VINITALY 2019 OFFERS A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME AND FESTIVITIES ARE AS LIVELY AS EVER
by Raimondo Boggia
All of the attendees of Vinitaly seemingly have one thing in common after the four-day event: They are exhausted and need a vacation or at least some serious rest on the flight back home. Vinitaly—the international wine competition and exposition held annually in Verona, Italy—took place this year from April 7–10. For eight hours each day, countless international business meetings and wine tastings were held at the Fiera di Verona. But the show didn’t stop there. As is the case every year, it’s what happens at night that makes Vinitaly unique.
In the evening, after the convention lets out, wineries and importers host aperitivos and dinners in bars and restaurants throughout Verona, followed by what is referred to as the Champagne Nights where thousands of magnums and double magnums of Champagne are opened and glasses are offered to passersby. It may seem odd to serve Champagne—Verona is in Italy after all—but Italian winemakers and Italian wine importers adhere to an unwritten rule that says that after a full day of tasting Italian wines for business, wine consumed for celebration has to be Champagne. And the celebration can go until the early hours of the morning.
To coincide with Vinitaly, the city of Verona organizes concerts and wine tastings for the
general public in Piazza San Zeno, Piazza dei Signori, and Fontana dell’Arsenale where thousands of people come together to enjoy the festivities. Champagne flows and music and voices fill the night air.
But back to Vinitaly. Over the course of four days, 33,000 wine buyers from 50 countries, taste as many as 17,000 labels from 35 Countries, nearly 90% of which are Italian. 2015–2017 vintages from all over Italy, drank exceptionally well this year.
Buyers tend to be most interested in the usual suspects—Piemonte and Toscana, Barolo, Brunello—but outlined below are new trends and interests that were evident this year at the four-day marathon that is Vinitaly.
–If I had to pick up one denomination that was most surprising (for affluent buyers), it was Lugana DOC, Lombardy. We will likely hear a lot about this region in the future namely about the crisp fruity expression of the Trebbiano di Luganagrape grown on the hills overlooking the coasts of Garda Lake.
–Organic wines are nothing new, but their popularity is growing fast, especially in Italy. Organic wines account for 6% wine production in the world overall, in Europe around 9%, and in Italy more than 20%, with a few regions already close to 35% of the total production being certified organic. The other reason to mention this trend is that the quality and the “value for money” begin to be very interesting.
–Italian white wines have been known for being fresh and rather simple and, classically, many wine lovers enjoy Italian reds over whites. But in the last 20 years we have been finding some great Italian whites, but we’ve also discovered that some of them can age incredibly well. It’s worth mentioning a few examples:
The 2009 Gavi di Gavi La Scolca black label is incredibly complex: It’s long, smooth and crisp, fruity and floral, spicy and mineral. From it we learn the potential of the Cortese grape in the Gavi area. And its bright acidity and the minerality show the complexity of its terrior.
We know Chardonnays can age well, but tasting the Chiaranda’ 2005, Donnafugata was an unexpected experience to say the least. I tasted it in a blind tasting and got the sensation of a Mersault and the elegance of a discrete Chablis.
To conclude this trend of great aging Italian whites, an outsider from Friuli, Specogna, had me taste a Pinot Grigio Ramato he makes mixing five different vintages between 2012–2016. Each vintage sees 15 days of maceration and partial aging in small barrels. The finished product is a complex and smooth wine, with notes of berries, cherries, and stone fruits and a velvety finish. Nothing you would normally expect from a Pinot Grigio. One of a kind.
