The importance Vinitaly has given to the Indian market is evident as the President, Federico Bricolo, Vice President Romano Artoni and General Manager Adolfo Rebughini of Veronafiere founded in 1898 and owner and organisers of Vinitaly  were present in Delhi, as was the Italian Ambassador Antonio Bartoli and the Elected President(2024-25) of ICC Abhyuday Jindal– Managing Director of Jindal Stainless and Director General of the ICC, Rajeev Singh who came with a large contingent to manage the events on March 7 and 8.

Ambassador Bartoli hosted a dinner on March 7 at his residence where the food and Italian wine were the protagonists as the 12 producers showing the wines, presented them for tasting as the evening progressed. As they told us, it was a Preview and many more were to be offered for tasting the next day at Hotel Vivanta in Dwarka.

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‘The 12 producers’ was really a bit of a misnomer. Many wineries from different regions were participating through a collective consortium. For instance Consorzio Italia del Vino is the marketing group for 25 wineries, many of historic significance. Similarly UVA Italy is a Milan- based network group marketing for 11 wineries in different regions of Italy from Sicily to Piemonte. Piemonte Land represents 14 wine producers that are in the UNESCO World Heritage site for over a decade, since 2014. Angelini Wines and Estates from Veneto represented wines from 6 wineries including Bertani which invented Amarone in 1959. Two of the Italian Big B’s were represented by G D Vajra Barolo and Az. Ag. Cortese Giuseppe which tasted 3 different single vineyards of Rabaja in Barbaresco.

Masciarelli and Hadrianum had some amazing wines from an undervalued Italian region Abruzzo: the latter had even a range of fascinating bottles. Other exhibitors were Foss Marai (earlier imported by Ace Beveragez) with a titillating range of Prosecco and Spumante Rose wines.

Scriani from Valpolicella, Maria Faretra, a small producer from Puglia were also pouring generously, Boschetto Campacci is a respectable producer of Chianti Classico, in partnership with the internationally acclaimed winemaker Riccardo Cotarella (the other brother Renzo is the celebrated winemaker and CEO of Antinori).

If one looked at it realistically, there were about 60 producers representing practically all the 20 regions of Italy from Piemonte to Puglia. It was a kaleidoscope of wines from diverse regions. With about 600 bottles imported, it was an interesting product mix of various qualities and characteristics. There were not as many people that could have or should have been attending but everyone present seemed to enjoy the day and the wines. Morning session was reserved for B2B while the afternoon sessions were reserved for wine connoisseurs. Entry to both the events was on a free Registration basis.

It was heartening to see the Ambasciatore present almost the whole day on 8 March, meeting anybody who wanted to shake hands with him- he was also present the whole evening the previous day. So were all the dignitaries from their home base Verona. The first day was a preview, a trailer if you will, on what Vinitaly has to offer on 6-9 April 2025.

In a conversation with Adolfo Rebughini whether it might become an annual feature, he was positive but non-committal. “We decided to participate late as several producers had been pushing us to participate in India with the roadshow too. As a part of ‘Vinitaly Around the World’ Vinitaly Roadshows have become a regular feature now, with US (Chicago), China (Beijing, Chengdu, Wuhan Shenzhen), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Serbia (Belgrade) and South America (Brazil). This helps penetrate the market and also helps the international branding of Vinitaly.

The Show had been slated for 2 days- the first day was only reserved for the dinner hosted by the Ambassador. Several importers and B2B stakeholders attended the evening. By all indications, it should have been held for 2 full days. For serious importers and connoisseurs, it is difficult to seriously taste more than 50 wines in a day. One needs at least a couple of days to taste a majority of wines. In international wine competitions where I have been a judge for 20 years at over 70 competitions, the 50 wines tasting per day is an acceptable norm. Add the meeting and interacting time with importers, one day is not sufficient.

Of course, India still suffers from the fact that most business stakeholders do not consider tasting wines as part of their job. Daily chores take precedence and tasting is merely optional and secondary for them. Restaurant managers are not inclined to taste because they feel it is not important for them to refine their palate or taste different wines and vintage and learn various nuances of wines, which is in the blood of international producers and consumers alike, especially in the Old World.

Moreover, Dwarka is still not able to attract people- with 1.5-2 hours of travel each day each way. The road network is bad and it is still work-in-progress, although the Hotel Vivanta belonging to Tata’s IHCL did a commendable job in the wine service and other allied activities- perhaps even better than many 5-star hotels in Delhi.

Indian Chamber of Commerce did a commendable job, considering they had no experience of handling wine events but the well- oiled organization machine handles several such events regularly and it took them no time to learn the ropes and things fell in place and at the end, they proved to be a valuable partner for Vinitaly India Roadshow.

While it will be boon for the Indian Wine industry and culture, Delhi government has been positive and helpful for the cause of wine promotion (perhaps not only due to the change in government) but it was a Roadshow of acceptable international standards and one hopes the producers were satisfied for the maiden attempt and will support the Italian wine industry and their potential Indian partners.

Masterclasses are a backbone of awareness and education. One hopes there would be more of them than just the one organised for the Piemontese wines by the Piemonte Land.

Also Read : Vinitaly Indian Roadshow in Delhi on 7-8 March a Must-Visit Show

All in all, an excellent Roadshow, thanks also to the variety and quality of wines. My conclusion after informally talking to many people who sampled the wines was that over 80% of them felt that the wines, which range from around €4- 120 in the Italian wine shops, were delicious.

One hopes that Mumbai would be added to the circuit next time. It would marginally increase the costs but would add a new market for the wines. With time, Italian wine lovers from other parts of India would be willing to travel to either city gladly. For those who want to move to the next level, there is always Vinitaly in Verona which this year will be organised as always, by Veronafiere on April 6-10.

Cheers! Salute!! Jai Ho!!!

Subhash Arora