Vinitaly 2019

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR BUSINESS AT #vinitaly: A TRADE FAIR THAT DIALOGUES WITH THE WINE COMMUNITY 365 DAYS A YEAR

B2b #event in the Exhibition Centre; contacts with consumers through a high-profile programme in the city. #vinitaly is the only exhibition in the world that focuses on product promotion and culture in Italy and abroad. Initiatives follow up the diversification strategy: digital, incoming and outlook.

Verona, 28 February 2019. #vinitaly in #verona is the occasion that ideally marks the end and the beginning of the annual calendar of events - almost forty every year - that the #veronafiere brand makes available to the wine, extra virgin olive oil and food sector, strictly inter-connected with the top quality catering acting as the trait d'union.

In March alone, ahead of the inauguration of the 53rd edition of the International Wine and Spirits Exhibition (held alongside Sol&Agrifood, Enolitech and #vinitaly Design), initiatives are scheduled in Poland, Germany, China and Italy. In turn, others were promoted in January and February in the USA and Canada, as well as in Italy itself.

A network system that every single day communicates with the market and consumers, generates relationships, networking and training, and brings the international wine community together.
And while #vinitaly itself focuses increasingly on business, contacts with consumers are impressively confirmed in the city, through a programme that expands its artistic and cultural profile every year within the context of #vinitaly and the City (Friday 5 to Monday 8 April - www.vinitalyandthecity.com).

Digital. It is no coincidence that the #vinitaly Directory Official Catalogue & Business Guide as of this year is available in nine languages - Italian, English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Portuguese - thereby facilitating searches for companies and wines throughout the year by buyers (32,000 international buyers attended in 2018 from 143 countries, out of a total of 128,000 specialist visitors) and other professional categories (sommeliers, horeca) who can thereby prepare appointments on the sop during the show itself to optimise their time and investment.

This is just one of the new features of #vinitaly 2019, by now increasingly focused on business in experiential mode, even through the use of the most innovative technologies. In fact, the latest tools in the field will be used through the digital transformation project in which #veronafiere has invested over 5 million euros so far: from the dedicated app to the directory, and even the debut of geo-location in the halls.

Incoming. Selected and invited buyers from 50 countries in 5 continents. This is accompanied by a timely incoming programme focusing on trade operators implemented by Veronafiere-Vinitaly through its own network of delegates in 60 countries as well as in collaboration with the ICE-Trade Agency. The objective is to facilitate meetings in #verona between international demand and supply on stands and through the matching service with companies for tastings with a "Taste & Buy” logic.

Buyers from 50 countries have been specifically selected and invited for the 2019 edition. Embracing 5 continents, #vinitaly confirms its two-fold attention for historical markets as well as to new areas where wine consumption is by now a growing trend. Divided into macro geographical areas, invited buyers come from: North America (USA and Canada), Central America (Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, Chile), South America (Brazil); Asia (China, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, India); Europe (Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Croatia, Denmark, France, Austria, Belgium, Albania); Baltic republics (Latvia and Lithuania); Russia and Turkey, the huge hinge regions between Europe and Asia; Middle East (Israel, Lebanon); Africa (Algeria, Mozambique, South Africa); Australia.

For all of them, the OperaWine overture organised with Wine Spectator on Saturday 6 April is the only #event involving the prestigious American magazine outside its homeland; it is a kind of preview ahead of the inauguration of #vinitaly and offers a glimpse of the finest wines from Italy's 20 regions. This year, 103 cellars have been selected by the American magazine, including 22 absolute new entries.

Vinitaly Trade Award goes a Marino Braccu (Otto e mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong). Announced during wine2wine 2018, the #vinitaly Trade Award is the new business-oriented award whereby #vinitaly acknowledges people in Italy or abroad who have distinguished themselves in the distribution and commercial positioning of wine, liqueurs and spirits, with special emphasis on buyers and purchasing managers in the horeca sector. Rewarding their role as business links in the supply chain through to end consumers, and as increasingly decisive driving forces on international markets, is the basis for this new award by #veronafiere and #vinitaly, today a well-known international brand for the promotion of business and the spread of culture and knowledge of wine as a quality product. The first edition of the award goes to Marino Braccu, general manager of Otto e Mezzo Bombana, the only Italian restaurant abroad that can boast three Michelin stars, for the extraordinary efforts he has implemented to promote knowledge and the market for Italian wine during his long career abroad.

Outlook Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor. Focus on Asia and Italy. In order increasingly to become a business tool for companies in the sector, specific analysis is also vital - such as the Vinitaly-Nomisma Wine Monitor dealing with the main consolidated markets and the opportunities existing in many areas until now unexplored or little-known.

The logic behind all this is by no means self-referential in celebrating the undisputed success achieved by Italian wine, especially over the last twenty years; rather, the intention is to provide timely analysis, based on data presented in harmony with eff4ective market trends, capable of highlighting strengths as well critical areas and improvements, not the least to ensure better guidance for promotion policies and available resources.

The focus in 2019, in addition to an updated overview of last year's proposals detailing the world scenario, is on the emerging Asian market - a market of great complexity and potential that is analysed both as a whole and through certain target markets: Hong Kong, Japan, China and South Korea.
Spotlights are also focused on Italy, which is still one of the main markets in the world, through research that updates the value of wine consumption, with consumer insights, dividing the country into geographical areas (North West, North East, North, Centre and Islands, South) and then examining six regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Campania and Sicily) and three cities (Milan, Rome and Naples).

Vinitaly - IRI Large-Scale Distribution. Staying with research, the appointment with Large-Scale Distribution and the #vinitaly IRI-Infoscan survey is a classic #event in the Show's calendar. This year, in addition to the Italian market with its regional subdivision, research also analyses - through a specific focus - the positioning of Italian wine on the shelves of large retailers in Germany.