Slow Wine Fair 2023 showcases sustainable, climate-friendly wine
The second edition of the Slow Food event for good, clean and fair wine in Bologna, Italy
From February 26 to 28 with over 500 exhibitors from 26 countries
Winemakers, professionals and enthusiasts return to Bologna, Italy to continue their revolution in the wine world:
Slow Wine Fair is the second international gathering of the Slow Wine Coalition, an inclusive and collaborative network that brings together the protagonists of the wine world to shape the future of wine, following in the footsteps of Terra Madre, the largest Slow Food gathering, which is organized biannually in Turin, Italy. The Slow Wine Coalition is represented by over 100 international winemakers and enthusiasts from 24 countries who come together to share their values, experiences and challenges—as well as potential solutions. Among others, the Fair hosts delegates from France, Turkey, Croatia, Chile, Georgia, Uzbekistan, the USA and Ukraine, as well all regions of Italy.
Pressing Issues
“Climate change is an urgent issue for winemakers, as highlighted by last summer. There are reasons for optimism, however, such as the growth of organic winemaking that restores soil fertility and plant health. These topics will be addressed during the conferences, debates and tastings at the Fair,”
explains Giancarlo Gariglio, coordinator of the Slow Wine Coalition
.
Through the promotion of slow wine, Slow Food aims to shape the future of winemaking—a paradigm shift is necessary in a wine world still heavily reliant on the use of chemicals, where monocultures are damaging the biodiversity of the most prestigious terroirs. Forward-thinking winemakers are well aware of the need to change course, and Slow Food is working to build a system whereby wine can become a tool for the cultural rebirth of the countryside, in which winemakers are custodians of the land and promoters of a system that protects rural landscapes, restores biodiversity and promotes the socio-cultural growth of the countryside.
“Slow Wine Fair is the only event with a Tasting Committee that selects the wineries in the catalog so that Italian and foreign buyers can find companies that truly reflect the philosophy of good, clean and fair,”
Continues Gariglio.
The Commission includes editors of the Slow Wine guide and international journalists such as Deborah Parker Wong from the United States and Juan Gualdoni from Argentina.
Everyone can be part of the change by signing the Manifesto for Good, Clean and Fair wine, a document which aims to foster dialog among consumers, wine makers and professionals and motivate the members of the Slow Wine Coalition to take concrete, consistent actions in support of this transformation.
THE PROGRAM
Conferences
The Slow Wine Fair startS before the end of February: in the weeks before the event, three Conferences highlight the main themes of the Fair.
All will be freely available online and translated in Italian and English.
*The conferences of the Slow Wine Fair are held online in the weeks before the Fair in Bologna, and are open to all. You must register in order to follow the conference with live translation. The conferences will also be broadcast live – without translation – on the home page. You can request a certificate of participation by writing to slowinecoalition@slowfood.it. In order to receive the certificate you must participate in the Zoom call with your name and surname indicated.
Wine and the climate crisis
2022 will be remembered as one of the hottest, driest years ever… so far.
The effects of global warming are evident, and catastrophic, above all for those who work in the countryside. In 2022 we’ve had numerous problems, from asphyxiated vines to grape brunches with almost no veraison, espalier-grown vines where steel wires were still visible because they hadn’t been covered by vine growth, harmful insects, a prolonged lack of water… and then there are the measures we’ve put in place to mitigate the crisis, from systems to maintain or increase soil fertility to community collaboration to make wineries more economically sustainable.
Winemakers, facing such an emergency, have responded by trying to interpret the needs of their plants and learn for the future, applying an ecosystemic approach. They’ve seen the message that nature is sending us up close. Now we must dedicate our energies to study, to scientific research and to enacting practicable solutions.
How can we confront the climate crisis, starting with the soil? What signs should winemakers be looking for in their vines? What role does agroecology play? What are the fundamental steps to take in the vineyard in order to reduce environmental impact and mitigate the climate crisis?
Speakers:
Adriano Zago, founder of Cambium Formazione, the first international Master’s course in biodynamic wine
Franco Meggio, Professor in the Department of Agronomy, University of Padova
Alberto Acedo, co-founder of Biome Makers, biotecnology entrepreneur
Martina Broggio, sustainable viticulture consultant
Life is organic
Sometimes organic wine risks being seen as a fashion, so it’s important that we take further steps to raise public awareness of the benefits of organic agriculture for soil fertility, for plant health, and for parsimonious resource use – above all water use – as well as a form of climate change mitigation.
On February 22 at 6 p.m. CET gives us an opportunity to reflect on organic farming, starting with an analysis of the current situation before drawing some potential future scenarios. It is important to raise public awareness of the benefits of organic agriculture for soil fertility, for plant health, and for parsimonious resource use – above all water use – as well as a form of climate change mitigation.
