Brussels 19 March 2024 More than 100 sector operators - including buyers, horeca and media professionals - attended this evening the Preview of the 56th Vinitaly hosted in the Residence of the Italian Ambassador to Belgium, H.E. Federica Favi.
The initiative, promoted by Veronafiere with the support of the Embassy and in collaboration with the ICE Trade Agency, the Italian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Wine Consortium, was the preliminary event for the presentation of the 2024 edition of the International Wine and Spirits Exhibition to be held tomorrow 20 March at the European Parliament.
Other speakers during the presentation to sector operators included the Italian Ambassador, Federica Fava, President of Veronafiere, Federico Bricolo, the Director of the ICE Trade Agency office in Brussels, Tindaro Paganini, the Secretary General of the Italian-Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Giorgio De Bin, and the founder and board member of the Italian Wine Consortium, Enrico Drei Donà. During the Gala Dinner, the Italian Wine Consortium proposed a selection of twenty-four wines from associate member companies described by the sommeliers of the AIS Clubs of Belgium and Luxembourg.
Vinitaly Previews are part of a programme of initiatives that the new governance at Veronafiere has implemented over the last two years to build, for the first time, a unified team to promote Italian wine by combining the know-how of the brand with input from the Italian Government, the reference Ministries, Embassies, entities and promotion structures to activate an increasingly intense agenda of sharing with players in the sector on a global scale.
“This event celebrates another excellence among the many Italy has to offer: our wine-makers. Italian wine exports to Belgium came to around 220 million euros in 2023, an encouraging result that can still be further improved. By working together, we can reach up to new heights and strengthen ties between our two countries, thereby paving the way for opportunities for shared growth and prosperity,” said Ambassador Federica Favi in her welcome speech.