Verona VinoFestival Debuts Featuring Local Wines and Regional Cuisine
The first edition of Verona VinoFestival will take place on Saturday, May 19, and Sunday, May 20, 2001, in the panoramic hall and in some meeting rooms of the Eurocongressi Hotel. The event aims to serve as a showcase for the high-quality local wine production, combined with the offer of typical regional products.
The Cavaion conference center was chosen because it is suitable for large events, but the organizers are aiming to establish an annual fixture, to be hosted at the Gran Guardia in Verona. Forty prestigious companies from the Verona province and two guest companies will participate in the two-day event: Cantina Produttori di San Michele Appiano from Bolzano and Fattoria Zerbina from Faenza.
Presentation and Objectives of the Event
As part of the event presentation, which took place yesterday morning at Verona in the Sala Rossa of the Palazzi Scaligeri, Verona VinoFestival president, Massimo Ghirardini, emphasized: “We want to present this first edition as a wine lounge, where visitors can taste, directly presented by the producers—who have been mandatorily asked to be present—over 160 varieties of wine produced in our province.”
May was chosen because during this period, white wine fully expresses its bouquet.” Albino Pezzini, the Agriculture councilor of the Province of Verona, added: “The event has already received the patronage of the Regione del Veneto, the Province of Verona, the Municipality of Cavaion, and the UNESCO Verona Center.”
This edition was also organized with the collaboration of Fondazione Arena di Verona, Cariverona Banca Spa, Siprem International, Tebaldi, Ip Industriale, Surgiva Natural Mineral Water, Image Carpi, and Eurocongressi Hotel.
Gastronomic Stands and Tastings
The mascot of VinoFestival will be Nabucco from Verdi, a mannequin dressed in the original costumes used in the Arena performances, graciously loaned by the Fondazione Arena di Verona.
At Verona VinoFestival, some gastronomic stands featuring typical Verona products will be present. Visitors will have the opportunity to purchase wine, with a dedicated stand set up for this purpose.
Lorenzo Simeoni of Vox Vinorum, the Wine Agency responsible for managing the two-day event, outlined the program of the Festival.
There will be three guided tastings: a vertical Soave Superiore Salvarenza from Gini from the years 98, 97, 96, 95, 91, 90; a vertical Soave Superiore La Rocca from Pieropan from 93, 90, 89, 88, 85, 84; and a vertical Amarone from Romano Dal Forno from 95, 94, 91, 90, 88.
Mayor’s Comment and Conclusion
Finally, the mayor of Cavaion, Giancarlo Sabaini, commented: “We are pleased that the municipality of Cavaion was chosen for the first edition of Verona VinoFestival. This event is launched in conjunction with the tourist season and will nicely complement the traditional Asparagus Festival, which will also take place in May.”