By now, we’re sure you’ve heard about the effects the Coronavirus is having in Italy. Unfortunately, the country seems to be the European epicentre for the disease as it has recorded more cases of Coronavirus than any other.
The first thing we want to say is that you don’t need to worry about your Italian wines.
As much of a threat as Coronavirus clearly is, it won’t affect any of the wines that you’ll find in stores. And with all of the precautions being put in place in Italy, you can rest assured that the issue won’t affect any of the wines that you order from the country either.
And speaking of precautions…a lot of them are being put into place.
We’re sure you’ve heard by now that pretty much all of Northern Italy is on lockdown. Travel has been restricted, as have many businesses in that area of the country. Now, whether we think that this is something of an overreaction is irrelevant.
What it shows is that the Italian government is doing everything that it can to keep people safe.
And they’re not the only ones!
The Coronavirus has affected the Italian wine industry. But it has done it in a way that you might not expected.
Vinitaly Gets Postponed
The Vinitaly festival and exhibitions is one of the most important events on the Italian wine calendar.
It offers producers from all over the country the chance to enter their wines into competition. Those that gain top honours get earmarked as some of the best wines that the country has to offer.
And of course, this usually means boosts in sales and prestige for both the wine and the brand that’s behind creating it.
But beyond this, Vinitaly also offers opportunities for networking and the creation of business relationships. We’re sure that many a partnership has emerged from this event over the years. And with the event running since the 1960s, you know that the most prestigious players in the entire industry are set to attend.
Unfortunately, Coronavirus has put paid to Vinitaly 2020…at least for now.
The Situation
This year, the fair was intended to start on April 19th in the Italian city of Verona.
The problem is that the city is a mere 70km away from a small town that has been affected by Coronavirus. This small town has already been put under quarantine to prevent the spread of the virus into nearby towns.
…But the organisers of Vinitaly didn’t want to take any chances.
Instead of risking holding such a large event in a city that’s close to an area where an outbreak has occurred, they’ve chosen to postpone the whole thing.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Vinitaly won’t take place in 2020.
In fact, Veronafiere has already rescheduled the event, which will now take place between 14th June and 17th June.
Is This an Unprecedented Action?
Not at all. In fact, several other Italian events have undergone similar postponements to account for the spread of Coronavirus.
Cosmoprof is an excellent example. The fair was scheduled to take place in Bologna soon but has been postponed. The same goes the Milan’s furniture and design fair. The latter is particularly unsurprising as Milan is one of the cities that is on lockdown.
The point we’re making here is that this postponement isn’t anything out of the ordinary, given the situation. And Veronafiere certainly haven’t made a rash decision here. A lot of thought must have gone into choosing to postpone as it’s likely that changing so many plans will come at a great cost to the organisation.
Why Has the Event Been Postponed?
Of course, the simple answer here would be to say because of Coronavirus.
But we want to confront a misconception that some people may have that could stem from this cancellation.
Vinitaly hasn’t been postponed because of any issues with the wines that would go on display. To make it absolutely clear, you will not be able to catch Coronavirus from drinking a glass of Italian wine. The virus doesn’t get transmitted that way, unless the wine has been handled directly by somebody who has the condition. And as all of these wines are bottled and ready to go long before the competition, there’s absolutely zero chance of them containing the virus.
The reason for the cancellation is a simple one…
Each year, Vinitaly draws thousands of people from all over Italy and the rest of the world. That means the event puts a lot of people in very close contact with one another.
Now…imagine that just one of those people has Coronavirus.
They may spend three days wandering around the entire fair without even knowing that they have the virus. And during that time, they could potentially pass it on to many other people.
Those people then leave the fair and go back to their homes.
And as carriers, they may then pass the virus on to many more people away from the fair.
So, Vinitaly has been postponed because it’s a large gathering of people. And as with any large gathering, the threat of the virus spreading goes up enormously.
The Final Word
Once again, we want to reiterate that anybody who’s thinking about buying a bottle of wine does not have to worry about Coronavirus.
You can feel safe to place an order today in full peace of mind.
Simply put, the cancellation of events like Vinitaly have little do with the actual wine industry. Instead, it’s all about ensuring that the virus doesn’t have the chance to spread rapidly at an event that brings together large groups of people all in one place.
We believe this is a very responsible move from the organisers of the festival. And we also applaud the fact that they’re likely taking a large financial hit by making this decision.
Hopefully, the threat of a pandemic will have passed by the time that June rolls around. And if it has we look forward to seeing Vinitaly take place in all of its glory.
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