Spending half a century trying the best international wines on the market: Vinitaly, Italy's greatest international wine competition and exposition, is indeed celebrating its 50th anniversary. This year, the so-called largest wine show in the world, which is held every April, this edition from the 10th to the 13th, and has been called the “most important convention of domestic and international wines,” is reaching new records: more than 4.100 exhibitors and operators in the wine sector hailing from more than 140 countries.

“A great future comes from a great past,” Maurizio Danese, president of Veronafiere (the Verona  Exhibition Authority, the organizer of exhibitions in Italy) has said, “Going over 50 editions of Vinitaly, created in 1967 in Verona as "Giornate del Vino Italiano" (The Days of Italian Wines) means retracing fifty years of the history of our beloved country. A country that has been able to make itself known and appreciated in the rest of the world. The 2016 edition wants to better represent the two faces of the wine business: economic and convivial, each to be enjoyed in the right place and at the right time. Veronafiere is making it very clear: business is taken care of in the pavilions while the wine festival is being held in the city's various restaurants and bars. Indeed, a couple of days before the show's opening we will launch Vinitaly&the City in order to involve consumers in a variety of activities all through the city. Our focus is both on the exhibitors and on the clients.”

Giovanni Mantovani, the General Manager of Veronafiere, added “This edition also marks the implementation of a strategic development project that will make of Vinitaly not only a year-long wine fair but much more: a community of producers, of leaders in the communications field and of international buyers who are able to come up with and let circulate ideas and trade relations on a global scale through Vinitaly International, OperaWine, VIA-Vinitaly International Academy, wine2wine, VinitalyWineClub, Sol&Agrifood, Enolitech and Awards such as the new 5 Star Wines Award.”

But that's not all. “This Vinitaly will have more international exhibitors,” Mantovani continued, “Not only in the designed area called Vininternational, which has already welcomed producers from Spain, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Serbia, Switzerland, Great Britain, France, China, Portugal and Argentina. This year we will have 1000 buyers coming from abroad in order to facilitate business with some target countries such as the USA and Canada, Japan, Germany and Austria. This activity brings together our efforts with the ones of the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e dello Sviluppo Economico (Ministry of Agriculture and Economic Development) and the ItalianTrade Agency.”

Italy's wine business, amounting at a total value of 12.4 billion euros, “has become source of pride for the country,” Danese added, “Thanks to companies that have been able to give unique value, with their own productions, to natural environments, rural landscapes, integrating the cultural offer of the territories.” In 2015 wine exports have exceeded 5.4 billion euros, which means a growth of 5.4% compared to 2014. This is a new record for Italian wines that need to continue being strong if we want to reach the 2020 goal of 7.5 billion euros that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi indicated during Vinitaly 2014.

Yet Vinitaly is not celebrating alone: indeed ten DOC wines are also celebrating five decades of presence on the market. From North to South these wines, which together outline the history and geography of the Italian wine sector, are: Vernaccia Di San Gimignano; Est! Est!! Est!!!; Ischia; Frascati; Bianco Di Pitigliano; Brunello Di Montalcino; Barbaresco; Barolo; Aprilia; and Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano. Each wine will be celebrated with special tastings in specially dedicated pavilions.

And in order to make the celebrations official all through the country, on the 11th of April the Italian Postal System will launch a new stamp dedicated to Vinitaly for its series focusing on Italian excellences.. wine is indeed an excellence that makes Italy stand out in the whole world.