(29 Jun 2015) LEAD IN:
Wine lovers are toasting an extensive showcase of Italian wine at the Milan Expo.
More than one thousand different labels are on display, with high tech dispensing machines helping customers to taste their favourite drop.
STORY-LINE:
Italy's Wine Pavilion at the Milan Expo can be dizzying - not because of the wine, but because of the selection.
Its high-tech tasting room houses 1,300 labels from across Italy. Rarely are so many on offer to the curious and the connoisseur in one place.
"In our pavilion, visitors will be able to drink the authentic must of wine production and our most famous wines in the world, like Brunello di Montalcino, Amarone, and Barolo," says Marcello Milo, Head Sommelier at Italy's Wine Pavilion.
"Or upon advice of my fellow sommeliers, they'll be able to taste our autochthonous - locally-grown - grapes to widen their knowledge of the extraordinarily diverse wine production in this country," he says.
Milo is one of twelve sommeliers in the pavilion, ready to point customers to the bubbly, bold, sweet or sour varieties. Visitors can browse the labels and, with the swipe of a coupon, taste three different ones of their choosing.
To lure the "do-it-yourself" taster, Italian wine association Vinitaly, created an app for the pavilion. It's called Vino.
"The app is an indispensable tool for visitors, to know what we offer to taste," says Milo.
"Through this app, which you can download for free on the App Store or Google Play, visitors will be able to create their own wine profile based on their taste or wine-related preferences. The app will suggest to our clients which labels to taste," he says.
All 1,300 labels are for sale, and with a tap of the app, a bottle can be mailed to your doorstep. The wines come from all 20 regions of Italy, and sell from $8 a bottle upwards.
With millions of visitors expected at the Expo, the technology will help the free flow of wine.
Italy boasts 594 types of grapes, about one third of all varieties on the planet.
The three-story Wine Pavilion, in the Italian Square at Milan Universal Expo, was designed by Italian architect Italo Rota.
But before visitors can reach the wine tasting room, a series of multi-media installations remind them of Italy's wine history.
"In the Wine Pavilion we find the grandiose history of Italian wine. It's a journey that goes back 2,500 years," says Vinitaly Director, Giovanni Mantovani.
"Then we find a big section dedicated to the arts. This art, through the Sea of Wine installation, illustrates many moments in the history of Italian wine in everyday life," Mantovani says.
Of Italian-made food and drink, wine is the most exported product. The Italian Institute of Statistics (Istat) reports that the Italian wine industry is worth $5.6 billion. More than 50 percent of its sales last year were made abroad.
"It's a great moment for Italian wine at the international level, especially in our classic markets, such as Europe, northern Europe, the US, and North America. Italian wine (exports) are growing both in volume and price. That's very positive," Mantovani says.
Sparkling wines are also increasing. In 2014, they recorded an 18 percent jump in volume and 14 percent in value, according to Istat.
"We are growing - geopolitics allowing - in Russia. It seems like we have one problem, growing in Asia," Mantovani explains.
The 21,500 square foot (1,997 square metre) pavilion is the first ever dedicated to wine in the history of the Expos, or World Fairs.
The tasting-room will be open throughout the 6-month Expo which runs May 1 to 31 October 2015.
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