Why you should attend Vinitaly (50th Edition)

 

Verona's Vinitaly Fair is coming up in less than a month and this year the fair is extra special because it will be its 50th Edition. Each year, Vinitaly attracts thousands of wine lovers to the beautiful city of Verona uniting wine consumers of all ages due to their love for Italian wine. One of the main reasons why this fair attracts so many wine consumers (whether in the wine industry or not) is its size, organization, and the one on one experience it provides with the wine producers themselves. Regardless of your reason for attending, with more than 4,000 exhibitors you will have a vast quantity of Italian wines and spirits to discover.

  

 Vinitaly starts Sunday April 10th and ends on Wednesday April 13th. During these four days of tasting and discovering new vineyards, thousands of people around the world acquire a deeper understanding of Italian wine as well as its supply and demand with the help of many events and educational seminars that the fair offers. The beauty of Vinitaly also lies in that it allows small vineyards who are not known worldwide to achieve broader exposure and be introduced to new markets. In general, Vinitaly allows all exhibitors a chance to market their brand, do business with importers/ distributors/ restaurants / sommeliers, acquire interviews with journalists, have their products spoken of and introduced to millions of people through the use of social media, and most importantly have their consumers have a deeper understanding of the message they convey for generations through their wine.
During the fair I will be posting several interviews, pictures, and wine reviews! And for the wine lovers that are unable to attend this year, hopefully the sneak peeks that I will be posting during the fair will encourage you to come next year and be part of this lively time in Verona.
Vinitaly is great for all wine consumers, but especially for the wine industry to connect with one another and utilize this time to do business with each other while taking advantage of the vast quantity of exhibitors that the fair brings together.

I have attended this fair for several years and in my opinion the organizers continue to find ways to improve the experience at the fair each year. One of the ways you can save time and organize your schedule while in Vinitaly is by using a combination of their App and map and become familiar with them before the fair starts. Within the App you can locate the exhibitors you are looking for, find out about the international wines that will be attending the fair, target regions of Italy you are focusing on, and most importantly be able to electronically exchange business cards.
Below, you can see a picture of the App so you can download it too. There's also a picture of Vinitaly's map which you can print by going to www.vinitaly.com/globalassets/pdf/mappa/mappa-vinitaly-2016.pdf

 

(Map of Vinitaly)

Also I want to point out that the fair has different entrances, which is another reason to find out ahead of time the halls you will mostly focus your time on in order to pick the entrance that will save you time.

Vinitaly offers several events and below I have listed the ones that caught my eye. For the whole list of events and more information on each one, go to www.vinitaly.com/en/events/calendar/

   - Vinitaly-bio "Exhibition dedicated to certified organic wine made in Italy and abroad" (9:30-6pm Sunday April 10th - Wednesday April 13th)
   
   - Opening Ceremony 50th Edition (11am   Sunday April 10th)
   
   - Vininternational (9:30am - 6:00pm  Sunday April 10th - Wednesday April 13th)

Vininternational focuses on foreign exhibitors. In Vininternational Hall you will be able to taste wines and do business with exhibitors from other countries besides Italy.

   
   - Wine as a Health Food = (9:30am  Monday April 11th)
   
   - Women in Wine - Present and Future of Wine with a Female Touch (3pm Tuesday April 12th)
   
   - Italian Wine: Safeguarding a Heritage  (3:00pm Tuesday April 12th)

Anyone that has attended Vinitaly on previous years knows that parking is difficult (due to the amount of people that go to the fair) and driving is exhausting due to the traffic, which is why I prefer to stay in hotels that are walking distance to the fair in order to avoid parking and traffic issues.
Below I have listed 3 hotels that are close to the fair making it easier, especially if you are going for business.

Hotel Fiera
www.hotelfieraverona.biz/

- Address: Via Ugo Zannoni, 26, 37136 Verona VR, Italia
-It has a restaurant called Et Voilá (offers lunch and dinner) and a cafe called 'dei Gavi
- Contact the concierge regarding availability (This hotel is very close to the fair so it gets full fast).

Hotel San Pietro
www.hotelsanpietroverona.it/en/home
Address: Via Santa Teresa, 1, 37135 Verona VR, Italia

 - This hotel is also very close to the fair. It does not have a restaurant but it does offer complimentary breakfast (7am - 10:30am) and free wi-fi.

 

Hotel Leon D' Oro
www.roseohotelleondoro.com/it/home
Address: 
Viale del Piave, 5, 37135 Verona VR, Italia

 

 

This hotel is near the fair but a bit further than the previous two hotels (About 10-15 minutes of walking). If you mind walking a little bit more, don't worry the hotel offers a shuttle that can take you and pick you up from the fair.
Hotel Leon D'Oro is my favorite hotel out of the three.
It offers a fantastic breakfast buffet that has many gluten-free options for those of you that have a gluten allergy like me. They do a great job accommodating their guests.
Also, they have a very nice restaurant, which is great when you come back tired and hungry from a long day at the fair.

If you want to have a taste of Veronese cuisine while your stay in Verona you should try the restaurants I have listed below. You will have a fantastic experience.

For more information and details on each of the following restaurants go to my website 

www.patriciashapiro.com 

click on the icon 

 'Great Wine & Spirit Destinations'

then click on 'Europe'

and scroll down to see the restaurants that I have recommended for Verona.

Ristorante 12 Apostoli 
www.12apostoli.com 

 

Trattoria Tre Marchetti
www.tremarchetti.it/en/

 

Borsari 36

www.palazzovictoria.com/restaurant-verona

 

 

Hope to see you in Vinitaly and have a safe flight wine lovers! 

 You will have a fantastic time one sip at a time!

If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me through my website www.patriciashapiro.com
and while you are there take a look at last year's Vinitaly videos in the icon 'Gallery' (more to come this year of course). 

Also lets connect through social media and spread the conversation on wine and our experience in Vinitaly Fair 2016!

Instagram: 
@wine_and_more
Twitter: 
@PshapiroWine
Fb personal for wine enthusiasts:  
www.facebook.com/wineand.more.3
Fb Business (click the 'Like' button):
 www.facebook.com/patriciashapiro.wineandmore
Linkedin:  
www.linkedin.com/in/patriciashapirowineandmore 

PS: Don't forget to go sightseeing while you are in Verona!