Industry & Trends

The International Wine Tourism Conference returns to Porto this year

Communication Media Group Drinks+ became a media partner of the International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC), the most established global wine tourism conference and trade event for the wine and culinary tourism industry.

Wine tourism, despite the problems caused by the pandemic, is a growing category and especially in need of innovation. And in strengthening this direction, the organizers of IWINETC and the Wine Travel Awards (WTA), established by Communication Media Group Drinks+, see opportunities for overcoming the crisis.

Therefore, the partnership between these two parties is an important step on the path of support and promotion of enogastronomic tourism.

The 13^th edition of IWINETC will take place at the brand new 5* The Lodge Wine & Business Hotel 26 & 27 October 2021. The venue has fabulous views of the Douro and Porto from the banks of the UNESCO World Heritage area in Vila Nova de Gaia.

In partnership with the Porto & North of Portugal Tourism Board, IWINETC will incorporate two full days of plenary talks, panel discussions, case studies, and speeches, one half day of one-to-one business meetings, a comprehensive networking programme and several post tours programmes to the four wine regions defined in the newly launched Wine Tourism Routes namely Douro and Porto, Vinho Verde, Távora-Varosa and Trás-os-Montes.

The conference slogan for 2021 is “Bouncing Back”. IWINETC’s  2-day Conference programme will leave attendees inspired and motivated to apply their learnings to their place of work and/or businesses.

Judith Lewis will deliver a speech on Post-Pandemic Digital Recovery for the wine and culinary tourism industry. Following this, Peter Syme will look at the wine tourism industry at the post pandemic period, including the aspect of digital changes. Chris Torres will present market research which aims to better inform tour and activity providers on how to market their businesses in 2021/22, including which demographics and product types to focus on. Felicity Carter, one of the WTA jury members, will show how to stand out in a crowded market and get customer attention at all levels – destination, region, place, providers of wine tourism experiences and Adrian Bridge, awarded wine personality of the year, will be looking at the biggest investment in Europe in 2020 at €105M – WOW.

Commenting on IWINETC 2021, Anthony Swift, IWINETC Event Director, said: “We’re excited about this year’s IWINETC as it’s been 10 years since we last held the event in Porto and it will be interesting to see the huge development that has happened with respect to wine and culinary tourism in the Porto and the North of Portugal region. Working with Porto & North of Portugal Tourism Board, we’ll be putting together a comprehensive content schedule, full of sessions that have a genuine practical application for our delegates. The programme is a great opportunity for wine and culinary tourism professionals to enhance their time with us in Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia with targeted learning, business and networking opportunities that complement the whole event experience”

To register to attend IWINETC 2021 here.

Here at IWINETC our team is hard at work putting together the final touches to IWINETC 2021 and we wanted to share what we have fermenting for the event.

This year, IWINETC will bring you insightful knowledge sessions, grape escape destinations to wine for in 2022 and quality wine tourism experience providers and wine tourism agents to inspire you and to move your business forward.

• Gain new ideas and be inspired by world class speakers – 6 keynote speakers head the 16 strong industry experts with Judith Lewis, Chris Torres and Peter Syme all available by appointment for one to one consultations with conference delegates.
• Discover new destinations and meet wine tourism experience providers and agents – exhibitors from across the world joining our exhibition and B2B Workshop for the very first time
• Network and connect at our events in the beautiful city of Porto & Vila Nova de Gaia and on our post conference tours to the Douro Valley

View the conference programme here and discover the exciting talks on the menu

A visit to IWINETC will keep you in the know and one step ahead of the competition.

Register now and don’t miss out on the must-attend industry event of the year for the wine and culinary tourism industry:

View the attendance options here>>

IWINETC 2021 – 26 & 27 October 2021 in partnership with the Porto & North of Portugal Tourist Board.

The International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC ) 2021 will be hosted in The Lodge Wine & Business Hotel. Built in the former centuries-old Port Wine cellars, the IWINETC venue will afford fabulous views of the Douro and Porto from the banks of the UNESCO World Heritage area in Vila Nova de Gaia.

