The international promotion of Italian wine is restarting in China, the first country in the world to have endured the Covid-19 emergency crisis, and the first country to start up again. The “Vinitaly Roadshow” started today and will make stops in three of the most important cities in China: Shanghai (September 14th), Xiamen (September 16th) and Chengdu (September 18th). The tour will narrate the excellence of Italian wine in one of the biggest markets in the world. Vinitaly created the wine tour in partnership with Pacco Communication Group, and they will also stage the first edition of “Wine To Asia”, scheduled November 9th to 11th, in Shenzhen.

The Vinitaly initiative comes at a very delicate moment for the wine world in China impacted by an import crisis from which Italy is obviously not excluded. According to the analyses of Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) from customs data, Vinitaly noted that in the first half of 2020, China registered a sharp decline in Made in Italy wine imports, in bottled still wines (-29.4%) and in sparkling wines (-36.2%). These figures reflect the overall wine imports in China. In the first half of the year, still wines dropped -32.4% (more than 750 million US dollars) compared to the same period in 2019, and sparkling wines lost -30.8%. The tour that began today confirms China’s desire to resume its system activity. It has put together the longtime experience of Veronafiere in Asia with Vinitaly, the foreign commerce institute, ICE, through “I Love ITAlian at the service of Made in Italy Wine exports” and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for the 3rd edition of the Vinitaly Roadshow.

VeronaFiere explained, they have established an extensive network of commercial relations and partnerships that include to cover the three stops on the tour: Design Shanghai of the Clarion Events group, Xiamen Valued Show, Chengdu Bucciano, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, Grapea and the experts trained by Vinitaly International Academy, Florentia Village, Campari Group and De Longhi Caffè. The activity of the Arena di Verona Foundation will also be promoted during the roadshow. The very first week dedicated to Italian wine, the “Italian Wine Week” is being held from September 13th to 19th in 20 wine bars and bistros in the city of Shanghai. Plus, the largest e-commerce platform dedicated to natural wines, Bruto, will open a special section dedicated to Italian wine producers in the same week. 65 exhibiting companies and 700 Italian wine labels will take part in the 2020 edition, and some of the numerous activities include: b2b meetings for importers and (Ho.Re.Ca.), both in- person and digital form; activities targeted to art gallery owners, wine bars, fine dining restaurants, architecture studios; walk-around tasting and master classes dedicated to the theme, “Chinese women and Italian wine”, curated by Lingzi He, winner of the Vinitaly 2019 Leon Liang International Award and the first VIA Academy Expert. Further, the only Chinese Master of Sommelier, Yang LV will hold a class on the theme “Italian wine and Chinese catering”. Wine buyers and trainers are also expected to participate, as well as the top wine education schools in China in the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou and the Municipality of Chongqing.

A mini-app has been created on WeChat (the same as in 2019) to back up all pre-event promotional activities and the event itself. The app, together with collaborations targeting the main medias and influencers including Julie Tu, the most important KOL of spirits in China, contributes to creating a targeted and profiled participant involvement in the three initiatives.

“This is a considerable step and a significant moment for the Veronafiere group’s activity in a year marked by the global pandemic. We are starting up again from Asia, in China, with a system event that provides for physical presence in support of wine, one of the leading Made in Italy products, which, like others, is feeling the effects of the international lockdown. The Vinitaly Roadshow will also be a lever to promote “Wine To Asia”, the international wine show that Veronafiere, with the joint venture Shenzhen Baina International Ltd., is organizing November 9th -11th in Shenzhen”, emphasized Giovanni Mantovani, managing director of Veronafiere.

“We are extremely pleased to launch this cycle of events to promote Italian wine in China, as it is the first appointment following the Covid-19 emergency. The event is taking place in Shanghai, Xiamen and Chengdu, thanks to the collaboration of the ICE Agency and Veronafiere-Vinitaly, with the support of the Consulates of Shanghai, Chongqing and Canton. These events include creating training courses and wine tasting cycles of products from highly qualified Italian wineries, intended for importers, distributors and specialized media in the sector. The aim is to promote knowledge of Italy’s winemaking excellence and help launch Italian brands on the Chinese market in the current phase of rapid acceleration of domestic consumption”, said Gianpaolo Bruno, Director of the ICE Office in Beijing and coordinator of the ICE Offices in China and Mongolia.

Vinitaly in China together with ICE confirms the seriousness of the Verona company, even in this challenging market situation, brought on specifically by the health emergency.