Vinitaly, Italy's most important trade fair for wine and distilled spirits, celebrates its 40th year this April and the event is already a success.
Two new pavilions have expanded the exhibition area at the Verona fair grounds to some 80,000smq, which will host 4,200 stands, over 100 more than last year, all of which have been leased out for weeks.
Vinitaly will run April 6-10 and over 140,000 sector operators, including producers, distributors, experts and journalists are expected to attend. The event will be a stage not only for wine and distilled spirits but also quality olive oil, with the 12th edition of Sol, the international olive oil trade fair.
Also returning this year will be Enolitech, which showcases the latest technology for the production of both
wine and olive oil. Vinitaly will be preceded here by the 14th edition of the International Wine Competition (March 29-April 2), which will see almost 3,500 wines from 31 different countries competing in a variety of categories.
Prizes and recognitions will be handed out at Vinitaly's opening gala night.
Vinitaly is also organising the 11th edition of the International Packaging Competition, March 16, and together with London's International Wine and Spirit Competition will host the awarding of the Communicator of the year and Young Communicator of the Year journalistic prizes.
This year will see the second edition of the International "Best Wine List" Competition for Italian
restaurants abroad which promote Italian wines. This event is jointly sponsored by Vinitaly, the International Association of Italian Restaurants and the Acqua Panna mineral water company.
Vinitaly is produced by the Verona trade fair agency Veronafiere which again this year is taking the Vinitaly
concept on the road for a world tour. After staging successful events last year in Russia, China and the United States, the road show in 2006 has already returned to India, in January, and in May will be back in Russia to then head to the US in October and Japan and China in November.
Aside from wine, the Vinitaly road show also promotes quality Italian foods and food products.
