09/02/2017

Press release: Tuscan Wine on Sale to the World at 5000 Meetings

 Beginning tomorrow, BuyWine, the sector’s broadest-reaching commercial initiative, returns to the Fortezza da Basso. Organic production is on the rise – and the Russian buyers are back
Remaschi (Region of Tuscany: ‘Exports of Tuscany’s DOP wine show no sign of slowing down’
Bianchi (PromoFirenze): ‘A great occasion for uniting on the global market’

Florence, 9 February 2017 – Opening tomorrow at the Fortezza da Basso, the greatest commercial initiative for Tuscan wine: 210 vine-growing and winemaking concerns and 191 buyers from 35 countries will be meeting at ‘BuyWine 2017’, the seventh edition of the workshop organised by the Region of Tuscany in collaboration the PromoFirenze special-purpose company of the Chamber of Commerce of Florence.

‘I would like to stress that exports of DOP (DOC/DOCG) Tuscan wines show no sign of slowing down,’ commented Region of Tuscany Councillor for Agriculture Marco Remaschi, ‘and this confirms that foreign wine lovers appreciate the quality of our wines more than ever. This important result has been achieved in part thanks to events such as BuyWine, which over the years has earned the title of best showcase for our oenological excellences. This year, Tuscany is celebrating the 300th anniversary of the creation of the designations of origin for its wines; this is an especially significant ‘birthday’, concluded Councillor Remaschi, ‘because Italy is the only country in the world to boast such an ancient and prestigious winemaking pedigree.’

The meeting of a traditional excellence such as Tuscan wine and the most modern tools for establishing relations on the international market has already produced results: more than 45% of the attending buyers are participating in the event for the first time and, for the first time, BuyWine is welcoming buyers from eight ‘new’ countries, including Israel, Morocco, Puerto Rico and Saudi Arabia.

Among the countries of greatest interest to the Tuscan winemakers are the United States, with 29 buyers attending, Canada with 28 and China with 22. South Korea, Germany and Brazil also found the event irresistible and in fact are present with eight buyers each. And of note is the return, after several years’ absence, of attendees from Russia (with eight buyers), Kazakhstan, Taiwan and Lithuania.

‘BuyWine is the first of the events on the Region of Tuscany’s 2017 promotional calendar, organised in close collaboration with us, as part of a more extensive cooperative effort involving the Chamber of Commerce system. It is a tangible sign of how the idea that working together can make us stronger on the global market has taken root, flowered and borne fruit among the institutions and members of the trade. And this is just the beginning: the next wine-related events will be Prowein in Düsseldorf, from 19 to 21 March, and Vinexpo in Bordeaux from 8 to 21 June 2017,’ added the President of PromoFirenze Claudio Bianchi.

Already on the 2-day BuyWine agenda are more than 5 thousand B2B meetings between wine companies and buyers, a result that owes much to an innovative app developed by the Tuscany-based Uplink company. Using the app, last week the participants were able to choose the profiles most closely corresponding to their activities in specially-scheduled ‘like sessions’. Each buyer has already arranged meetings with 26 wine companies and will be able to add others in real time, thanks to a dedicated instant messaging service.

Among the Tuscan wine companies (94% of which already enjoy an international market presence), the greatest number comes from the Florence (68) and Siena (66) territories, but all the region’s wine-producing areas are represented and 63 vine-growing and winemaking concerns declare organic or biodynamic certification: a type of production that is increasing in popularity, with a growth rate of 84% over last year.

For the first time, BuyWine is linked to the ‘Anteprime di Toscana’ initiative: Saturday, 11 February, is the date – and the Fortezza d Basso’s Cavaniglia Pavilion is the place – for the joint presentation to all the international media of all the ‘previews’ by 16 Tuscan wine protection consortia; it will be followed by a tasting session at which the first bottles of a selection of the latest vintage will be uncorked. The presentation marks the start of eight days of events in the wine-producing areas, reserved for members of the trade and journalists from all corners of the world, at which the consortia will illustrate their products one by one.

The consortia adhering to the ‘Anteprime di Toscana’ initiative are Bianco di Pitigliano e Sovana, Brunello di Montalcino, Carmignano, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Colline Lucchesi, Cortona, Elba, Maremma, Montecucco, Morellino di Scansano, Nobile di Montepulciano, Orcia, Val d’Arno di Sopra, Val di Cornia and Vernaccia di San Gimignano.