17.09.2021

17.09.2021

Successful Conclusion of Alto Adige Wine Summit
Alto Adige Wine Summit: Successful Conclusion of the Third Edition

The third Alto Adige Wine Summit 2021 ended with a thoroughly positive response from participants. Wine experts, trade journalists, and influencers from nine countries were able to not only taste the great diversity of Alto Adige wines, but also to exchange ideas with winegrowers and winemakers and to enjoy the combination of haute cuisine and top wines. The challenges of the future were also discussed: the
identification of the different cultivars within the DOC wine zone, the implementation of the sustainability strategy, and – of course – the upcoming 2021 harvest.

The focus of the 2021 Alto Adige Wine Summit was the great diversity and contrasts that characterize the winegrowing region of Alto Adige. A topic that generated a great deal of interest. “We are proud and pleased that we were able to welcome more than a hundred renowned representatives of the wine world to Alto Adige,” said Andreas Kofler, President of the Consorzio Alto Adige Wines, which organized the event
together with IDM Südtirol. Due to the pandemic, the participants were divided into small groups and the program was customized for each individual. “Of course, we cannot manage such an event on our own, so our thanks also go to our members, who made the most of this showcase of our wine diversity,” Kofler said.

No fewer than eighty producers took part in this year’s third edition. “The exchanges between them and the public from the field took place in person or digitally, and thus even those who could not travel because of the pandemic had the opportunity to participate,” explained Kofler, referring to “digital” participants from Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, and the United States.

One of the centerpieces of this year’s edition was a three-day tasting at the “NOI Techpark”, where the professional audience was able to taste around 260 wines, including rarities as well as wines that are not yet on the sales shelves. At the same time, the traditional Alto Adige combination of haute cuisine and top wines was again celebrated, not least with dishes specially created by Alto Adige star chefs. And also with unusual locations, including Alpine chalets on the Alpe di Siusi or at the foot of the Geisler, for example, the organizers knew how to surprise the participants at the summit.

The 2021 Alto Adige Wine Summit also served to shine the spotlight on current developments in the Alto Adige wine sector. “The situation on the market is still difficult as a result of the crisis,” said Bernhart. Yet he went on to add, “However, the local wine sector is doing everything it can to remain competitive by experimenting with new forms of communication, developing new sales models, and positioning ourselves so that we can move into the future even better, even more digitally, more flexibly, and more dynamically.” 

What awaits us in this future are also special challenges for the Alto Adige wine industry, as Martin Foradori, Vice President of the Consorzio Alto Adige Wines, emphasized. Within this context, Foradori named the identification of the different cultivars within the DOC wine zone as the most important project. “Our proposal is still sitting in the ministries in Rome, but if it is approved, it will be an enormously
important step towards an even closer bond between our wines and their terroir,” said the vice president of the Consorzio, who cited “the best possible interplay between location, vineyard, and variety” as the goal of the new geographical classification.

President Andreas Kofler, on the other hand, places the focus on the implementation of the 2030 Alto Adige Wine Agenda, with which the wine industry has embarked on the path to an all-around more sustainable future. “We are aware that each and every one of the measures defined in the Agenda requires a rethink,” said Kofler. “But we will nevertheless consistently pursue the path to even greater sustainability.” It also remained for the president to take a peek into the near future: at the 2021 harvest.
“If the weather remains as it has been in recent weeks, we expect an excellent vintage,” Kofler said. “It would be the well-deserved reward for the hard work that has been put into the vineyards in recent months.
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Credits: Alto Adige Wines/Mint Mediahouse
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Credits: Alto Adige Wines/Mint Mediahouse
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