Food and wine events in Italy21 September 2018
2018, the year of Italian food in the world: food as a business card
A whole year dedicated to Italian food, which has always been the pride and heritage of our country. 2018 is “the international year of Italian food in the world”. In the year dedicated to sustainable tourism by the UN, the objective of the initiative is to make citizens and businesses aware of the need to enhance the cultural and natural characteristics of the Italian national territory. The food and wine events in Italy are the mirror of a land that is an inexhaustible source of flavors and traditions which are the result of many contaminations. Italian food and wine, together with the architectural and artistic heritage, attract the admiration of foreigners who are always conquered by our hospitality, by the desire to give wellbeing and to share the countless local customs.
Let’s see some of the most relevant events:
Vinitaly – from 15 to 18 April
Vinitaly is an international exhibition of wine and spirits, held in Verona since 1967, every year. Vinitaly covers more than 95 thousand m², has more than 4 thousand exhibitors per year and records about 150 thousand visitors per edition. The show collects producers, importers, distributors, restaurateurs, technicians, journalists and opinion leaders.
Every year it hosts over fifty wine tastings of Italian and foreign wines and offers a conference program that addresses the main issues related to the supply and demand of the wine market. In addition to the exhibition areas dedicated to wine producers, the show consists of workshops, buyers clubs and special exhibition areas to promote Made in Italy and introduce emerging companies to the market.
Feast of the knot of love – 3rd Tuesday of June
On the 3rd Tuesday of June there is a highly anticipated annual event, on the Visconti Bridge in Borghetto sul Mincio in Verona, where the Feast of the knot of love takes place: an outdoor dinner for 3,300 people, sitting at a table more than 1 km to celebrate the Nodo d’Amore, the real Tortellino di Valeggio sul Mincio. The festival is inspired by the story of the love between the nymph Silvia and Captain Malco whose passion is symbolized by a lovingly knotted yellow silk drape. And to this love knot are inspired by the 1300kg of tortellini, strictly handmade, which are served during the dinner on the historic bridge. The menu aims to be a ballet of flavors and fragrances under the banner of the Veronese agri-food system and of the entire country.
“Festive air” for the San Daniele PDO Prosciutto – from the 22nd to the 25th of June
There is “festive air” from 22 to 25 June in San Daniele del Friuli in the province of Udine, the extreme north-eastern corner of Italy. Every year the Consortium of the famous San Daniele ham organizes a feast to celebrate this unique DOP. The whole event is a unique opportunity to discover a product with a recognizable denomination for the characteristic guitar shape, the presence of the paw and the brand in focus of the Consortium.
The whole supply chain is characterized by a deep attention and care in the choice of raw materials, only pork meat born and reared in Italy and sea salt, and in the preparation which knowledge has been passed on for generations. The secret of success is all here and in the microclimate of San Daniele del Friuli, where the winds coming from the Alpi Carniche meet with the breezes coming from the Adriatic creating the best conditions for a natural maturation that lasts at least 13 months. Prosciutto is subjected to an exclusive phase, the pressing: the legs are in fact pressed for a long time to let the salt penetrate evenly.
Rice Fair – from 12 September to 7 October
Riso (and Risotto) Fair in Isola della Scala in the province of Verona, the largest national event in the sector, and takes place from 12 September to 7 October 2018. Established in 1966 by the rural tradition that celebrated the annual fine harvest. It was characterized by the delicious “creation” of the recipe of Risotto all’Isolana that also celebrates the rice Vialone Nano Veronese, the first in Europe to have obtained the protected geographical indication. The center of the culinary event is the Palariso, an architectural structure that recalls the shape of the grain, a true temple of Italian risotto.
To prepare it, chefs from different regions of Italy and master “risottari” with hundreds thousands of cooked risottos experience. A unique and incomparable experience, which can be found in the flavors and aromas of their exceptional dishes. And the Fair is not just food because there is also one of the most visited sample fairs in northern Italy, with 150 exhibitors from different regions of the “boot”.
Eurochocolate – from 19 to 28 October
Eurochocolate is an annual event dedicated to the culture of chocolate, which takes place in Perugia in October. Created by architect Eugenio Guarducci in 1994, the event is dedicated to the Italian and international chocolate tradition. Through the special Eurochocolate World section, the event brings together the cocoa-producing countries, which present their uses, customs, traditions and typical cocoa-based products in the Rocca Paolina.
The event benefits from the high patronage of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the support and patronage of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the world’s largest organization of cocoa producers and processors in the world. chocolate and final consumers.
Festa del Torrone – from 17 to 25 November
From 17th to 25th November, Cremona will be transformed into a real Dantesque circle, but in its paradisiac version, because the theme is “gluttony”. The nougat festival in Cremona is a regular event for the city of violin makers: an event that has been staged since 2000 and which aims to highlight one of the confectionery excellences of Lombardy (and Italy in the world).
Among the most awaited moments of the festival every year there is the re-enactment of the marriage between Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti (October 25th 1441), with a historical procession involving more than 100 people in period costumes. Legend has it that during this marriage the court chefs decided to amaze the guests by improvising a mixture of honey, toasted almonds, egg white structured so as to remember the bell tower (“torrione”) given as a dowry to the bride.
The origin of the nougat seems to date back to the Arabs who spread the recipe around the year 1000, but then each region of the Peninsula has readjusted the original recipe with ingredients typical of the area concerned.
