Barolo: 2021 will be dedicated to the endless story of this wine

Barolo 2021. Infinite tale" is the slogan the town has chosen to present itself as the first Italian town of wine. In the year 2021, activities, events, exhibitions and conferences will take place involving other municipalities of Langhe and Roero. Viticulture will be a driving force for the rebirth. Therefore, in parallel to the planning of public events, the promoters of Barolo 2021 are focusing on engagement and scientific research, storytelling and creativity, the search for new languages of communication, the development of models and services. A decisive role will be played by the wine museum, managed by the Barolo & Castles Foundation. Through the Scientific Committee, a permanent laboratory will be established in Barolo, offering seminars, forums, conferences, presentations of studies and research of a historical or economic nature. And the Italian City of Wine 2021 will be the leader of a network of individuals and institutions to imagine the future of small villages.

The three key words around which the initiatives will be developed are: memory, community and future. Memory because the Langhe is a treasure trove of witnesses and patriarchs; community because Barolo, even before it is a wine, is a village; future because the beginnings of a reconstruction of models and lifestyles await us, starting with agricultural practices and land management.  "This recognition must be shared with all the people of Barolo. We needed a signal of hope and restart. We hope we have succeeded," explained Mayor Renata Bianco. "Two of the most important appointments planned concern language and the environment. We will talk about them with a particular focus on wine, but the message goes beyond that: we need to start again from the balance between people and the environment," said Tiziano Gaia, who coordinated the work on Barolo's candidacy dossier.

The initiatives, which are currently being defined and may be modified based on the Covid-19 emergency, will start in February. The programme will be available on the website www.barolo-piemonte2021.it and on the official channels of the National Association of Vineyards. The programme will begin with a lectio magistralis on the topicality and outlook of the farmers' calendar. In March, there is a meeting with the States General of the sustainability of viticulture, in collaboration with Slow Food and the Consortium for the Protection of Barolo, Barbaresco, Alba, Langhe and Dogliani, where the new international Slow wine manifesto and the integrated logistics project promoted by the consortium will be presented. In April there will be exhibitions of historical labels in the castles of Langhe and Roero, while the following month there will be a forum on the new frontiers of the wine narrative.

In June, with the Hall of fame of Italian wine, the WiMu will host a gallery dedicated to the personalities who have contributed to making Italy a reference point for oenological excellence in the world. This will be followed in July by the Vigneti aperti (Open Vineyards) initiative, with the rows of vines as a natural stage for wine walks, picnics, jazz concerts, yoga courses, treasure hunts, geology lessons, games for children and video screenings. August sees the return of the traditional Goblets of Stars appointment, while September sees the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Wine Museum, postponed for a year due to the pandemic. The final event is in November, with the City of Wine's annual convention.