Dear foreign reputable bloggers (who will enter next Vinitaly 2013 for free)

di Fiorenzo Sartore

Dear foreign reputable bloggers (who will enter next Vinitaly 2013 for free), let me tell you a couple of facts. I am a wine blogger like you. I started my wine blog in 2004 and I am part of the italian wine-blogosphere (whatever that means) since eons. I have been co-founder of Intravino (possibly the best wine blog over this planet, well ok, my rating may be just a little disputable) and I am also wine blogger at L’Unità, italian left-wing newspaper. Like many of us I always spent a lot of time at Vinitaly, actually I attended at least 22 editions of the Verona fair (yes, I’m old). And just like any italian wine blogger I have always been pissed pissed off to death because wine bloggers were never granted free access to the Verona exhibit: only official mainstream media personnel had, and still have, this kind of privilege. As an officially pissed off wine blogger I always accepted this decision: after all we (the bloggers) are ugly, ranting people, spending our time in criticizing everything and totally out of control. Who is a blogger, anyway? An amateur, a hobbyist.

So, when this year I learnt that foreign wine bloggers, finally, had some kind of free pass, at first I was happy. Then I became even more pissed off as I found out that only “reputable” foreign wine bloggers have this privilege, and that’s why I am writing you this. My dear collegues (let me call you this way), some of you, the reputable ones, will finally be accepted by Vinitaly. I am asking you a favor: would you respectfully ask Veronafiere to articulate a plausible excuse for the exclusion of Italian wine bloggers from the free-pass privilege? Are we bad? Are we really so ugly? Is it a problem of dress code, do we have to wear a tie? And, most of all (this could be of some interest to ALL of you): how the hell did they verify the reputation of foreign wine bloggers? And what makes the other part of you disreputable? I am really curious about this, because I confess you, my dream is to become, some day, reputable too.

That’s it. Not much, just a favor. Please help me in this struggle. As I said, I am happy to see that a small number of the wine bloggers community had this chance – how would you call yourself? “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”? I am so glad for you. And, at the same time, so pissed off. Tell’em that the bad’n’ugly guys, the outcasts, the Italians are upset. Since you are free to do that.

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Fiorenzo Sartore

Vinaio. Pressoché da sempre nell'enomondo, offline e online.

27 Commenti

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gianpaolo

circa 11 anni fa - Link

:) I like it.

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she-wolf Brit not Yankee

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Dear Mr Sartore, Considering the time that you spend in getting pissed "to death" previously, no wonder that they don't wan't you inside the Fair. The same probably applies to the other officially pissed wine bloggers. Excluding you and your drunken friends was a gesture of political correctness. Putting aside the proper use of the English language, I subscribe to what you have written. It is a clear case of mismanagement. I presume that an official press release will follow soon. Good luck!

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Fiorenzo Sartore

circa 11 anni fa - Link

TY madam, fixed

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Jeremy Parzen

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Fiorenzo, I'll bring this to Stevie Kim's attention.

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Andrea Gori

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Jeremy, are you sure you want to do this?!? But I think Stevie read us anyway...

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sk

circa 11 anni fa - Link

can u pls cut me some slack here?

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Danpera

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Hands Up for you all italian ballbreakers bloggerz!!

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Mike Tommasi

circa 11 anni fa - Link

I am a foreign blogger but not reputable, so what the hell I will grit my pissed-off teeth and pay through the nose right above them. Fiorenzo maybe you should change your name to Florence Taylor. Then you can try and get two freebies and pass me one in exchange for this great idea ;-) ciao Mike

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Mike Tommasi

circa 11 anni fa - Link

I have never been to Vinitaly. It has been described to me as a totally chaotic event, due to the fact that Vinitaly, unlike Vinexpo or ProWein for example, does not REALLY distinguish between pros and public, and just about anyone willing to pay gets in. I have been to non-wine trade shows at Veronafiere, and the chaos starts with the parking, totally anarchic (I once got stuck for 2 hours trying to exit the lot). If there is a free pass for foreign bloggers, but not for Italian ones, indeed it is a silly form of discrimination and Fiorenzo is right. Even though I doubt any Italian blogger will have to pay, because surely he knows at least one winemaker that can send him an invitation, still, yes, it is a silly rule. Besides, what is "reputable", what indeed is a "wine-blogger", what does "foreign" mean?

