Milan Wine Week 2021: Super press conference!

Last Monday I braved the hallucinating heat to answer the call of the Milan Wine Week 2021 and attend a press conference that turned out to be unmissable. Milanaptly named "Italy's gateway to Europe“, once again proved to be up to the task. I saw Milan Wine Week 2021 President Federico Gordini beaming with happinessAnd he really deserves it, given what he has pulled out of his hat in just four years! To be able to create such an important event in such a short time with such an 'alternative' format to the rigid world of trade fairs is truly lots of stuff! This new edition, which leaves us with bated breath until 2 October 2021, aims to re-launch the hospitality and catering sector through a palimpsest of experiences that places wine in close contact with art, fashion and design. All seasoned with a strong technological matrix emphasising presence experiences. 😍

In the beautiful setting of the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale, the press conference presenting the fourth edition of Milan Wine Week 2021 was held on 5 July. I start by making the congratulations to Zed Comm, a press agency I had already met at Venturini Baldini, in that splendid chateau in the Food Valley which I visited last May. The choice of transparent chairs was the right one so as not to interfere with the beautiful location, worthy of a design capital.

“The world of wine starts again in Milan"How nice to read this sentence! There is indeed a great need for a new start, for everyone! I am deeply convinced that - in the end - Covid will be for this sector above all an accelerator of inevitable events that will put those who know how to innovate at the centre. And the key word of Milan Wine Week 2021 is precisely innovation, thanks to the new App that will allow visitors to create an itinerary tailored to their interests, planned in detail and capable of interacting with the city's excellence. The mayor Beppe Sala has declared himself certain of the support that Milan Wine Week will be for the wine industry and for the catering and hospitality sectors, and given the premises, I absolutely agree!

The calendar includes hundreds of appointments spread over nine days, which will once again have as their headquarters Palazzo Bovara in Corso Venezia, but the schedule will be distributed in every corner of Milan among historical buildings, squares, and clubs. The meetings will be run in full compliance with safety regulations, although I hope that by October most will already be on their second dose of vaccine! On my side, I can tell you that my antennae have not sprouted ...

The thing that fascinated me the most is the digitisation of all the wine lists of Milan's restaurants: we will finally be able to choose the restaurant according to the type of wine we want to drink! Milan will in fact become the first city in the world where, thanks to a mobile app, you can choose where to go for dinner according to the label you want to consume... isn't it extraordinary?

During Milan Wine Week 2021, the app will be enriched with tailor-made proximity experiences and playful moments, but its life after the event, thanks to the digitisation of the wine lists I just told you about, will be the most valuable contribution to the restart of the sector's operators.

The second watchword of Milan Wine Week 2021 is synergy and I believe in this word. To this end, I want to share a photo with my favourite prof: Francesca Romana Barberini, Head of Food of Milan Wine Week 2021. As you probably know, I am studying L-GASTR at university and she was my History of Food and Wine professor (my first A+!). What a pleasure to meet you in person, I hope we will have other opportunities and I am sure you will do a wonderful job!

After the conference a aperitif in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele at Biffi. Neither good nor bad, but the charm of sitting here remains extraordinary. And I also tasted a Ligurian wine that I really liked, which I'll just have to investigate... 😋

I was very happy to re-embrace my dear colleagues Francesco Cannizzaro and Gabriele Scalici, who I hope will also visit me soon in Monte Isola... possibly with some good bottles to taste. At home I always have eggs and semolina for a good dish of pappardelle!

... one more thought

Forgive me for this last note I am about to make... but I feel it is necessary. When I was offered a glass of wine at the toast in the Sala delle Cariatidi I asked the waitress what it was and she replied: "Prosecco di Franciacorta!". Now, I may be a pain in the ass by trade, but seriously? Seriously, the waitresses serving wine for the toast at a press conference packed with journalists, bloggers and dignitaries of all kinds were not at least told the name of the wine poured? And then - this is 'serious' I know - with all the sommeliers and wine enthusiasts 'out and about' in times of pandemic, couldn't we have entrusted this service to a more knowledgeable person?

I believe that Milan Wine Week 2021 can really placing Milan at the centre of wine promotion Italian - on the world championship for the time being I will not comment - however it is essential to take care of every detail, even the most insignificant, because even the last train carriage communicates with the first and arrives at its destination at the same time.

Cheers 🍷

Chiara

All my notes on wine and food in one book.