5StarWines – the Book 2020, Vinitaly’s wine guide, has just been published online. The print version of the publication which features 676 wines out of the over 3100 wines submitted for the 5StarWines Grand Tasting will be released in September 2019.
The online edition of 5StarWines – the Book 2020 has just been released and can be consulted at http://www.5starwines.it/la-guida/. The digital wine guide is the result of the annual wine selection 5StarWines, a three-day tasting marathon held in the lead-up to Vinitaly. At the event, participating wineries receive feedback from a highly-qualified international panel of judges. During the last edition, wines were tasted blind by 100 wine professionals with impressive credentials: Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, wine journalists, Michelin-starred restaurateurs, importers, and educators that give this guide immense credibility and standing. Led by Lynne Sherriff MW, Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Robert Joseph, Daniele Cernilli, Monty Waldin, and Bernard Burtschy, this year’s jury fully expressed the concepts of diversity and relevance that lay the foundation of the 5StarWines’ mission.
Since its inception, the guide aimed at becoming a legitimate starting point for international wine lovers and a landmark publication for those operating in the wine sector all over the world. Upon the official online release of the wine guide, Monty Waldin, General Chairman and Tasting Note Editor of the project, commented:
This is the only way Italy, or any other wine producing country, can measure itself against international yardsticks for wine quality, wine style, and value for money… The mix of judges, therefore, means each wine not only gets tasted by different palates, but also by minds whose interpretations can be as diverse as they are synergistic regarding styling, value for money, or terroir expression.
Together with OperaWine, the Vinitaly International Academy, wine2wine, and other projects created by Vinitaly, 5StarWines – the Book interprets markets and promotes wine culture. With its selection of a wide range of wines assessed by an accredited jury, 5StarWines – the Book is not simply a guide for wine professionals but is also used and recognized by wine producers; therefore, 5StarWines manages to stimulate the international market using access at all levels.
This year, 676 5Star wines made it into the guide, starting off from a base of 3,100 entries compared to 2,733 in 2018. This is a clear sign of the guide’s authority that companies have recognized since its inception three years ago. There was also a significant increase in the number of wines submitted for the 2019 edition of Wine Without Walls. This section of the guide is dedicated to natural, biodynamic and low-sulphite wines. This year, 63 wines were selected in this category (compared to 24 selected in 2018) starting from a base of 135 entries (up from 45 the previous year). These numbers testify to a growing interest in this sector of the market – one that was considered a niche segment only a few years ago.
The growing impact of 5StarWines – the Book can be attributed to both the credibility for and the need of a tool designed to connect professionals in the HoReCa sector, buyers, and distributors. The guide has established itself as a key tool taking in Vinitaly’s mission of becoming a preferential promotion vehicle on Italian and international markets alike. Now at its third edition, 5StarWines – the Book is a product that is by no means limited to the pages of a guide: it is interpreted as a brand that companies whose wines have been selected can exhibit during trade fairs and on their bottles, as well as in a series of initiatives and events around the world ranging from b2b to master classes and tastings.
The full content of 5StarWines – the Book 2020 is available here: http://www.5starwines.it/la-guida/. The print version will be released in September 2019, followed by the opening of registrations for the next edition of 5StarWines Grand Tasting.
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About
The grand Vinitaly 2020 will be held from April 19th to the 22nd. Every year, Vinitaly counts more than 4,000 exhibitors on a 100,000+ square meter area and 130,000 visitors from over 140 different countries with more than 30,000 top international buyers. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine “Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers,” which will be held on the 18th of April, one day prior to Vinitaly will unite international wine professionals in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the wines of the 100 Best Italian Producers, as selected by Wine Spectator. Since 1998 Vinitaly International travels to several countries such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong thanks to its strategic arm abroad, Vinitaly International. In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an educational project, the Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) with the aim of divulging and broadcasting the excellence and diversity of Italian wine around the globe. VIA this year launched the seventh edition of its Certification Course and today counts 204 Italian Wine Ambassadors and 14 Italian Wine Experts.