On a recent visit and stay at The Lodge Wine and Business Hotel, Anthony Swift, IWINETC Director commented “The location of The Lodge couldn’t be bettter for IWINETC. The hotel entrance and chill out area comprises of interesting textures, materials, colours, shapes, woods, cork and an eye catching old barrel, now part of the structure of the stairs leading to the conference rooms and exhibition area on the first floor. Speaking of floors these resemble the floors of cellars with wicker baskets embracing the structure’s columns. As you wander around the hotel there are countless references to the wine world to be discovered . Service I have to say is top class”.

In total, there are 119 rooms and suites. The rooms honour the Portuguese heritage, with mattresses, such as the ones mentioned in the serta vs.sealy article, bed linens and towels all of Portuguese creation, which give comfort and relaxation while sleeping. If you need to know the benefits of having these mattresses, read the Serta iComfort Hybrid Revie to learn more.

The Dona Maria restaurant: orchestrated by Chef Ricardo Simões, pays tribute to Infanta D. Maria (the woman who gave her name to what is considered the first Portuguese cook book), but also to all the Donas Marias in our lives: mothers, grandmothers and aunts who have contributed to Portuguese gastronomic heritage. Over lunches Conference delegates will be able to discover the culinary delights of North Portugal such as tripe, braised veal with cured meats rice from Trás-os-Montes, confit cod with chickpea purée or Abade de Priscos Pudding.

Early brid registration is now open for the IWINETC conference & B2B Workshop which means that attendees can now secure their place to join us in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto and the North of Portugal from 26 to 27 October 2021. With strict health and safety precautions in place the number of places will be fewer than in previous editions of IWINETC so early registration is recommended.

View the attendance options here>>

IWINETC has announced 5 keynote speakers for IWINETC 2021 Porto & North Portugal, which will take place on 26 and 27 October 2021 at the 5* The Lodge Wine & Business Hotel.

The conference slogan for 2021 is “Bouncing Back”. Judith Lewis will speak about Post-Pandemic Digital Recovery for the wine and culinary tourism industry. On a similar note Peter Syme will look at the wine tourism industry post covid and what digital change we they need to be aware of. Chris Torres will present market research that asked the questions so many of us in the industry want to know. The insights gained from this research will better inform tour and activity providers on how to market their businesses in 2021/22, including which demographics and product types to focus on. Felicity Carter will show how to stand out in a crowded market and get customer attention at all levels – destination, region, place, providers of wine tourism experiences and Adrian Bridge, awarded wine personality of the year will looking at the biggest investment in Europe in 2020 at €105M – WOW

More expert speakers at IWINETC will be announced in the coming weeks.

Anthony Swift, Event Director, IWINETC, said: “We’re very excited about the programme of inspiring content that will provide attendees with tangible learnings to take back to their own businesses. We can’t wait to share the IWINETC experience direct to a live audience this October under the slogan “Bouncing back”

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IWINETC 2021 takes place 26 & 27 October and will incorporate a Welcome reception for all attendees, a day and a half of conference talks, an exhibition area, a B2B Workshop and Fam trips for Agents and Media.

Register your interest here>>

The International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC), the most established global wine tourism conference and trade event for the wine and culinary tourism industry, has announced the destination and dates of its 13^th edition, which will take place at the brand new 5* The Lodge Wine & Business Hotel 26 & 27 October 2021.

In partnership with the Porto & North of Portugal Tourism Board, IWINETC will  incorporate two full days of plenary talks, panel discussions, case studies, and speeches, one half day of one-to-one business meetings, a comprehensive networking programme and several post tour programmes to the four wine regions defined in the newly launched Wine Tourism Routes namely Douro and Porto, Vinho Verde, Távora-Varosa and Trás-os-Montes. As in previous editions of IWINETC exhibitors, B2B Workshop providers, Hosted Buyers and Media will benefit from IWINETC’s bespoke appointment system, matching agent’’s business needs with supplier’s services to ensure they meet with people with whom there is a strong chance of doing business.

IWINETC’s  2 day Conference programme will leave attendees inspired and motivated to apply their learnings to their place of work and/or businesses. Speakers already confirmed include Judith Lewis, Chris Torres, Peter Syme and Felicity Carter. Additional expert speakers will be announced in due course.

