Vinitaly gets business going again with the Special Edition scheduled 17-19 october 2021
The world of wine will get going again thanks to a Special Edition of Vinitaly scheduled at Veronafiere 17-19 October 2021. A b2b appointment ensuring safe attendance, strategically positioned as arrival point for the international business initiatives starting off in China on 3 April, before restarting with renewed enthusiasm in the run up to the 54th Vinitaly scheduled 10-13 April 2022.
The Special Edition in October aims to bring together institutions, supply chain associations and companies by involving them in a system project representing the first business event in 2021 dedicated to the wine sector.
“Italian wine is a fundamental sector. Its output is worth around 12 billion euros with exports in 2020 that came to 6.3 billion euros, down by 2.3% compared to the previous year.” explained Maurizio Danese, President of Veronafiere. “Planning and implementing live events is vital. This is confirmed by Vinitaly’s Italian and international operators who were involved in a survey last December and January: more than 30% of the sample pointed out that attending trade fairs in person will be even more important than in the past, while more than 60% believe that trade fairs will retain all their relevance.”
Vinitaly Special Edition 2021 focuses on four pillars.
First of all, the event will be live at the Veronafiere Exhibition Centre, a safe space thanks to a business safety prevention protocol The event will help rediscover the importance and value of human relationships and also create new synergies with different worlds, such as the galleries and collectors taking part in ArtVerona, the Veronafiere contemporary art show open until October 17 in the same location.
The second pillar is the exclusively professional character of the event: entrance will be reserved only to sector operators, with attended and online tastings, a focus on the Italian market, workshops and the analysis and insights of the wine2wine Business Forum (October 18-19). The event will open with the 2021 Wine States General: a conference involving 50 top managers from the world of wine, institutions and representatives of the European Union discussing the current scenario and future prospects.
“The axis of the market is changeable and not only because of the health emergency,” said Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere. As reported by our Vinitaly Observatory-Nomisma Wine Monitor, if we analyze the overall results in January this year compared with the same month of 2020 before the Covid pandemic, Italy started off with a gap in value of -19% on the top 10 outlet markets. Albeit still partial, this data prompts us to reflect on the vital role in this complex period of strengthening promotion action involving key buyers. Even in 2021, Vinitaly will precisely serve this purpose.”
The third pillar of the Vinitaly Special Edition is internationality. Veronafiere, with the ICE-Foreign Trade Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is already working to allow the arrival of selected international buyers, especially from target countries such as the United States and China, through green health corridors.
Lastly, significant attention will be paid to companies taking part in the Special Edition to help them capitalize on the event as a marketing, communication and professional training tool. Exhibitors will be offered ready-to-use turnkey areas, including services. The virtual showcase and digital networking solutions provided by the new “Vinitaly Plus” online platform will also be available to subscribers in order to integrate and expand the potential of the attended event itself.
The Special Edition is an important appointment for the Vinitaly community yet only one of the many stages in Veronafiere’s roadmap accompanying Italian wine around the world, together with its culture and exponents. Inasmuch, the Vinitaly-system can rely on a galaxy of events already scheduled through to 2022
In 2021, Vinitaly Russia in Moscow (March 23) and St. Petersburg (March 25) will be followed by Chengdu in China (April 3-6). Shenzhen in China will also host the second attended edition in June (8-10) of Wine To Asia.
In the same month, Verona also welcomes an impressive calendar with the Vinitaly Design international packaging competition (11 June), Vinitaly 5 Star Wines The Book (16-18 June) and OperaWine(19-20 June), with tastings of the best in Italian wine production selected by Wine Spectator, finishing off with the courses organised by the Vinitaly International Academy (21-24 June). September sees Vinitaly travel to Beijing (13-17) and then to Brazil, for Wine South America(22-24). These events turn full circle in 2022 with the 54th Vinitaly (10-13 April).