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sk

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Dear Fiorenzo (yes, Andrea and Jeremy too), please note what follows is my personal comment. Here are some facts: yes, there will be albeit small, but an area, dedicated to wine bloggers. I personally thought it would've been better to have a small area than none. yes, it will not be able to accommodate many. yes, it is open to international bloggers, however, the small meeting with Alder Yarrow and Alfonso Cevola will be open to all, based on first-come first-basis. yes, this is an experimental area for Vinitaly and I hope it can give us some insight for next year. Having said this, it seems that whatever Vinitaly does seems to irritate you. I hope in the near future, we can have a more constructive dialogue with you and the wine blogging community to better formulate a professional arena for all.

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Filippo Ronco

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Dear Stevie, it seems you answered only a part of the question. The unanswered part is: why no italians are allowed in this area? You completely divert from this point. May you give us a stright answer to this? And if it wasn't exactly in those terms, why publicly the thing has been represented in this way? Under Elena Amadini direction there was a timid beginning in this process addressed to set relations and involve the wine web community (not only bloggers) in the accreditation process but this new issue you've done ridiculizing the whole italian wine discriminating their access to this area I suppose has broken the few good things you've started (you, Vinitaly) in the past years. What could have driven you to a decision like that? I imagine that, as a Fair, you have as primary objective to bring the more reputable foreign wine bloggers as you can to the exhibition and it's ok but in the meantime, you can't forget you're working in Italy with a moltitude of hig reputable and well prepared online publishers. Here my two cents on the question (in italian): https://www.vinix.com/myDocDetail.php?ID=6969 Cheers, Fil.

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A3C

circa 11 anni fa - Link

qualcuno mi aiuta e mi dice come si traduce 'paracula" in americano? Grazie

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Marilena

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Credo che la definizione sia "smartass" :)

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A3C

circa 11 anni fa - Link

grazie Marilena

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gianpaolo

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Sorry, I must have been away too long: who's Steve?

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Antonio Tomacelli

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Stevie Kim is currently the Senior Advisor to the CEO VeronaFiere and General Coordinator Vinitaly International.

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Faro Izbaziri

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Ben bir blogger yabancı ama Verona gitmiyorum. Ben on yıldır Vinitaly gitmeyin ve ben gerçekten iyi hissediyorum.

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Filippo Ronco

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Vabbe' non c'è partita, m'inchino. Comunque non è vero che non vieni da 10 anni ;)

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Faro Izbaziri

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Belki yirmi dakika oldum 2007 yılında.

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Filippo Ronco

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Ben seni hatırlıyorum, sen tuvalete girişinde önünde haklıydın, ben onun arkasından eliyle koştuğunu gördüm.

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Faro Izbaziri

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Bu doğru: ünlü bir Umbrian şirket ziyaretinden sonra.

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Armando Castagno

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Yabancı olmak, daha iyi okumak yeterli değil, sen almak için bir üne sahip olması, ve bir daha parlak olduğunu.

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w.wales & wife

circa 11 anni fa - Link

byddai'n well gennym lladd ein hunain na mynd i'r vinitaly. rhad ac am ddim yn gwneud unrhyw wahaniaeth

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justine

circa 11 anni fa - Link

you're clicking. like a dolphin !!!!

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Cognac & Cotognata

circa 11 anni fa - Link

Provided that i am not a wine blogger, instead a spirit one, and i've got no reputation in Italy (the contrary abroad), this of Vinitaly is a clear case of auto-racism. No matter (chissenefrega, in italian) for the free pass, one who likes the fair can get his access anyway, but discriminating by reputable and non-reputable bloggers (having not previously announced the criteria by which this hateful distinction will be done) is an enormous faux-pas on the image side of the management. Not to tell the auto-racism in excluding national bloggers. Please, you happy few who will enter the fair, take revenge for us in your reports of the happening! Thank you!

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Commenta

Rispondi a A3C or Cancella Risposta

Sii gentile, che ci piaci così. La tua mail non verrà pubblicata, fidati. Nei campi segnati con l'asterisco, però, qualcosa ce la devi scrivere. Grazie.