Commenting on IWINETC 2021, Anthony Swift, IWINETC Event Director, said: “We’re excited about this year’s IWINETC as it’s been 10 years since we last held the event in Porto and it will be interesting to see the huge development that has happened with respect to wine and culinary tourism in the Porto and the North of Portugal region. Working with Porto & North of Portugal Tourism Board, we’ll be putting  together a comprehensive content schedule, full of sessions that have a genuine practical application for our delegates. The programme is a great opportunity for wine and culinary tourism professionals to enhance their time with us in Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia with targeted learning, business and networking opportunities that complement the whole event experience”

Luís Pedro Martins, President, Porto & North of Portugal Tourism Board, said: “Quality events such as IWINETC 2021 brings to the region the awareness that we aim to achieve when comparing with other destinations specially while we still face a pandemic period worldwide. This brings us the strength we need to proove internationally that the region has everything to offer with the security everyone is looking for. An event dedicated to wine and culinary tourism is fully aligned with our strategy for the Wine Tourism Route and we’ve decided to launch it in IWINETC – the first B2B marketing action for this Route. Therefore, it is with great satisfaction that we welcome each participant”.

People can register their interest to attend IWINETC 2021 from Monday 23 August onwards. The event is expected to welcome around 250 attendees from around 25 countries

Register your interest here>>

The International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) has announced the launch of a new online event, IWINETC Global Virtual B2B Workshop, which will take place on 4 & 5 May 2021. The event is an addition to IWINETC ’s global portfolio of conferences, B2B events and webinars for the wine and culinary tourism industry.

IWINETC Global Virtual B2B Workshop will unite wine tourism professionals from across the globe for two days of one-to-one business meetings that will ferment new connections and enhance existing ones.

The event platform, “My Wine Pleasures” will be open over 2 days so that agents and providers can tailor their schedule to their time zone. Each day will provide tour operators, agents and event organisers the chance to discover new destinations, expand their provider contacts, and get the latest information on each region’s recovery. The programme is as follows:

• Day 1 – The Americas (4 May 2021)
• Day 2 – Europe, Asia and Australasia (5 May 2021)

IWINETC will also run in May and June a second series of live and on-demand webinars titled 10 More Grape Escapes to Wine for in 2021 that will provide tour operators and agents valuable learning experiences and inspirational ideas for their wine loving customers. Destinations scheduled for the series include Australia, Sussex, Sweden and South Africa.

 “While we all long for the return of face-to-face events it’s clear that there is a long-term place for high-quality online meetings”, said IWINETC Director Anthony Swift, “IWINETC Global Virtual B2B Workshop will be a valuable and easily accessible event for wine and culinary tourism professionals from around the world to connect and do business.”

Destination & provider information & registration here>>

Agent information & registration here>>

From over a 100 destination talk proposals received, the organisers of the IWINETC have selected 10 webinars to be included in the programme 10 Grape Escape Destinations to Wine for in 2021. The webinars were uncorked on 11^th February 2021 with Explore Armenia through a Glass of Wine and Bulgaria – a Virtual Wine Tour and the series ends on 25^th March with Destination Kent, The Wine Garden of England presented by Louisa Mungall, (Destination Development Manager, Visit Kent) & Sally Murphy, (Marketing Executive, Wine Garden of England).

“The webinars are principally aimed at tour operators/travel agents that work, or are developing, wine tourism as part of their business. It also provides content and insight for media and wine tourism professionals”, said IWINETC Director Anthony Swift who added:

“These webinars have been well received by wine and culinary tourism profressionals from around the world as wine tourism is clearly one of the safest forms of tourism in these restrictive times we currently live in”.

“We chose to include Kent in the webinar series as England is probably not the first place a wine lover and wine tourist would think of visiting. Tour operators and travel agents working the niche market of wine tourism are always interested in discovering new destinations to keep their customers coming back each year. So why not England in 2021 or 2022?” Destination Kent will be live on Thursday 25^th March at 16.00 CET and registration to attend is free. More info here: https://www.iwinetc.com/grape-escape-destinations-2021

Reading this after the 25th March 2021? Not to worry you can catch the webinar replay on the IWINETC YouTube Channel here>>

IWINETC Grape Escape Destinations for 2021 features a packed live and on-demand content programme with 10 sessions looking at grape escape destinations around the world designed to help wine and culinary tourism professionals look towards a brighter future as our industry rebuilds and recovers post pandemic.

