The event for the development and promotion of the cultural and food and wine system was presented.

“Vini dai Laghi – Il vino incontra il bello” (Wines from the Lakes – Wine meets beauty) is coming to Villa Recalcati in October, an event born from the synergy between the Province, the Varese Winegrowers Association and SlowFood Varese APS and in collaboration with the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Varese, the Varese Chamber of Commerce and Confcommercio.

From 10 to 13 October, in the halls and in the courtyard of honour of Villa Recalcati, there will be

conventions, conferences, workshops for children and families, musical concerts and artistic installations, respectively by the students of the Manzoni Music High School and the Frattini Art High School, with the aim of presenting and promoting the territory and the production of the wineries participating in the project.

Alongside these activities, there will be tastings of wines and spirits paired with typical Varese products that will give life to a unique cultural and food and wine experience.

The event will kick off on Thursday 10 October with a conversation with Sergio Redaelli, author of the book “Quando a Varese c’era il vino” (When there was wine in Varese), conducted by journalist Alessandra Favaro of VareseFocus, followed by a tasting of Terre di Varese with wines and products from Varese, organised by ONAV and in collaboration with CFP.

The Giorgia Carabelli conference “Wine and health, the importance of wine in the daily diet” is scheduled for Friday 11 October, as well as the tasting dish created by CFP and curated by Ivano Antonini of AIS Varese who will present, together with the journalist Marco Gatti, the characteristics of the different wines, the main pairings and the glasses for the different types of wine.

Following this, a two-day event full of events in the fields of culture, wine and desserts.

The official inauguration of the event and the institutional greetings are scheduled for Saturday 12 October, as well as the workshop on the Earth Market, the conference “Rare and endangered grape varieties” held by Anna Schneider and the conference by Mario Iodice “In vino veritas – An eulogy of wine: names, myths, proverbs from antiquity to today”.

The final day, Sunday 13 October, will begin with the opening of the Earth Market with SlowFood Presidia and will be dedicated to discovering the peculiarities of the territory with the conference “The history of Villa Recalcati” by Serena Contini, the presentation of the territory and the participating wineries and the conference “Lands of the lakes and their climates”.

During the four days described above, it will also be possible to visit the scenographic installation of the Artistic Director Ivo Tomasi with the typical equipment of the harvest. In addition, it will be possible to participate in the Enological competition with final awards on Sunday 13 October.

“ I am happy to open Villa Recalcati to this initiative, the courtyard of honor, the halls and the historic park – comments Marco Magrini, president of the Province of Varese – We want to promote the excellence of our local productions, in particular quality wines, especially those of young producers. Our goal is to enhance these wines by combining them with local products, accompanying them with numerous cultural events. We will do all this in an elegant and private place like Villa Recalcati, which will not only host the event, but can also be discovered and visited “.

Councilor Marina Rovelli adds: «An opportunity to promote our territory through its products, its excellences and its peculiarities. A way to recover a vocation of local wine production and enhance the typical products also fruit of the culture of biodiversity. An opportunity to suggest our Lakes as a new destination for food and wine tourism, welcoming visitors in the numerous places of historical and artistic interest. Typical products, as is known, influence and drive the development of the territories especially if promoted through processes of economic and productive sustainability. I hope that this can be the first of many editions».

“The Earth Markets are an international Slow Food project present in several countries. In addition to hosting various food producers, workshops are organized to educate consumers to buy good, clean and fair products. The Piambello Market has existed since October 2017 and takes place twice a month in the municipalities of Induno Olona and Bisuschio with a good turnout – explains Fabio Ponti of Slow Food Varese Aps – For the “Vini dai Laghi” exhibition organized at Villa Recalcati, we will try to expand the participation of producers linked to Slow Food and in particular to the Presidia, another important international project”.

The Artistic Director, Ivo Tomasi, highlights that: « “Vini dai Laghi” will not only be a food and wine event, but a real celebration for families, with interesting activities for adults and children, in the splendid and elegant headquarters of the Province of Varese. In the large atrium of Villa Recalcati there will be a suggestive “Piazza della vendemmia” that will become the beating heart of the event, in collaboration with the members of the Associazione Viticoltori Varesini who will provide their equipment such as carts, barrels, demijohns and typical tools for harvesting grapes. It will be possible to find a riot of music, art and culture praising wine and courtly love with the technical and artistic support of the schools of the area and of several illustrious speakers ».

Free admission. A few days before the event, vouchers for tastings can be purchased on the website www.vinidailaghi.it , where you can also download the detailed program of the event.

The cellars protagonists of the tasting The guided tastings, between Barbera and Nebbiolo.

The new edition of Cocco Wine, one of the most delicious and popular food and wine events in Piedmont, will take place between the end of August and the beginning of September. The Go Wine association promotes and organizes the event with the Consorzio Cocconato Riviera del Monferrato and in agreement with the Municipality of Cocconato. Cocconato will be transformed into a virtual wine road, where tastings of wines will alternate with typical products of the area, which will fill the historic center of the town and host the wineries of Cocconato and Monferrato.

The cellars of Cocconato

Cocconato will transform into a virtual wine route, a path that will wind from Piazza Cavour along Via Roma to the Cortile del Collegio, alternating wine tastings with typical local products.

