A
new resource for Vinitaly Plus users is coming. Every Friday, starting from 11 February 2022, our platform will share one of the key sessions from the wine2wine Business Forum 2021. In podcast format, the audio content will be available to stream unlimited and on demand. All you need to access these wine
industry insights from
renowned international experts is an internet-connected device, access to the Vinitaly Plus app and your headphones.
What is wine2wine Business Forum?
The
wine2wine Business Forum is the annual wine industry event organized by Vinitaly and Veronafiere with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency. The goal of the wine2wine Business Forum is to offer a package of training, updates and networking opportunities to wine producers and other wine business professionals. The Forum includes two full days of seminars and interactive workshops on key issues facing the sector. The speakers are
recognized experts, from Italy and abroad, selected from among the brightest minds in the world of wine.
Since its launch in 2014, wine2wine Business Forum has taken place over six consecutive years as an in-person event. In 2020 the health emergency forced a change of direction, and the Forum reinvented itself as a fully online event. The 2021 edition, which took place on Monday 18 and Tuesday 19 October, at the same time as the
Vinitaly Special Edition, finally unified the previous experiences of an in-person conference and an online event in an unprecedented hybrid format that was better able to meet the needs of the "new normal". In fact, both speakers and visitors had the opportunity to choose whether to come to the exhibition centre in Verona or follow the event remotely, by connecting to the online platform specifically developed for the 2020 Forum.
Why the switch from conference to podcast?
The focus on innovative methods of communication and related technologies has always played a central role in the wine2wine Business Forum program. That’s why, among the long-standing Media Partners of the Forum, is the award-winning
Italian Wine Podcast, one of the most listened to wine podcasts in the world and to date the only wine podcast that broadcasts on a daily basis. Thanks to the collaboration with Italian Wine Podcast, the contents of wine2wine Business Forum 2021 have been adapted into podcast format and Vinitaly Plus is able to offer them in this way to its users.
The key word behind this initiative is “accessibility”. In fact, the aim is to make available the content of the wine2wine Business Forum 2021 to as many wine professionals around the world as possible. Quality content that, in line with the philosophy of Vinitaly Plus, aims to help and inspire everyone in the wine industry who wants to expand their business or knowledge of the wine sector. Podcasting is an ideal format to do so, because it can be accessed anywhere - above all from a mobile device - and at any time of the day. Because it’s audio content, a podcast is also perfect for multi-tasking: it doesn’t require our exclusive attention so we can listen on the go while doing other activities.
What topics are discussed?
The wine2wine 2021 program included over 70 parallel sessions, divided into 15 different thematic tracks, in which a total of 155 international speakers took part. The common thread of the 2021 program was that of overcoming of barriers, primarily geographical confines. In fact, the Forum dedicated 23 Market Focus sessions to the exploration of 18 different foreign markets for Italian wine, among them well-established markets, but also emerging economies of which there is still little discussion, and other markets with free trade agreements that allow trade with the EU. The podcasts streamed by Vinitaly Plus will, therefore, include sessions on
Russia, China and the USA, as well as South Korea, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Romania and Croatia.
As for the other types of barriers considered, in one upcoming episode the economist Mike Veseth talks about the political-economic barriers, explaining the effects of certain political events and trade wars on the wine business and exposing some thoughts on the future. Sarah Heller MW, of whom we spoke recently in an article on the
upcoming Vinitaly International Academy courses, then discusses communication barriers in a seminar that analyzes the potential and some examples of non-verbal communication on wine. In addition, we talk about socio-cultural barriers that must be overcome to create a more inclusive wine industry; of barriers imposed by habit, like obsolete marketing strategies and ways of thinking that are no longer effective today; of psychological barriers and of technological barriers. All from an entirely "wine business-oriented" perspective.
A date for your diary
The inclusion of podcasts of the wine2wine Business Forum 2021 seminars represents an opportunity to our users, who will be able to access the insights presented during the 2021 Forum in case they missed them or wish to relive the experience; and to Vinitaly Plus, which will be able to diversify the format of its content and increase its accessibility by exploiting the versatility of audio and podcast.
Our platform was created to allow the professional wine community to have a 365-day-a-year reference point where they can update and do business. We believe that the wine2wine Business Forum 2021 sessions enhance our range of training solutions and provide in-depth content that deserves the widest possible audience.