For those who register to attend there will 10 hours of live content available to be viewed over the course of the programme and content will be available to view on demand after each session.

IWINETC Grape Escape Destinations for 2021 online event will bring together some of the world’s exciting wine tourism destinations with agents and media from around the globe. Destinations included in the programme are: Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Champagne, Greece, Italy and Portugal, 

Commenting on the IWINETC initiative, Anthony Swift, Event Director, said: “Last year has been a huge challenge for the wine and culinary tourism industry and 2021 until around summer looks to be more of the same, so it’s fantastic to come together with IWINETC Grape Escape Destinations for 2021, to share our destinations, make valuable connections, hear from industry experts and of course, continue to do business. We’re delighted with the destinations and speakers lined up for the next couple of months.

IWINETC Grape Escape Destinations for 2021 online uncorks on 11 February at 16.00 CET with Explore Armenia Through a Glass of Wine with Dr. Zara Muradyan and Hayarpi Shahinyan of the Wine and Vine Foundation of Armenia.

For more information, visit: www.iwinetc.com

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Friuli-Venezia Giulia – where’s that?

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is tucked into the far north-east corner of Italy, between the Adriatic Sea and the Julian Alps, on the border with Slovenia to the east and Austria to the north. It is a young and dynamic wine producing region of extraordinary diversity, internationally recognised as a source of premium and super-premium wines.  The region is renowned for its interpretation of the international classics, from Sauvignon Blanc to Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, but it is arguably Friuli’s unique local varieties which best crystalize the flavours and aromas of the terroir and project a sense of place.

Vitinera – what’s that?

Vitinera is a place where the DIY wine tourists can plan and book a wine tasting day or two by connecting to www.vitinera.com and selecting a specific winery to visit in one of the several sub regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia region as per the Vitinera web site namely: Gorizia, Pordenone, Trieste and Udine. The platform is currently available in English, Italian and German.

Before a wine tourist can start to create a personalised wine tasting tour the user first has to create an account (takes about 60 seconds to complete the process) which is free and then the user is able to search the directory of wineries to visit on a region by region basis.

Each listed producer has a profile page in the platform  which shows which kind of wine tourism experiences they have on offer, availability and a price per person. Wine tourism experiences include visits to vineyards, visits inside the winery, tasting, wine and food matching, vineyard picnics, treasure hunts for kids, whole lunches and dinners and even sleep over at certain wineries. A location map is provided to avoid getting lost.

Vitinera came about by a chance meeting of 5 people at the MIB School of Management in Trieste, united by their passion for wine tourism. The start-up is in fact the final project work of their Master degree. The team is as follows: Luca Buccino is the CEO of Vitinera; Francesco Bacarini is the Chief Operating Office; Mario Arnoldo is Chief Marketing Officer; Fabrizio Lesca is Chief Financial Officer; Enrico Codognini is the Chief Technology Officer.

CEO, Francesco Bacarina presented Vitinera at the 12^th annual International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) October 2020:

Vitinera plans to add the neighbouring Veneto wine region and other Italian grape escape destinations such as Lombardia and Trentino in the near future. Vitinera also plans to make the platform available for tour operators and agents to use as a tool to help create wine tasting tours for their clients. Agents interested in know more should contact Mario Arnoldo

Knowledge & Business have been the International Wine Tourism Conference’s (IWINETC) 5 day theme this year for close on 300 registered delegates from some 25 different countries tuning in from diverse grape escape destinations such as Austria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Moldova, Portugal, Spàin, Slovenia, Serbia, UK, USA to name a few and from host region, Friuli Venezia Giulia and many other regions of Italy.

The 2 day Wine Tourism B2B Workshop between agents and media and wine tourism experience providers had more than 700 appointments scheduled and proved to be the business highlight of the 5 day event with many more meetings conducted after the meeting schedule through online meeting platforms.

