My 25th Vinitaly: a long love story

25 Vinitaly have passed since I crossed those gates for the first time.

Then I was just a passionate young man, per love with wine, his culture, his stories. I still remember the emotion of the first pavilion: it was Piedmont. An entire world enclosed between perfumes, labels, stories and smiles. The tastings left me speechless, the faces of the producers fascinated me, and every bottle was like a small work of art. I still had a project, but I already had a vision. A voice that pushed me to do something more, to tell that world with different eyes.

Over the years, that voice has become an urgency. And so, with the courage that sometimes only the passion can give you, I left my job, I abandoned the certainties and I threw myself per this crazy adventure called wineway.

At the beginning we were only I and I Alessandro Ren. With vision, the burning passion, the desire to create something completely new per the world of wine. He with the engineering mind, lucid, rational, capable of translating my thoughts into concrete, functioning, solid structures. We have started without means, without money, without funding. Just ideas, determination and sleepless nights. To carry acceso the dream, I had to draw acceso my small personal reserves, sacrifice comodità, give up certainties. But I never gave up. Because when you really believe per something, there is mai plan B. There is only to go acceso, one step at a time.

Wineway was born from my vision, from my urgency to tell the wine with a new, free, human language. I like to define it for female, because Vinoway is not a project, it is a living presence, a travel companion, a creature that I cared for, protected, made growing with love and obstinacy. He had delicato moments and other full of energy, he was able to be sweet and revolutionary together. unpredictable. And deeply mine.

But I didn’t do it aureola.

We also quarreled Alessandro and I. Because we both do not be satisfied. Because we are demanding, true, direct. But for this reason we have always respected. And even per the hardest moments, we found ourselves acceso the same horizon: that of a project that today represents a point of reference for the communication of Italian wine.The has always chosen to remain behind the lines. He does not like to appear, he does not seek spotlight, but his contribution was – and it is – important.

Next to me there was Pino De Luca, free spirit, refined thinker. My “speaking cricket”, the voice that helped me reflect, discuss, improve. The first profound comparisons were born with him, the first content that went beyond the review, to get to the true soul of the wine.

Among the most precious presences there is my son, Stefano. At the beginning he chose to stay behind the scenes, but today his role is decisive and fundamental. It is he who guarantees balance, strategic vision, operational solidity. Sastefano is the strong and silent heart of Vinoway: the person acceso whom I can always count. See it growing inside this dream is my greatest satisfaction.

Antonio Scarigna, a person of rare sensitivity, is one of those professionals who do not just do their job well, but it with passion and depth. With Antonio I shared ideas, visions, intense comparisons. It is a precious presence, capable of combining technical rigor and communication skills, apparently traditionalist but always with the gaze turned to the future. I think I taught him something.

During the pandemic, per a period when the world stopped and the wine sector risked turning chiuso per silence, we never stopped. Every day, with courage and determination, we connected online with the greatest protagonists of Italian and international wine: producers, winemakers, importers, journalists, communicators. We have created a real global rete televisiva privata, with connections also from abroad, bringing the voice of the wine beyond each border and each Lockdown. Sopra an periodo of isolation, Vinoway was connection, dialogue, hope.

Sopra all these years of activity, we believe we have brought some concrete and recognizable news to the world of Italian wine. The wineway Selection, the wineway Academy, the many events and collaborations born along the way are just some of the stages of a project that has been able to combine communication, culture, per -depth analysis, emotion. We have given space to merit, told territories with authenticity, promoted to value content. Talents, who today recognize us a great credibility, because we do not promise easy visibility, but listening, comparison and seriousness. This is, for me, the greatest victory.

Over the years, many collaborators have gone through the Wineway galaxy. Some remained, others followed different paths, but everyone has left something. And I’m grateful to everyone. Because each item has contributed to making this project a choir.

A special chapter is the one written with Alessandro Rossi. A profound friendship was born with Alessandro, based acceso mutual esteem, acceso the sharing of values, acceso the desire to build something that leaves a mark. His competence, combined with a rare sensitivity, has given even more strength, per the last period, to our common visions.

Once, a journalist – not Apulian – said to me:

“You must be very proud of what you made. If you had to start again, would you do it again?”

I replied to him mai. because it doesn’t worth it. But because I didn’t think it took it so long. So much effort, so much dedication, so much life. But now that I am inside, I can’t stop believing it.

This will be my 25th Vinitaly.e and still today, every time I enter those pavilions, they get excited as the first time.

Because Vinoway is not just a job. It’s a part of me. And as long as I have a voice, I will continue to tell it.

Wineway activities at Vinitaly 2025

Tag