A Wine Fair

Professional Wine Tasting

It takes practice and endurance to be able to taste more than 60 wines a day while doing business at a wine fair like Vinitaly. This is an article I wrote about the experience, at a gathering that I attended six times over the years.

THE SOMM JOURNAL | JUNE/JULY 2019

The Vinitaly Survival Guide: How to Navigate the Fair and Why it’s Worth the Effort

"NO ONE GOES TO VINITALY ANYMORE because it's too crowded." So say some in the wine community who have not been to the Verona trade fair lately. Okay, it's crowded. That's because wine professionals travel from more than 140 countries to taste wines presented by more than 4,000 producers. They make the trek because the gathering is about more than just tasting wines. It’s a place to gain insights into new trends and move you along that never-ending path of understanding the wines of Italy. Most importantly, Vinitaly is a time to establish and build relationships that can last a lifetime.

The wine experience at Vinitaly has changed in the past few years. It's more organized and no longer open to the public. Starting on Sunday and ending Wednesday, there are only four exhibit days instead of five, although there are some pre-events or Saturday. And while the app could use some improvements the lectures and special tastings are better than ever.

To beat the crowds and make the most of your trip to Vinitaly does take some preparation. The reward for your efforts will be to sit down with some great wine producers, taste their wines and know their stories and insights,

Getting to the Fair

Making the most of the journey to Vinitaly must start months in advance. Prices spike for hotel rooms and just about everything else during Vinitaly. The sooner you book your room and your flight the better deal you're going to get That means you have to commit to going to this event months in advance. Yes, you're busy and things don't run as smoothly at your business when you're not there. But this experience will expand your knowledge as a wine professional and you'll gain valuable contacts in the wine community. Getting to Verona requires some decision making. Flying into Milan is usually the least expensive way to get to Italy. But the train ride can add another $40 each way to the cost, and hours of travel time. Most often it's best to book your destination flight into the Verona Airport.

A free shuttle bus runs from the airport directly to the Vinitaly grounds, but planning to go to the tasting from the airport and work all day is a mistake. Unless you’ve already adjusted to the time zone, your body will know it's the middle of the night and will punish you for this rookie move. Get to Verona at least the day before the fair starts, acclimate yourself and start fresh on the first day. Many attendees like to show their fashion sense when in Italy. What’s important at Vinitaly is to wear comfortable shoes.

Some people stay at hotels in towns near Verona and take the train in each morning, While this saves money on the room, there is an added cost of train rides. You'll also miss the late-night parties - unless you add the cost of expensive taxi rides.

Those who don't take the time to set up appointments with producers have to taste wines standing with the crowd watching others who are sitting with the winery representatives, tasting the best wines with plates of house-made salumi and cheeses. The best producers fill their appointments months in advance. Use your suppliers, distributors and other contacts to help you set up appointments starting in January, Getting invited to the producer dinners that go on each night will also make your time at Vinitaly all the more memorable.

Fair Navigation

Once in Verona with a set schedule, it's time to get to the trade fair and start navigating through the crowds.

There are several options for getting to the fairgrounds. The best way to go is on one of the free shuttles provided by many of the hotels. You don't have to be staying at the hotel to take the shuttle; you just have to know where these comfortable busses pick up passenger. Ask an experienced Vinitaly participant about these shuttles. There are free city busses you can take; the schedules are on the Vinitaly website. A taxi will cost more than usual because of the traffic. The gates open at 9:30 a.m. People start lining up before 9. The line moves quickly once the gates open, so this is not a bad option to maximize your time at Vinitaly. Instead of standing in line, if you show up around 10:30 you can move right in.

While appointments are important, you have to leave time to taste wines you enjoy and discover wines you're not familiar with. If you choose to go early enough, stop by a few of the tasting booths of Franciacorta (which is near the fair entrance) before they get busy- starting with some bubbles can make the day of sensational wine tasting even better.

The fairgrounds are huge, The buildings are enormous. Even those familiar with the layout can get disorientated. The numbered buildings are mostly dedicated to the different regions of Italy. Inside the there are grids - Al to F25 for example. The secret to staying orientated: Pay attention from which direction you enter a building and think about which building you'll be going to for your next appointment. A good idea is to plan your last appointment towards the exit like in Sicily, not way over in Piedmont. The app is good for locating the grid number of the producers.

Forty-five-minute appointments give you time to get from one booth to another and account for delays. As the day gets later, you may have to wait for a specific appointment because others were late for their time slot. It is not the Italian way to be on time all the time. It is the Italian way not to just jump into business during the wine tastings. The beginning of the appointment is the strongest time for relationship building: a time to talk about life, family, sports, etc.

Lunch is important to keep up your strength and the cheese and cured meats served at most tasting appointments is usually not enough -although a few producers do serve a full lunch at their booths. Most eat at the panini places that are everywhere. There are nice restaurants set up, but you should make a reservation in advance if you want to sit and order from a menu without a long wait.

After Hours

While the fair ends at 6 p.m. each day, that's not the end of tasting wine or getting to know people. There are producer dinners all over town and at some nearby wineries. Sitting down with the producers and other members of the wine community for a meal, tasting their best wines and getting to know more about the winery is the best part of Vinitaly. Be sure to set up these dinners well ahead of time.

The discussion will continue about whether it's worth the effort to travel to Verona spend long hours tasting wines, attend wine dinners and get together with friends for one more late night drink- mostly because other venues are trying to duplicate what Vinitaly has been doing for over 50 years. What happens at Vinitaly will be hard to match. The fair is held in city a with a soul, where wines are exhibited with Italian passion and people come together as a community to taste some of the best wines in the world.

Carl Corsi has had a long career in the Bay Area as a sommelier and imported wine specialist.