Sue and I are off to Italy in a few days to be part of an ambitious festival of wine literature sponsored by the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore consortium in collaboration with Alessandro Torcoli, director of Civilta del Bere.   Here is a link to the festival website coulturafestival.it 

The setting is the fantastic Castello San Salvatore in Susegana. The program features conversations with  noteworthy wine writers interwoven with focused wine masterclasses. All the senses will be stimulated, especially the imagination.

My contribution will take the form of a conversation with wine writer Susan Gordon about my new book Wine Wars II: The global battle for the soul of wine. followed by a book signing opportunity.  We hope to see our Italian friends at the event.

Here is an excerpt from the (auto-translated) press release with the details.

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Wine is an integral part of our culture; an ancient drink whose production over the millennia has been improved thanks to the study, experimentation and research of man. The cultivation of the vine has forged landscapes, created local cultures, defined communities and projected Italy into the world. During Co(u)ltura Conegliano Valdobbiadene guests will be welcomed in a space designed to allow them to deepen the many aspects that the wine world offers to its enthusiasts and to the increasingly numerous curious.

“With Co(u)ltura Conegliano Valdobbiadene we want to propose a wider and more engaging way of proposing our product” announces Elvira Bortolomiol president of the Protection Consortium “It is an event inspired by the presentation of the last vintage of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG to lead the visitor on an exciting journey into the world of wine. Through meetings with authors and their books, with the producers of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, with images, which we will use in various ways to tell the many facets, visitors will have the opportunity to be surprised by the many insights and entertainment that we are sure will involve them “.

“Co(u)ltura is an extraordinary opportunity to experience wine in its best dimension, the cultural one” comments Alessandro Torcoli, director of Civiltà del bere. “It is the first time that a Consortium has decided to go beyond the promotional dimension of its wine to give back to the public opportunities for authorial reflection, thanks to the meeting with writers, journalists and essayists of clear fame. Visitors will be able to alternate tasting sessions with presentations of books on food and wine, to come out enriched not only in the senses, but also in the intellect. On the other hand, we are convinced that the best weapon against prohibitionist campaigns is that of culture, which teaches to drink with the head”.

Visitors and wine lovers will be able to spend an entire weekend meeting with the most authoritative names in Italian oenology such as the agronomist Attilio Scienza and Luigi Moio, president of the OIV; the most famous critics such as Daniele Cernilli. We will not neglect the marketing aspects with Slwaska Scarso nor the most evocative names and faces of the sector such as Sandro Boscaini. For those who want a complete overview of the product, its origin, its territory, it will be possible to register for in-depth masterclasses on Conegliano Valdobbiadene, also proposed “in combination” with a book that in various ways will address the territory: from the verses of Andrea Zanzotto to the studies on soils of the Director of the Consortium Diego Tomasi. The journalist and expert on the global wine market, Mike Veseth, will also be involved who, interviewed by Susan Gordon, will broaden our horizons beyond national borders. Finally, Gad Lerner will talk with Alberto Grandi about the origin of the denominations.

The books and their authors together with experts in the sector, the producers of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG will be the expedient to make Italian and foreign consumers discover that wine is not just a product that we consume but cultural expression in a broad sense, passion, effort, joy, sharing. For this reason, the event is also enriched by two exhibitions, one dedicated to advertising posters in the sector that tells how wine was promoted until the first half of the ‘900 and an immersive exhibition that will unfold in some rooms of the Castle from 21 pm on Saturday 6 May, in which the visitor will be literally immersed in the rows and stories of the territory.

Finally, the protagonist of the evening of Saturday 6 May will be the video mapping projected in the magnificent courtyard of the San Salvatore Castle, for a story of the history of the Protection Consortium, which winds between enchanted of the past and dream of the future.

For the complete program, directions on how to reach and how to book masterclasses visit www. coulturafestival.it