The Vinitaly-led sales mission
for Italian wine at the second edition of "Wine Vision by Open
Balkan", the most important wine fair in south-east Europe,
attracting more than 600 exhibitors from 28 countries, began on
Thursday. The event, which runs until Sunday November 19,
features the presence of 50 Italian wineries representing 12
regions: Abruzzo, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia
Giulia, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany,
Trentino Alto Adige and Veneto (making up the lion's share of
exhibitors with 21). At the inauguration, Serbia President
Aleksandar Vučić, thanked Vinitaly - 'the largest wine fair in
the world' - for having accompanied 'leading Italian producers,
among the most renowned internationally' to Belgrade. Vinitaly,
in collaboration with the ICE Trade Agency, leads the Italian
delegation brought together in the Italy Area: more than 1,000
square meters of exhibition space welcoming professionals and
opinion leaders in a sector keen to discover or learn more about
Italy's impressive wine offering over four days. Master classes
and tastings are also on the schedule, along with a programme of
B2B meetings with importers and operators in order to make new
contacts and assess strategies and sales opportunities. Italian
companies attending "Wine Vision by Open Balkan" will be able to
meet selected buyers from 15 target markets: Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova,
Montenegro, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Hungary and Turkey. "The continental block descending
from the Baltic along the Balkans is one of the most promising
for Italian wine in terms of consumption," explained Maurizio
Danese, Managing Director of the Veronafiere centre, the owner
and organizer of Vinitaly. "Today, these countries are worth 320
million euros in terms of exports, with average annual growth
rates between 2010 and 2022 in the order of 10%. The positive
trend continued with another increase in the first seven months
of this problematic 2023, with a further leap in value of almost
20%. This is why Veronafiere is keen to improve its positioning
in, and penetration of, this macro-area, not the least in terms
of attracting buyers and promoting incoming attendance with a
view to the next Vinitaly show (14-17 April 2024) where the Open
Balkan group show will return following this year's success."
Sparkling and semi-sparkling products are the type of Italian
wine most exported to the 15 countries in south-east Europe
covered by the B2B event in Belgrade, with an overall share of
more than 55% in terms of value. Prosecco is growing very
strongly (30% of total), having exploded in the last two years,
especially in Poland and the Czech Republic. The latter are, in
order, the main importing countries of Italian wine, with a
share in excess of 60% of the overall market; followed by
Slovakia, Romania and Albania. The ribbon cutting ceremony for
the Italy Area at "Wine Vision by Open Balkan" was attended by
Veronafiere Managing Director Maurizio Danese, Veneto Governor
Luca Zaia, the Italian Ambassador to Serbia Luca Gori, the
Director of the ICE Trade Agency office in Belgrade, Antonio
Ventresca, and the Sales Director of Veronafiere, Raul Barbieri.
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