A growing international event featuring over 700 labels, local gastronomy, and a focus on young wine enthusiasts
ALBA – The curtain falls on the 45th edition of VINUM, the National Fair dedicated to the great wines of Piedmont – organized by the Alba Fair Authority, in collaboration with the Municipality of Alba and the Giostra delle Cento Torri – which saw the City of Alba become the largest open-air wine shop in Italy during the two weekends from Saturday 22nd to Tuesday 25th April and from 29th April to 1st May. A successful edition closes for an increasingly international event, with the first online tickets purchased in Texas and a large participation of foreign public, as well as an audience animated by a strong presence of young, curious, and aware people. The numbers say it all: of the 160,000 tastings sold (of which over 50% online), more than 60% were purchased by users aged between 18 and 35 years, with wine lovers – up 10% compared to 2022 – flocking to the accommodation facilities in the hills of Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato from 22 countries of the world (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Latvia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Slovenia, and USA), as well as from all Italian regions, with the sole exception of Molise.
Kicking off the event on Friday, April 21st, on the stage of the Social Theater “G. Busca”, was the talk “VoxVinum”, an event aimed particularly at young people with a focus on the approach to the world of wine and conscious drinking. Young protagonists were also on stage, with a dialogue between gastronomic narrator Paolo Vizzari, wine influencer Sara Piovano, and sommelier of the Piazza Duomo restaurant Jacopo Dosio, moderated by Francesco Occhetto. Closing the event was “EARTHPHONIA, a sound work for the Earth,” the musical journey without instruments created by Max Casacci, proposed in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and Events of the City of Alba.
From April 22nd to May 1st, the city squares welcomed thousands of wine enthusiasts who arrived in the region to discover the over 700 labels available for tasting from about 400 Piedmontese producers (to which were added in the first weekend those from Oregon producers, with wines from Medford, Alba’s twin city, and those from the Valle d’Aosta Wine Consortium, the guest region of the event in the second weekend, as well as a selection of labels from the five continents curated by GoWine, for a global overview), paired with traditional dishes from the Street Food ëd Langa, organized by the local villages under the umbrella of the Giostra delle Cento Torri.
Enriching the gastronomic offerings of the city’s four squares were the events organized inside the Beppe Fenoglio Hall, at the Cortile della Maddalena, all of which were sold out, as were the experiences offered in the area, with the Castle of Roddi playing a significant role. In total, there were 7 cheese workshops in collaboration with ONAF (the National Cheese Tasters Organization) and 14 VinumLab appointments, with the Master Classes curated by AIS Piedmont, demonstrating an increasingly attentive and refined cultural exploration. Expanding to the territory, the successful formula of Vinum in Cantina was confirmed – with guided tours among vineyards and barrels in the company of producers and winemakers that preceded wine tastings, paired with appetizers prepared by renowned chefs. A success at the Castle of Roddi was Vinum a Tavola, an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Roddi in collaboration with Ente Fiera di Alba and Piemonte Land of Wine to offer a prestigious showcase for Piedmontese food and wine excellence in five dinners curated by as many chefs. The new formula, which allowed tastings of 106 different wine labels and 20 vermouth labels paired with dishes signed by chefs Raffaele Lenzi, Michele Minchillo, Davide Palluda, Paolo Griffa, and Luigi Taglienti, was highly appreciated. The Langhe manor, a significant novelty this year, also hosted cooking courses where Italian and international tourists experimented with the recipes of iconic dishes by important chefs.
Another novelty was the setup of Piazza Risorgimento designed for families and children, with the Duomo square entirely dedicated to activities for them, starting with Vinum Bimbi (organized thanks to Sinergia Outdoor) – featuring wooden toys that teach children the love for wine and its lands, in a renewed and larger space, making Vinum accessible to the many families who chose Alba as their spring holiday destination – from animated readings curated by the “G. Ferrero” Civic Library, circus-theater shows offered by “Fuma che ‘nduma,” and a carousel ride.
Among the side events, the tour of the cru “The great vineyards of Barolo” promoted by Strada del Barolo, the Treasure Hunt in the Langhe organized by Turismo in Langa, the International Jazz Day (promoted by the Municipality of Alba in collaboration with the Milleunanota Association, held in the Auditorium of the “G. Morra” Exhibition and Congress Palace), and, on the sports front, the city race 1/4 Vinum Marathon.
“We celebrate an extraordinary public participation, with a significant percentage of young people – curious, competent, and aware – who crowded the squares of Alba during these two weekends, enlivening the historic city center with a qualified and festive presence,” declares the President of the Alba Fair Authority, Liliana Allena. “An additional satisfaction comes from having succeeded in involving in the various experiences a public of enthusiasts characterized by a great desire to deepen the knowledge of the world of wine and gourmet lovers from Italy and the world, opening ourselves to an increasingly international dimension of this event, which traditionally accompanies the start of the tourist season of our hills of Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato.”
“We are extremely satisfied with the numbers and the quality expressed by this edition of Vinum, an event that increasingly manages to combine the best that our city can offer: great wines, the exceptional gastronomic offer, excellently proposed by our villages with their volunteers, the desire for families to be together and good music. All the ingredients for a successful event are present, enriched by the ability to look beyond our borders with a selection of great wines from around the world, to give further value to the event,” jointly state the Mayor of the City of Alba, Carlo Bo, and the Councilor for Tourism and Events, Emanuele Bolla.
“Vinum confirms itself as a privileged showcase for Piedmontese wines, whose results encourage us to continue supporting territorial promotion events,” comments Filippo Mobrici, Vice President of Piemonte Land of Wine. “The overall scope of this event is such that the entire complex of denominations present benefits from it. Both the largest and most well-known, and the smallest, which can present themselves to the general public. Undoubtedly important is the opportunity for the many guests to visit the production wineries, entering into direct contact with the territory, the people, and the local food and wine.”
Vinum is organized by the Alba Exhibition Authority, together with the Municipality of Alba and the Giostra delle Cento Torri, under the patronage of Enit (National Tourism Agency), with the support of the Piemonte Land of Wine Consortium, the Piedmont Region, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo, the Chamber of Commerce of Cuneo, Banca d’Alba, and the association for the Heritage of Wine Landscapes of Langhe Roero and Monferrato, in collaboration with the Langhe Monferrato Roero Tourism Authority, the Langhe Monferrato Roero Tourist Consortium, and thanks to the contribution of all public and private partners, with the main sponsors Gino SPA, Idrocentro, Acqua San Bernardo, and Intesa San Paolo.
Actively participating are the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani, the Roero Protection Consortium, the Consortium for the Protection of Asti DOCG, the Alta Langa Consortium, the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium, the Freisa di Chieri and Collina Torinese Consortium, the Gavi Protection Consortium, the Brachetto d’Acqui Protection Consortium, the Alba Wine Cellars Association, the Caluso Carema Canavese DOC Wines Protection Consortium, the Piedmont Grappa and Barolo Grappa Protection Consortium, the Turin Vermouth Consortium, the GoWine Association, the Moretta, del Fumo, Santa Rosalia, Santa Barbara, Brichet, San Martino, San Lorenzo, Rane and Patin and Tesòr Villages Association, the Alba Butchers Association, the Alba Traders Association, the Italian Sommelier Association Piedmont section, the National Cheese Tasters Organization, the Alte Terre DOP Consortium, the APRO Alba Hotel Academy, and the Confraternity of the Langa Round Gentle Hazelnut.