A completely pedestrianized historic center, animated for the event: it will host the cellars of Cocconato, other parts of Piedmont and some artisans of taste with their tasting proposals.

In particular, the Cocconato cellars will welcome all participants, each managing an exhibition space and telling the story of the vineyards and wines of this corner of Piedmont. Barbera d’Asti is the most

important and best known in the area; the production extends however to other red wines from native vines, to appreciated selections of white wines that find ideal conditions to express themselves on the soils of Cocconato.

SLIME, COCCONITO BENEFIT, GIULIO COCCHI SPARKLING WINE,

DEZZANI, MACIOT, MAROVE’, NICOLA FEDERICO,

PAOLETTI, LAUGHING HILL

THE OTHER WINERIES, GUESTS OF THE EVENT

Balliano, Grana (At)

Social Cellar of Castagnole Monferrato (At)

Farmhouse of the Well, Castellinaldo (Cn)

Gilli Farmhouse, Castelnuovo Don Bosco (AT)

Paladin Farmhouse, Canale (Cn)

San Bernardo Farmhouse, Villadeati (Al)

Crota Cichin, Santo Stefano Roero (Cn)

Eusebius of Stroppiana Marilena, Salussola (Bi)

Nazzari, Ponzano Monferrato (Al)

Mauro Rei, Monferrato Hall (Al)

Terre d’Eburias, Costigliole d’Asti (At)

“Despite the extreme climate, the interventions in the vineyard have had an effect. We have used processing techniques that can only be done manually and that allow us to guarantee exceptional quality even if at high costs.”

This is stated by Sandro Bottega, wine entrepreneur and head of the historic company Bottega SpA of Bibano (TV), one of the leaders in Italy for the production of Prosecco .

“In the Prosecco area, after persistent rains and lower than average temperatures in the months of May and June, the month of July was characterized by very high temperatures. At the moment – continues Sandro Bottega – the grapes are ripening well, even if the persistence of very hot temperatures could result in a slowdown in the ripening process. The harvest is expected to take place around September 10. It should be emphasized that in June we still enjoyed a strong temperature range between daytime and nighttime hours for a few days, which facilitated the development of aromatic substances. It follows that, also thanks to the high temperatures in July and our interventions in the vineyard, we should be looking at a vintage of exceptional quality”. “In the coming weeks, the only risk factor, now structural in every wine-growing area, is linked to storms or in any case to extreme weather conditions that in the Prosecco area as in other areas could cause a reduction in production. In our vineyards – adds Bottega – for years now we have reintroduced the classic “green manure” technique. It is a capillary grassing of different species, which contributes greatly to absorbing any excess water and developing biodiversity. The vine, to be able to give the best of itself, needs harmony and balance, in this case therefore it is necessary to intervene and prevent, preferably with natural methods, such as “green manure”». «The excessive heat of these last weeks, as far as we are concerned, has been partly tempered by the more developed foliage that has partially protected the bunches from direct sunlight developed by our agronomists with an ad hoc study to intervene on the plants and increase their leafy growth. We expect a high-level vintage not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of quantity. It would be very important for the entire Prosecco world to have a new vintage with adequate quantities both because the sparkling wine market requires it, and because 2023 was particularly poor», concludes Sandro Bottega.

Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato is pleased to present the partner of the Barbera D’Asti Wine Festival: the artistic collective Cracking Art, who will invade the city of Asti during the Festival with their sensational works.

For the first edition of the Barbera D’Asti Wine Festival , which will be held in the city of Asti from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 September 2024 , there will also be space for art with the wonderful outdoor installation by the Cracking Art collective. Spreading awareness on the subject of sustainability and biodiversity: the objective of the artistic collective is perfectly in line with themes that are very dear to the Barbera d’Asti and Monferrato Wines Consortium , the driving force behind the Festival. “ This contamination between the world of wine and other types of cultural realities is of great importance and significance for us – says Vitaliano Maccario , President of the Consortium – above all, because the philosophy of attention to recycling and the importance of biodiversity that underlies the works of art created by the collective is one of the most deeply rooted consortium values. With this project we intend to raise awareness of issues related to sustainability, promoting the interesting combination of art and wine, which, we are sure, will fascinate the general public ”. Small, medium and large sculptures including the iconic Chiocciola, surprising creatures in regenerated plastic, will invade the historic center of Asti: brightly colored animals make the heart of the city an open-air art gallery, a special museum without barriers where the protagonists are always nature and respect for it. Cracking Art works are also this: unexpected insertions of fantasy elements that populate the real world to reinterpret it and give different meanings. Each work fits into the context to give a message, to interpret the place or to give an unexpected vision of a known place. In fact, plastic is transformed and becomes a means of communication: from a simple material of common use and a substance potentially harmful to the environment, it is shaped becoming a decorative element and source of inspiration. The Cracking Art installations – a movement born in the 90s, known worldwide for its attention to the environment, for its strong ecological commitment and for the practice of regeneration that has made its creations iconic – fit into and confront the history and architecture of the places that host them and come to life with the empathic interactions that are established with the public. Each work, with the subject represented, is the bearer of a message that each visitor is called to interpret and spread.