, territory, the environment and its protection, people and human challenges.
The challenge of business. In 2008, more than 57 thousand operators, 42% of whom international, received direct invitations to attend the Vinitaly exhibition, with positive feedback better than 42%. More than 20 thousand buyers took part, out of total international attendance of 43 thousand from 110 countries (an increase of 25% for international operators). An important role in contacts between exhibitors and buyers is also played by the network of VeronaFiere delegates in 35 countries; the on-line Buyers' Club attracted 882 companies and generated - even before the start of the exhibition - more than 1,100 contacts by international visitors.
In 2008, international operators included 49% wholesalers, importers/exporters and agents, as well as 35% in consumer sales sectors (large-scale distribution, retailers, horeca, etc.).
Tastings and business. Launched successfully for the first time in 2007, Taste Italy is an invitation-only initiative targeting international operators with guided tastings available at all times. Direct experience of wines and company profiles help buyers to make direct contacts with producers on their stands during the event.
Tasting Ex...press, on the other hand, offers the best production world-wide presented by leading international sector magazines, while producers themselves present their products to journalists and buyers through Taste and Dream, dedicated to vertical tasting of excellence.
Trendy Today, Big Tomorrow, lastly, is another exclusive area presenting wines by emerging companies making their names on the market not only through quality but also thanks to interesting and competitive quality/price ratios.
Wine and gastronomy. As the meeting point between wine, food and extra-virgin olive oil, Vinitaly, Sol and Agrifood Club organise - in collaboration with internationally famous chefs - gastronomic workshops and tastings of dishes prepared using the finest ingredients in the best tradition of Italian cuisine alongside a selection of wines on show. The Great Restaurants of Vinitaly (Designer Restaurant, Signori Restaurant, Sol Goloso and Citadel of Gastronomy) complete the exhibition menu to satisfy the wine and food curiosity of even the most demanding visitors and VIP guests attending the event.
Italy of Vinitaly. This is the Vinitaly internet area dedicated to the regions in order to present - well ahead of the events themselves and for the entire following period - regional territories and related olive oil-wine produce, promotional activities and even initiatives organised on stands during Vinitaly.
This privileged showcase ensures a complete panorama of the multitude of distinctive features characterising Italian regions and their unique status in the world.
Space for wine lovers. Vinitaly For You - the eagerly-awaited collateral event for non-professional enthusiasts - has established its role in recent years as a well-defined occasion belonging to Vinitaly but "outside" the event dedicated to trade operators as such. In short, it is held in Palazzo della Gran Guardia, in the historic heart of Verona.
Wine lovers are also the topic of many of the studies and research projects commissioned by Vinitaly presented in focus meetings and seminars organised during the exhibition - since consumers are the true protagonists of the market.
International competitions and awards for protagonists in the sector in turn focus on promotion of quality and products. Vinitaly has always been characterised by its efforts and incentives to improve the quality of wines. This policy is equally achieved through the competitions held every year to reward excellence. They include the International Wine Competition (25-29 March 2009, www.vinitaly.com/concorsoenologico, the most selective in the world with only 3% of awards made out of a total of 3,500 wines entered on average), the International Packaging Competition (11 March 2009, www.vinitaly.com/concorsoenologico), set up to reward companies in their efforts to create effective image for their products through bottles, labels, corks and caps, and the Vinitaly International Award that every year acknowledges businessman or operators in the sector (media, sommeliers, winemakers etc.) is particularly distinguished by their activities on behalf of the sector.
Thanks to its selectivity, the International Wine Competition by now ranks as a kind of quality mark for award winners, for whom Vinitaly is the ideal showcase and place for commercial agreements and specific promotions, such as those in Germany and Japan.
Vinitaly World Tour. A proven formula that combines attractive participation costs for companies with effective contacts: workshops, seminars, wine tastings and Gala wine & food evenings are the main initiatives proposed in the most important cities in China, Japan, the USA, India and Russia. The World Tour turns Vinitaly into a year-long event and the main vehicle for commercial and cultural promotion of wine-growing and the Made in Italy agro-foods system throughout the world.
Operators in these countries by now view Vinitaly as a quality brand ensuring the status of the wines presented. Next stop-offs: 29-30 January 2009 Vinitaly US Tour - Miami; June, Vinitaly Russia, October the second stage of Vinitaly US Tour, November Vinitaly China and Vinitaly Japan