Two thousand years ago, Italy was known as ‘Enotria’, the ‘Country of wine’, and it still retains a heritage, unique in the world, of 594 varieties, a third of the ones existing in the world, 544 of which are autochthonous. Biodiversity, history, and Italian tradition of vine and wine are told at Expo, in ‘Wine - A taste of Italy’ pavilion, realized by the Ministry of Agriculture with Veronafiere-Vinitaly, according to the lines of a specifically appointed scientific committee. This journey begins in ‘Domus Vini’, a space on the ground floor that is architecturally inspired by ‘Domus Aurea’. Its top is closed by a frescoed ceiling with a vine tree, which symbolize biodiversity. A multimedia narration tells about wine, grape harvest, and the processing stages in winery.
From Domus, the visitors go to the hall of glasses and colours of wine. Here on a marble slab, lit by a skylight, 12 crystal amphorae are arranged. They contain the main colours of wine. On the side walls, in crystal cases, archaeological finds are exposed. They come from ‘Lungarotti’ museum of wine at Torgiano (Perugia) and consist in containers for drinking wine, belonging to all ages: from jugs and containers dating back to more than two thousand years ago up to the free interpretations of twentieth-century and contemporary artists and designers.
In all this, the visitors are involved in a multi-sensory experience of scents, sounds, and images.
On the first floor the ‘wine shop of the future’ is set up. Here, with professional sommeliers’ guide, for the duration of Expo it is possible to taste 1,400 Italian wines and spirits, provided by modern enodispensers. Monitors and displays provide indications concerning both labels and territories of origin. Through ‘WINE - A taste of Italy’ official app, by answering five quick questions, it is possible to discover one’s Italian Wine Profile, with a list of ad hoc designed wines, according to their tastes. Later the visitor can give a vote to each tasted wine and buy bottles online on the e-commerce platform of ‘Vinitaly Wine Club’.
The calendar of the most recent events / tasting is available at www.vino2015.com. For info and reservations, click on the individual events in the ‘events’ section of the website.
- In the first two months of opening:
- 450,000 visitors
- 20% of which are foreigners, especially from China
- 750 companies proposed their wines
- 1,400 labels
- 135,000 tastings
- 200 events and conferences