Sign up to follow the conference with live translation
SLOW WINE ARENA
The stories and struggles of the Slow Wine Coalition members take center stage at the Slow Wine Arena, a political space where protagonists of the wine world share experiences and solutions to ensure a future for good, clean and fair wine around the world. Speakers from France, Croatia, Ukraine, Turkey, Spain, Italy and beyond explore a range of relevant topics from the changing geography of winemaking landscapes to the challenges involved in making glass wine bottles more sustainable. A special workshop dedicated to all Slow Wine Coalition members will trace the next steps for the future.
Find out more: https://slowinefair.slowfood.it/en/conferences/
MASTERCLASSES
At Slow Wine Fair there will also be several Masterclasses: guided tastings to explore the Italian and international wine panorama, as well as the world of amaro liqueurs, including wines from the Caucasus, great reds and whites from France, important Italian wines from 2010, Champagne from Maison Lombard.
“With Slow Wine Fair, BolognaFiere has enriched and consolidated its offering of events on the subject of sustainability,”
“and the 2023 edition of Slow Wine Fair is a promising proposition for the wine sector. We wanted to extend the possibility of participating to spirits and bitters too, while another section of the Fair will be dedicated to producers of innovative technological solutions related to the wine supply chain—the true partners of sustainability.”
– Domenico Lunghi, Direct Events Director at BolognaFiere,
THE WINE RETAIL AWARDS FOR TERROIR AND SLOW SPIRIT
One of the new features of Slow Wine Fair for 2023 is the Wine Retail Awards: Terroir and Slow Spirit Edition, awarded by enthusiasts and professionals to establishments selling wine in a range of categories, all of them good, clean and fair. The awards are the result of a collaboration between Slow Food and Milano Wine Week. Throughout January nominations have been collected and the public can now express their preferences, before leaving the final word to the jury of experts who will decide the final winners, who will be announced at Slow Wine Fair on February 27.
The Awards are the first edition of a spin-off of the MWW Awards that celebrate the best selections of good, clean and fair wine in hospitality and retail. These Terroir and Slow Spirit Awards thus join the more than 100 awards handed out at the Milano Wine Week, strengthening the bond between wine enthusiasts and establishments who offer good, clean and fair wines.
A special edition of the Wine Retail Awards Italia
To decide the winners we have a jury of experts, who’ll pick from among the selections made by the wider public.
“At the heart of the Slow Food project on wine there are the three protagonists of the Slow Wine Coalition: winemakers, enthusiasts and professionals. That’s why we want to highlight the work of those whose jobs involve selling wine: they’re the mediators between those who make wine and those who drink it,”
says Giancarlo Gariglio, coordinator of the Slow Wine Coalition and editor of the Slow Wine guide.
“The risk is that we’re running is that we forget about these people, who should instead be recognized for their work. That’s why we’ve embarked on this ambitious project in collaboration with Milano Wine Week, who have vast experience in this field.”
The eight terroirs
There are eight awards which will go to three restaurants and wine merchants who have a particularly strong selection of wines from different terroirs, from Barolo and Chianti to the Mosel and Slovenian wine.
Four Slow Spirit Categories
And it doesn’t stop there! Slow Wine Fair will also be awarding prizes to wine merchants in thematic categories:
– Best selection of wines from native grape varieties
– Best selection of certified organic and/or biodynamic wines
– Best value-for-money wine list
– Best selection of good, clean and fair Italian wines available abroad
Practical information
All wine enthusiasts can come to the event on Sunday, February 26.
Industry professionals—importers, distributors, restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine merchants—can come to the event on Sunday, February 26, Monday, February 27 and Tuesday, February 28.
More info: https://slowinefair.slowfood.it/en/tickets-and-times/
Some of Slow Wine exhibitors and delegates:
Chiara Condello, Italy – After starting her career in the financial sector, Chiara moved back home to the countryside of Romagna to save some vines under threat, convinced that they still had much to offer.
Sarah Lagarde, France – Sarah Lagarde is an educator working to promote organic and cleaner form of farming in one of the world’s best known wine regions: Burgundy
Sabiha Apaydın, Turkey – Turkey is in the top five countries worldwide in terms of vineyard area and Sabiha Apaydın is working to save some old vineyards in Cappadocia through an awareness-raising campaign, a symposium and a dedicated Slow Food community.
Slow Wine Fair
Slow Wine Fair is organized by BolognaFiere and SANA, International Exhibition of Organic and Natural Products, under the artistic direction of Slow Food. The Fair enjoys the support of ICE – Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, FederBio, the patronage of the Emilia-Romagna Region, and the partnership with Amaroteca and ANADI – National Association of Italian Bitters.
SLOW WINE FAIR 2023
26 – 28 February
Bologna, Italy