The Italian wine industry is enjoying a renaissance these days, with wine tourism being one of the few segments of the market that is constantly rising.
Apparently around five million people contribute about 2.
5 billion euro to wine making territories, according to data published after Biteg 2008.
Biteg is the International Exchange on Food and Wine Tourism, and it has released statistics on the “cantine aperte” (open cellar) initiatives of Italian wine making regions.
While wine is the biggest agricultural export for Italy, the utopian vision that a younger generation attracted by wine tourism is interested in knowing about producers and territories, not just tasting the wine, should perhaps be examined.
The last time I went to a cantine aperte event the cellar visits spilled out onto the cobblestoned streets and lasted until about 3am with people dancing in the fountains and singing in the piazzas.
A great party, not so much learned about wine producers.