In this Masterclass, Professor Attilio Scienza and Marc Millon IWA, author of Italy in a Wineglass – the taste of history, explore the story of Italy through its wines. Italian wines, more so than wines from anywhere else in the world, hold within them such a rich concentration of stories and myths that link directly to Italian culture and civilisation. This tasting and discussion considers four wines that link us with the past, the present and the future.
VERONA, Italy, April 2, 2024 — Professor Attilio Scienza, Vinitaly International Academy’s Chief Scientist and Italy’s leading vine geneticist, and Marc Millon consider how the story of Italy is also reflected in the story of Italian wine. Italy is at once one of the most ancient wine producing countries in the world, with the vine cultivated continuously here for thousands of years, and yet at the same time, it is also one of the world’s most exciting and innovative.
At this Masterclass tasting, Scienza and Millon consider and discuss four wines that explore four themes. ‘Wine in antiquity’ is a recurring fascination as so many Italian wines have the power to connect us to the distant past, through ancient grape varieties that can be traced back scientifically, to the place where grapes have been cultivated for centuries and millennia, to stories and histories linked to wine. It’s not that we pretend that the wines of today are remotely similar in style or taste to the libations of antiquity; rather, by tasting wines with such profoundly deep cultural roots, our appreciation, pleasure and enjoyed can be enhanced meaningfully. ‘The Renaissance of modern Italian wine’ explores how Italy’s rich narrative continues to rewritten and reinvented, demonstrating that this is at once one of the oldest wine producing countries in the world, and at the same time one of the most creative and exciting. Italian society is intimately linked with Italian wine. For example, Italy is one of the most cooperative countries in the world and a full 60 percent of Italian wines are produced in cooperative wineries. ‘Heroic wines and the cooperative ideal’ considers how cooperative wineries have allowed people to remain on their land and to produce rare, heroic wines that otherwise would have been lost: the world of Italian wine is infinitely richer through their efforts. Finally, if the story of Italy is linked to the story of its wines, then it is natural that Italian wines are reflections of our most pressing concerns about our planet, climate change, and the need to adapt, a theme explored in ‘Sustainability and the wines of the future’.
Says Marc Millon IWA, “It is a great honour to share a platform with Professor Scienza, who has been such an inspiration to all who follow and love Italian wines and especially to all VIA Italian Wine Ambassadors. If the ever-intertwined stories and myths of Italy and of Italian wine reach back into the ancient past, Professor Scienza is uniquely placed to be able to comment on and draw connections to the wines of today, revealing how the story of Italian wines continues to be linked to the story of Italy, ieri, oggi e domani.”
The Wines
Grillo di Mozia, Fondazione Whitaker/Tenuta Tasca d’Almerita, Isola di Mozia, Sicily
Berlucchi ’61 Nature, Berlucchi, Cortefranca, Lombardy
Fresco di Masi, Masi, Gargagnago di Valpolicella, Veneto
Chaudelune Vin de Glace, Cave Mont Blanc, Morgex, Valle d’Aosta
The masterclass will be held on Sunday, 14 April 2024, from 12:30 to 13:30 (CEST). Full event details, including registration, are available at: https://www.vinitaly.com/en/events-calendar/vinitaly/vinitaly-2024/via-advanced-seminar-italy-in-a-wineglass-with-professor-attilio-scienza-and-marc-millon-iwa/
About Vinitaly
Vinitaly, the renowned wine event, is scheduled to take place from April 14th to the 17th 2024. Building on the success of Vinitaly 2023, which saw an impressive turnout of 93,000 visitors, including 29,600 top international buyers from 143 different countries, this year promises to be equally impactful. The premiere event, OperaWine “Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers,” takes place on 13 April 2024, the evening before Vinitaly itself kicks off, and brings international wine professionals together in the heart of Verona, offering a unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 131 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since its inception in 1998, Vinitaly has extended its global reach serving as a nexus for the global wine supply chain, facilitating connections and fostering collaboration among producers, buyers, and stakeholders. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of promoting and sharing the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe.
