23 times Merano Wine Festival

Since 1992, very many things have changed in the wine world and in the market, perhaps even the rules of the game. In these years, the Merano Wine Festival, which today opens its 23rd edition, has been a constant, an appointment capable of telling and describing the borders and the content of wine production in Italy and abroad.

It is therefore natural to ask Helmuth Koecher, founder and president of the event, about his take on the evolution of the market throughout these 23 years: «When we began this adventure with the Festival, Italian wine producers were mostly focused on quantity rather than quality. It was at that same time that the attention began to move to the search for quality. It’s no surprise that in ’92 we only invited in Merano 40 wineries: indeed, there were still few people producing high quality wines in Italy at the time.»

Luckily, the journey of the Merano Wine Festival could accompany a constant growth in the tension towards excellence: «Both with regards to food and wine, in these year’s we’ve seen with great pleasure the development of a growing conviction on the importance of quality. Technological progress has had its influence, but the most significant element is the fact that wineries today want to present high quality products to the public. According to ISTAT data, today in Italy there are 120K registered bottlers. The fact that at the Merano Wine Festival we only present 350, makes it possible to understand how our selection has become difficult. This year there were around 1,000 producers among the candidates and we didn’t exclude almost anyone prior to our analysis, the demonstration that the average level is decisively high.»

Speaking with Helmuth Koecher of the new elements in this edition of the Festival, the first thing that is mentioned is called Cult2014: «We will open the programme with this special event dedicated to 42 wineries that I would call “wine pioneers” which have accompanied the Merano Wine Festival since its first edition. Some others among the most established and important wineries in our countries were added to these, as long as they had already been active 23 years ago. All together, these producers represent, in our opinion, some true guarantees of the quality in the territory they come from.»

Another important innovation is linked instead to the theme of sustainability: «This year we wanted to reply to the message launched by a growing number of producers, who underline the importance of discovering and better understanding the techniques that allow wineries to apply sustainable production models in order to be more efficient in the market.»
The other topic that is conquering an increasingly stronger interest, among producers and wine enthusiasts, is that of natural, organic and biodynamic wine: «We were the first to give space to biodynamic wines, already 10 years ago, and today we have to acknowledge that this offer is strongly growing. The interest of producers and consumers is growing in parallel, and the importance of offering and buying healthy and natural products is being more and more established. This trend can also be noticed in the world of food. This year there will be 90 wineries from this sector: our selection is always very careful, because while it is true that in order to be certified one needs to undergo strict controls, it is also important to assess a quality that has differences compared to other wines. In my opinion, these products are interesting in that they better mirror the aromas and flavours of the vine, and thus of the various grape varieties that are used.»

The Merano Wine Festival programme is thus packed with these and other interesting elements, and will take place in the traditional setting of Merano’s Kurhaus from November 7th to the 10th.