"Viniadi", First Italian Competition for Non-Professional Wine Tasters
Staff Writer - June 30, 2003
Literally, "Wine Olympics", that's the meaning of "Viniadi". The final takes place at the Fortezza Medicea (Medici's Fortress) in Siena, eighteen "champions" compete for the title of best Non-Professional Wine Taster as chosenby a select jury of experts.
A concert by Edoardo Bennato will close the event on July 26, the day of the "Viniadi" finals. The event is organized by the Ente Vini - Enoteca Italiana as part of the special project "Wine and Youth", promoted in 2003 by many Italian universities in collaboration with the Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, the Committee for the Interregional Project of Alimentary Education and Communication, the Agivi and the Italian Regions with the intent to educate young adults 18 to 30 years old about correct and moderate consumption of wine.
The competition starts at 3:00PM in the locales of Bastione San Filippo of the Fortezza Medicea, where the tables and sets of glasses are prepared for the 18 "champions" from 11 Italian regions. The 18 participants have been selected during 20 elimination meetings held all over Italy culminating in two semi-finals in Rome and Cormòns (Gorizia). The jury includes wine experts, trade specialists and journalists.
The participants will face off in two competitions. The first is tasting, where they must recognize grapes and production year of shielded bottles. The second one is a multiple choice test about general oenological culture. The winner will be selected at the end of the competition and the prizes will be assigned at 9:00PM in the beautiful theatre of the Fortezza Medicea, after which Edoardo Bennato will perform in a free concert.
During the event, the prize "Per Bacco", or "For Bacchus", will be assigned to "Medicins sans frontieres" ("Doctor without borders"), by the Ente Vini - Enoteca Italiana, a public institution founded in Siena in 1933 a to promote, evaluate and protect Italian wines in Italy and the rest of the world.
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