On Wednesday I went to the first press conference of Wine in Venicea wine-themed event organised by Wine Tales which sets out to rewrite the classic canons of traditional industry events. Venice is a unique city in the world (well, in Portugal there is Aveiro, complete with canals, gondolas and styled houses... beautiful, but not quite the same thing...): it has about 700,000 works of art e 1,300 accommodation facilities serving more than 10 million tourists every year. After all, how can one not be fascinated by such beauty?
Thanks to the great teamwork of the Wine Tales, Beacon, Unique Venice e WineHoVenice has opened the doors of two prestigious locations full of charm - The Scuola Grande della Misericordia e Ca' Vendramin Calergi (i.e. the Venice Casino) - to give us a foretaste of what is set to become the Wine Red Carpet.
Wine in Venice: the press conference at Ca' Vendramin Calergi
The Venice Casino is always incredibly beautiful. Ca' Vendramin Calergi is a Venetian Renaissance palace overlooking the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district. I found the interiors more baroque and probably underwent alterations between the 17th and 18th century. Of the lecture, held in the beautiful fireplace hall, I did not take photos because I sent it all live on my Instagram profile (you can review it here). I will only say that I followed it with great pleasure as the topics were interesting and not at all soporific (as is sometimes the case!).
The event will last three days, 28 to 30 January 2023and will lead under the same sky (or should I say over the same water?). 20 cellarsone for each Italian region, which will be chosen - starting from a basic quality requirement - on the basis of the ethical, innovative and sustainable solutions adopted in the winery. The wineries will be guests, i.e. they will not pay for their participation, and this will help increase the perceived value of their presence.
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Wine in Venice: the manifesto
Sustainability.
Thinking about tomorrow at every stage of production is no longer a choice of product positioning, but a necessity that allows us to leave future generations a world still capable of being experienced.
From the presentation brochure
Innovation.
Take risks, experiment, try to improve, change the rules and when you have succeeded, change them again.
This is the only way to innovate, the only way to grow: a product, a sector or an economy.
From the presentation brochure
Ethics.
In its social meaning, an ethical product is a product conceived, designed and manufactured with full respect for those who worked on it before and those who will adopt it afterwards.
Chiara Bassi
For Ethics I took the liberty of using my own definition because the one in the brochure did not excite me as much as the others. OK, I admit it: I particularly liked the Wine in Venice manifesto because they are exactly the three themes I worked on for the Special Edition 2022 of my book Sommelier: the illustrated manual. My book is sustainable because it is printed on paper from wine processing waste, innovative because its concept has been overturned and ethical because every stage of production, from paper creation to binding, takes place in Italy. This represents a higher cost for me, but can you put the satisfaction?
Here's the full organising team... don't they look great? They are certainly full of ideas and goodwill... and I can't wait to attend to see if they will live up to the high expectations they have instilled in me with this day!
Wine in Venice: toasts and light lunch in the Salone delle Feste
Gianluca Bisol is the author of Venissa Venusa, Dorona Veneto IGT 2018a unique wine from a vineyard on the island of Mezzorbo. A white wine in which the maceration can be distinctly felt, but still manages to have a drinkability that I would describe as universal. I found it certainly pleasant, mineral and savoury, but the nose for me lacks a little complexity for the price range in which it is placed (48 € for the 75 cl bottle). The price however is certainly conditioned by the scarcity of the product and for me it is worth the experience.
A small caterer that had delicious mantecato cod meatballs, some cold cuts, sandwich bites, grana cheese, dried fruit and potato chips accompanied a very interesting wine with which I made more than a toast.
When the 'real' event takes place in the beautiful halls of the first piano nobile of Ca' Vendramin Calergi there will be the gala dinner... can there be a more beautiful place? I already expect to arrive on a beautiful boat, dock on the jetty of the Venice Casino, climb the grand staircase and find myself in an atmosphere that seems stolen from the set of a costume film.
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Book 'Sommelier: the Illustrated Manual' Special Edition 2022
All my notes on wine and food in one book.
€ 26,00 – € 30,00 VAT included!
Wine in Venice: Transfer by private boat to the Scuola Grande della Misericordia
The two locations are actually very close, but they let us admire a bit of Venice from the water and as always it was beautiful. About this transfer Blitz Exclusive I invite you to watch my live Instagram on my profile. La Scuola Grande di Santa Maria della Misericordia was a lay confraternity active between the 14th and 19th centuries that only associated patricians and regulated their rights and duties, with charitable purposes and real welfare functions. In 1806, with the advance of Napoleon, most of the Schools of Venice ceased their activities. Today it is a fluid space, suitable for hosting prestigious events such as Wine in Venice. In particular, it will host the 20 wineries chosen to represent the Italian regions and other side events.
The Scuola Grande della Misericordia is now hosting a collateral event of the 59th edition of the Venice Biennale "This is Ukraine: defending freedom (This is Ukraine: defending freedom)' which really touched me. Before this senseless war, I had never cared too much about the situation between Russia and Ukraine also because, I admit, I have never been very fascinated by what happens in Eastern Europe. However, I think it is hallucinating that in 2022 there should be stadium chants about who is right and who is wrong: no one has the right to invade a sovereign state and the freedom and self-determination of a people should be inalienable rights.
Of all of them, however, perhaps this is the work that impressed me the most: Lesia Khomenko, born in Ukraine in 1980, with her 'Max in the army' painted four volunteer soldiers from forbidden photos that her husband took. They are a computer engineer, a chemist, a lawyer and an artist who were leading a normal life only a few days before.
Another work I really liked is this lighthouse, whose reflected light paints the colours of peace. The lighthouse, a symbol of stability, solidity and freedom has here a bursting and evocative power. Beautiful.
A few steps from the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, right on the way to the station, I met the Ice Cream Bar... where I had a cone with pistachio cremino, pistachio and salted caramel that I count among the best of my life. What a great discovery!
What can I say... Wine in Venice recalls a fresh idea of luxury, where luxury is not ostentation but culture. Moreover, wine itself, in its not being strictly necessary for human life, can be considered a luxury good. Culture, however, makes it possible to distinguish a valuable wine from a cheap one, which of luxury has only the price. Until the next episode of Wine in Venice!
Cheers 🍷
Chiara
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