Milan Wine Week kicks off: this is how even the youngest approach wine

Of the 50,000 visitors expected from 5 to 13 October at the seventh edition of Milano Wine Week, more than half will be under 35 and the same applies to operators, ready to try out new approaches to the world of wine. This is an important signal for a sector that in recent years has seen a distancing of the latest generations. Reacquainting even non-enthusiasts - because among Millennials and Gen Z there is a very competent part of the public - is one of the objectives of the Milan week. The tools? Innovative events, targeted communication and dedicated 'headquarters'.

At the Enoteca Milano Wine Week - at the Dazi dell'Arco della Pace, in one of the city's main nightlife areas - an interactive and technological tasting area will be set up, where a simpler, more informative, narrated and less technical approach to wine will be provided, alongside a calendar of initiatives designed (also) to bring less expert consumers closer.

"The formula of the event spread throughout the city helps to avoid making the merely curious feel out of place, who often feel uncomfortable in appointments more oriented towards insiders and wine lovers - explains Federico Gordini, president of Mww - . Moreover, the programme includes unusual combinations, such as a DJ set of electronic music that would certainly make visitors uncomfortable at a classic walk around tasting. This does not mean abandoning more classic formats that will be numerous and prestigious during Wine Week itself, but if the future depends on the industry's ability to adapt and involve the new generations, it is time for the wine industry to adopt strategies aimed at them. In the past, wine was part of a deep cultural heritage, it was always present in our lives and on our tables. Instead, consumption is halving from generation to generation and this perception is changing. Now wine is seen as one of the possible experiences in beverages. There is no longer Italian wine versus French wine or whites versus reds. Now the competitors are beer, spirits and mixology, into which wine is increasingly entering, right down to low alcohol and dealcolates, which are becoming increasingly popular and cannot but be a resource for abundant Italian production. These worlds have a more developed communication and marketing capacity, also thanks to the huge resources that the large players have at their disposal, so as to involve the consumer more. Wine must find its way in this too'.

In the case ofWine in Action (in collaboration with LifeGate Way) it is instead the companies that are young: the ten start-ups that present the best projects with a focus on sustainability will access a business acceleration programme. "The challenges facing the sector," continues Gordini, "range fromresponses to climate change to the no longer deferrable need to invest in the training of catering and hospitality personnel.

The week will open on Saturday 5 October with the inaugural toast in Piazza Tre Torri, in collaboration with the Consorzio dell'Asti Docg, and with the One Wine Night party at the Dazi dell'Arco della Pace. A space that will remain, say the organisers, "one of the fundamental hubs for the entire duration of Milan Wine Week 2024". Here, in fact, there will be the Enoteca Mww, "a large experiential and technological tasting area, where visitors (equipped with tickets that can be purchased online, ed.) can taste a wide range of references thanks to the Wine Emotion automated wine dispensing devices that allow them to create their own tasting path, or those displayed in the area reserved for bubbles, also with the support of certified sommeliers".