IWINETC was scheduled to happen in person 27 – 29 October 2020 and to be hosted in the beautiful and spectacular grape escape destination that is Friuli Venezia Giulia with the support of Premium sponsors Promoturismo FVG

The 3 day conference programme saw a line of up of world class speakers providing excellent and relevant presentations for attendees to savour in these difficult times. Anthony Swift event Director provides some of the salient points from the conference talk programme:

“On day 1 Lucio Gomiero uncorked IWINETC giving delegates a taste of the Wine and culinary delights of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Chris Torres kept our spirits up by suggesting that the way forward at least in the next 12-18 months is to focus on domestic markets – staycation to coin a new word for the Oxford English dictionary. Jonathan Gomez Punzon of the United Nations World Tourism Organization gave a bitter taste of the new reality, the new normal but then served up that wine tourism and rural tourism are one of the safest kinds of tourism and will thrive during these challenging times but we have to adapt by providing safe experiences, by partnering up within a given destination, by providing excellence – a reason to travel he stated.

Day 2 saw WTM’S Responsible Tourism Advisor, Harold Goodwin present “The Business Advantage of Responsible Tourism”. Responsible Tourism is important for providing authentic experiences and ensuring that wine tourists do not have negative experiences. Caring for customers tailoring to their needs – show respect and care. You are only strong as the weakest link in your chain he said. Bubbly Judith Lewis gaves us food for thought when it comes to Post-Covid Website Optimisation and Digital Marketing in the Wine Tourism Industry. Cristina Mascanzoni Kaiser live from a winery on Lake Garda defined the luxury traveller of today as being a person seeking tailor-made experiences according to culture, a wine lover looking for a unqiue offer and for a wine tourism experience provider to be trained and responsible. She coined the phrase Be hospitalian! Francesco Bacarini topped up day 2 showing delegates the online booking platform Vitinera where a DIY wine tourist can book a winery visit in the Friuli Venezia Giulia and in other wine regions of Italy. A useful tool still in the fermentation stage.

Day 3 saw Marianna Sigala give a seminar  on wine tourism Innovation during COVID-19 and this was followed by  a seminar on “How to  Improve Customers’ Experience for Wine through Technologies” with speaker Roberta Garibaldi. Peter Syme stressed the importance of understanding the customer journey and a few dos and don’ts when it comes to using Online Travel Agents.Champagne Tourist Board Director, Philippe Harant presented the Winetourism Lab project which aims to assist (coaching, financial advice….) wine tourism business iniciatives in the the region. Following on was a presentation of The Lower Austrian Wine Region.

Swift in the closing plenary session ended the IWINETC 2020 conference programme by saying “Despite the challenging times we find ourselves in, the wine tourism industry is clearly on the rise and people are looking online for wine tourism, accommodation and complementary activities to do in a wine region such as wine country bike tours, trekking and tasting, yoga, a place where kids can run around doing treasure hunts and so on. Chris Torres showed us this in his talk on day 1”.

Swift went on to address the audience by saying: “You right now are in the right business. We must now invest in our marketing efforts, take heed of all the advice given by our expert speakers, sit down with a glass of your favourite wine and watch the conference replays, take notes, think, action. You will win. You will thrive. You will be enjoying the new vintages when others with their heads in the sand will not or may well not. The future is bright for all who understand that wine tourism is a sustainable business opportunity”

Lara Persello in charge of the Area Enogastronomia – Strada del Vino e dei Sapori del Friuli Venezia Giulia and on behalf of Promoturismo FVG said a few final words and extended an open invitation for all conference delegates to discover Friuli Venezia Giulia as soon as travel restrictions are eased or removed.

Swift finished up by saying that “IWINETC will be back in 2021 and an announcement will be made in the New Year”.

The International Wine Tourism Conference (IWINETC) is the world’s leading conference, exhibition and B2B Workshop for the wine and culinary tourism professionals. Organised by wine tourism professionals for wine tourism professionals, the IWINETC includes a conference programme of around 25 talks, an exhibition area for providers to show grape escape destinations from around the world, a B2B Workshop for agents to meet with wine tourism experience providers and networking events to discover the host destination for the duration of the event. IWINETC attracts professionals working in travel agencies, wineries, hospitality, tourist boards, regional govenrment, associations, universities, wine import and activity organisers.

For the first time, IWINETC was run virtually from 26 – 30 October 2020 (3 day conference and 2 day B2B Workshop). 

www.iwinetc.com