NGO introduces Russia to European quality wine from Central Italy one sip at a time

A tasting of wines from Central Italy will follow the press conference scheduled for June 18^th. The conference will be the launchpad for Native Grape Odyssey’s (NGO) scheduled training activities in Russia. The tasting is being held at the Enotria wine school in Moscow, and will be led by Veronika Denisova, a Vinitaly International Academy Italian Wine Ambassador, and Deputy Director/Lecturer at the facility. The diversity of the production regions and of the grape varieties showcased will allow the participating guests to take a real journey to the center of Italy where the food and wine is great and hearts are warm.

Stevie Kim, Native Grape Odyssey (NGO) General Coordinator and Vinitaly International Managing Director, along with the NGO team members will be present for the June 18^th press conference in Moscow, Russia. The conference will unveil its flagship educational program, set to premier in autumn 2019, as well as divulge all the pertinent details participants need to join the course. Once speakers have concluded, participants in attendance will be given the chance to experience an NGO tasting. This will be on a smaller scale than those to be held in future courses and seminars. Veronika Denisova, Deputy Director/Lecturer at the Enotria Wine School was chosen to lead the tasting.  Denisova is also a Vinitaly International Academy Italian Wine Ambassador, therefore, she is the perfect choice to guide guests around central Italy through seven distinguished native grape variety wines. This experience will give guests an overview of wine production in these areas, as well as give potential students a sense of NGO teaching methods to be implemented in future educational activities.

On the 18th of June, the NGO press event will present the collaboration between NGO and Enotria,
one of the most prestigious wine schools in Russia.

Central Italy is a very renowned wine region, Tuscany in particular, from which most DOCG wines come (Denominazione di origine controllata, in English this translates to, Controlled Designation of Origin, which corresponds to the PDO brand of the European Union system). The purpose of the NGO tasting, however, is to present a complete picture of wine variety from Central Italy, namely, Lazio, Marche and Umbria, whose wine production, although not as well known internationally, is no less excellent from a quality point of view. Central Italy is in fact a masterpiece of countless nuances: the different methods of millenary winemaking traditions and the multiplicity of environmental and morphological factors has given rise to a rich wine production that differs greatly from terroir to terroir and from vine to vine.

It was difficult to choose a small number of wines from the countless varieties available in this region; the Moscow tasting is relatively short, only one hour, and the information accompanying these samples is complex. In order to offer the most comprehensive introduction possible, it was decided to select wines from the following areas: one wine from Abruzzo, two wines from Lazio, one wine from Marche, two wines from Tuscany and one wine from Umbria. What we now call Italian culture is a mosaic of regional traditions and habits, which, although they are now united under one flag, are in fact profoundly different from one another. This is quite evident in these wines, whose production is still deeply linked to local traditions.

The personality of each wine selected is also greatly influenced by the grape variety used. In fact, different vine varieties inevitably carry different characteristics. The two Tuscan wines to be sampled are interesting because they are made using Sangiovese; one is made using 100% Sangiovese grapes and the other is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. In addition to red wines, which make up 5 of the 7 wines to be presented, a white wine and a rosé will also be featured.

Veronika Denisova will strive to embody the NGO teaching method: using a regional approach, NGO would like to demonstrate the way native vines are directly connected to the climate, soil and wine traditions of the area in which they originated. In fact, native varieties are gaining an ever-increasing share of the market, to the detriment of international varieties. This method will give students an overview of European quality wine, focusing on wines and styles that fully reflect the depth of quality found in these territories.

About: Native Grape Odyssey is a project financed by the European Union and managed by Unione Italiana Vini and Zante Agricultural Cooperatives Union for the promotion of PDO and PGI European wines abroad, in particular in three countries: Japan, Canada and Russia. In order to achieve this, the Native Grape Odyssey educational program will organize wine seminars, workshops and b2b meetings both in these countries and in Verona, Italy, inviting wine experts and influencers from these countries. These events, realized in the span of three years (2019-21) aim at creating awareness about European native wines abroad, in particular Italian and Greek wines, which share a long tradition and a high standard of quality.