Vinitaly and Italian Trade Agency in Tokyo with sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci
Wine is one of many Italian products of excellence that set sail with Amerigo Vespucci on its world tour, due to stop-off in Tokyo until 30 August. And to celebrate this event, the Japanese capital was home today to “Iconic wines of Italy” – an exclusive master class promoted by the Italian Trade Agency and implemented by Vinitaly, the most important international wine and spirits exhibition. Every stop-off by the Italian Navy’s training ship includes setting up Villaggio Italia – a “Multi-year Travelling World Exhibition” of Italian excellence that offers visitors a unique experience for discovering the beauty of Italy through art, culture, music, food, cinema, technology and scientific research.
The Amerigo Vespucci ship
The Tokyo master class featured seven iconic wines in Italy’s winemaking heritage: Trento Doc Brut Millesimato “Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore” 2009 (Ferrari Trento), Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva Docg Classico 2017 (Villa Bucci), Toscana Igt Rosso “Tignanello” 2020 (Marchesi Antinori), Bolgheri Sassicaia Doc “Sassicaia” 2021 (Tenuta San Guido), Bolgheri Doc Rosso Superiore “Ornellaia” 2020 (Ornellaia), Barolo Docg Riserva 2017 “Vigna Rionda” 2017 (Massolino) and Passito di Pantelleria Doc “Ben Ryè” 2022 (Donnafugata).
The two Italian wine ambassadors certified by the Vinitaly International Academy – Asami Yoshikawa and Irving So – guided the Japanese audience of buyers, importers, sommeliers, high-end restaurateurs, influencers and journalists along a sensory journey discovering the Italy’s most renowned winemaking regions.
Adolfo Rebughini, general manager of Veronafiere e Federico Bricolo, president
The event was attended by the President of Veronafiere, Federico Bricolo, and General Manager Adolfo Rebughini, joined for the Italian Trade Agency by President Matteo Zoppas and the director of the Tokyo office, Gianpaolo Bruno.
This initiative is part of the broader framework of joint efforts by Vinitaly and the Italian Trade Agency to consolidate the presence of Italian wine on Asian markets at a time of constant growth in demand for medium-high range products. Japan, in particular, is the main Italian wine partner throughout Asia, with imports coming to over 200 million euros per year, comprising 80% of DOP and IGP wines.
This interest for Made in Italy labels is confirmed by the growth trend for qualified Japanese buyers attending Vinitaly at Veronafiere: there were almost 700 in total at last April’s event, 100 more than in 2023.
“The master class held in Tokyo in collaboration with Vinitaly is a unique opportunity to present Italian wine excellence in such a highly strategic context as Japan, the leading Asian market in this sector. Synergy between the ICE Trade Agency, Vinitaly and the most prestigious Italian labels, together with the invaluable input by sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci, not only boosts the visibility of Made in Italy, but also creates effective business matching opportunities with the main Japanese operators in the sector,” said the President of the ICE Trade Agency, Matteo Zoppas. “With the value of exports exceeding 200 million euros, we believe it is essential to implement strategic promotional activities to improve awareness and involve that non-ethnic market segment with a keen interest in prestigious wines. Our goal is to consolidate and further expand the presence of Italian wines in Japan.”
“This prestigious master class helps Vinitaly confirm its role as a flagship brand for the promotion of Italian wine,” said Federico Bricolo, President of Veronafiere. And this is a winning initiative for the country system that saw Veronafiere work alongside the Ministry of Defence, the ICE Trade Agency and its Tokyo office, as well as the Italian Embassy in Japan.”
“Our presence in Tokyo on board the sailing ship Vespucci,” said Adolfo Rebughini, General Manager of Veronafiere, “is yet another step in our strategy for getting further into international markets through a network of roadshows, previews, academies and a specific event for this part of the world: Wine to Asia.”
On all these occasions, Italian wine was also enjoyed for the official toasts on board the Amerigo Vespucci in Tokyo thanks to the partnership with Prosecco Doc, as well as at gala dinner on 27 August when Piedmont Region teamed up with the Piemonte Land of Wine Consortium.
In the meantime, Vinitaly’s internationalisation mission in Asia continues with a busy calendar for Veronafiere starting 2-6 September with the seventh edition of the Vinitaly China Roadshow in Shanghai, Xi’an and Guangzhou. We then return to Japan with the ICE Trade Agency for the 2024 Wine Exchange respectively scheduled in Osaka and Tokyo on 7 and 9 October. The third edition of Wine to Asia has already been scheduled 9-11 May 2025 in Shenzhen, China.