The event - History

VINITALY: SUCCESS STORY GOING BACK 42 YEARS

Vinitaly is the event that more than any other has traced the evolution of the national and international wine system, helping to make wine one of the most captivating and dynamic realities in the primary sector.

1967


22-23 September - Palazzo della Gran Guardia hosted the Italian Wine Days. This was the official "baptism" of Vinitaly.

1969


The third edition of the Italian Wine Days saw 130 wine-makers exhibit their products alongside conventions.

1971


The event became Vinitaly – Wine Exhibition: a full-scale trade exhibition. An auction of highly-prized wines was organised by Agriturist and guided by Mario Soldati. Vinitaly was also joined by a trade section covering machinery, equipment and products for oenology and the first edition of the DOC Wines Catalogue Exhibition.

1978


Vinitaly gained qualification as an “international” exhibition and thus welcomed participation by companies outside Italy.

1980


Vinitaly was rescheduled and has since been held in April.

1987


Vinitaly welcomed the first Olive Oil Exhibition.

1988


The Olive Exhibition became SOL. Distilla was also set up - the Exhibition of Grappa, Brandy and Spirits.

1992


the International Wine Competition was set up: now at its 16th edition, it has become the most selective and popular in the world: On average, only 90 medals are awarded to about 3,500 wines entered from more than 30 countries.

1995


Distilla was with merged Vinitaly and the event was renamed Vinitaly-International Wine and Spirits Exhibition.

1996


the International Packaging Competition was set up with awards for the best wine packaging.

1998


The international status of Vinitaly was confirmed and re-launched by VeronaFiere's decision - on its centenary - to move into China (Shanghai) with China Wine, a positive experience that was repeated in following years.
The sector dedicated to wine and oil became a specific show - Enolitech, the Exhibition of Technology for Wine-Growing, Oenology/Olive-Growing and Olive Oil Production.

2002 and 2003


the exhibition also “conquered” America with Vinitaly U.S. Tour and also attended IFOWS, the Italian Food and Wine Show in Mumbay.

2003


Vinitaly For You was created - the Vinitaly off-show event dedicated to wine lovers who find in Palazzo della Gran Guardia, in the historic heart of Verona, a young and welcoming environment for tasting the best wines.

2004


The Vinitaly brand was directly promoted - for the first time, after six years - in China and - an absolute innovation - in Russia. The Vinitaly US Tour travelled to Miami and San Francisco.

2005


even stronger internationalisation of the brand serving the Italian wine system. New efforts in India with Ifows prepared the ground for the first full-scale edition of Vinitaly India. May saw the second edition of Vinitaly Russia and October welcomed the US Tour (Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles). November - by now a consolidated tradition - saw Shanghai host the 7th edition of Vinitaly China.
The main exhibition in Verona (April) saw the definitive launch of new initiatives combining wine and international catering with "Gulliver's Travels" and "Wine & Food Pairings", as well as space for emerging producers through "Trendy Today - Big Tomorrow" and meetings with buyers and the Ho.Re.Ca. channel.

2006


Vinitaly "comes of age" with its 40th anniversary. Two new exhibition halls (10 & 11) were joined by expanding presence on international markets thanks to Vinitaly Japan in Tokyo in November, the first edition with the Vinitaly brand in India in Mumbay and New Delhi, the third event in Russia with St. Petersburg as the innovation alongside well-consolidated Moscow, Vinitaly US Tour (Chicago, Los Angeles and Las Vegas) and Vinitaly China in Shanghai (China).
The International Packaging Competition welcomed liqueurs and spirits made from fruit other than grapes; previously, in 2005, the award had embraced spirits made from wine products.

2007


following successful on-line matching through the www.vinitaly.com site in previous years, Vinitaly launched "Taste Italy", a new initiative bringing together supply and demand. Here, the best Italian companies present to 5,000 international operators and trade journalists - through an innovative dispenser system - the "top products" and "new products" of the year.
Innovations also involved the International Wine Competition, thanks to an agreement between VeronaFiere and the exclusive Isetan fine food distribution chain in Japan, that in October 2007 saw the creation of sales corner for award-winning wines in its stores in Tokyo. Moreover, thanks to an agreement with Spazio Italy, the company winning the Italy section will enjoy 15 days of promotion in the area managed by Air Dolomiti/Lufthansa in the Italian departures area of Munich International Airport.
Vinitaly 2007 saw the creation of Genius Wines, an integrated system serving companies developed by the consortium between VeronaFiere, Federvini and Uiv. Objectives include the identification of new outlet markets and the promotion of Italian produce.
2007 came to an end with EU recognition of the quality, innovation and organisation levels achieved by VeronaFiere with its international initiatives in the wine field: Brussels in fact approved an EU project lasting three years (2008-2010) co-financed by Italy and the Italian Wine Union for about 4 million Euro to promote quality European wines in China, India and Russia, with VeronaFiere Authority as the actuator.
The Vinitaly World Tour continued its success. Vinitaly China confirmed its status as the main agro-foods exhibition in Asia.

2008


"Passionate Business" was launched as the synthesis of the operative mission and philosophy of VeronaFiere:: passion for wine and effective business. The largest wine exhibition in the world consolidates its international leadership thanks to a net show area of 86 thousand square metres fully booked by more than 4,300 exhibitors from more than 30 countries and visitors from more than 100 countries to celebrates 10 years of the Vinitaly World Tour. Following Vinitaly India in Mumbay and New Delhi in January, February welcomes the first of two Vinitaly US transfers scheduled this year in United States, this time to Miami and Palm Beach. In October, Vinitaly returns to Chicago and - for the first time - to New York and the capital Washington. The international calendar culminates with Russia in June and Japan and China in November.