Good, clean and fair winemakers meet in Bologna at the Sana Slow Wine Fair from February 26 to March 1, 2022
December 14th – “It’s only been a few months since the Slow Wine Coalition was launched. Today, we are proud to announce the first gathering of this network: 600 wine producers from 12 countries have so far confirmed their participation in the Sana Slow Wine Fair, the first ever Terra Madre of wine”, announces Giancarlo Gariglio, coordinator of the Coalition. “We can already count on 120 international producers and 480 Italian ones, and the numbers are still rising.” The Slow Wine Coalition aims to unite everyone involved in the wine industry—producers, importers, distributors, wine bar owners, restaurateurs, sommeliers, communicators, journalists and enthusiasts—who are inspired by the idea of good, clean and fair wine for all.
Antonio Bruzzone, General Manager of BolognaFiere, says: “The interest we are seeing in the event and the number of people signing up to take part confirms the strategic importance of the project for producers who identify with this shift towards sustainability.”
The event is no typical wine fair, but the first ever meeting of vignerons, professionals and enthusiasts, who will discuss the future of the wine sector in light of the Slow Food Manifesto for Good, Clean and Fair Wine. The Manifesto sets out a series of principles for wine growing, agronomy and enology, and also considers biodiversity, the value of the landscape and the relationship with those who work in the vineyard and the winery. These are all issues that are of extreme urgency today and are closely linked to the great challenge of the climate emergency, which significantly affects the world of wine. Slow Food has long been at the forefront in tackling these issues, and with this event and the creation of the Slow Wine Coalition the association is once again a catalyst for change.
During the four days of the Sana Slow Wine Fair, hundreds of producers and activists will come together for conferences, debates and tastings and to exhibit thousands of wines from all over the world. Following the three pillars of the Slow Wine Coalition, which are environmental sustainability, protection of the landscape and the socio-cultural growth of the countryside, delegates from Europe, the USA and South America will share their views and experiences and pave a slower future for the wine sector, addressing the main challenges our world faces: the climate crisis, economic turbulence and social justice. This opportunity for debate and discussion among network members has been modeled on the experience of Terra Madre.
The showcase will be enriched by a collaboration with Società Excellence, which represents the 18 leading wine distributors in Italy. Saturday, February 26 will be dedicated to delegates with a plenary opening session and further conferences; Sunday, February 27, is instead dedicated to enthusiasts, while industry professionals will be welcomed to the Fair on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
The Slow Wine Coalition is an international alliance based on the desire to explore themes that are vital to the future of our planet, a desire that will find fertile ground in which to take root in Bologna and Emilia-Romagna, thanks to the willingness of all the participants involved in this initiative. The Slow Wine Fair has developed out of the partnership between Slow Food and BolognaFiere that was launched between the 2020 editions of Sana Restart, the International Exhibition for organic and natural products, and Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. To highlight the collaboration among these partners, the event in Bologna is named Sana Slow Wine. The Slow Wine Fair will also see the participation of FederBio, a long-standing partner of BolognaFiere with Sana and an active collaborator with Slow Food.
Slow Food is a worldwide network of local communities founded in 1989 in order to counteract the disappearance of local food traditions and the spread of fast food culture. Since then, Slow Food has grown to become a global movement that involves millions of people in more than 160 countries and works so that we can all have access to good, clean and fair food.
