Norway is a country of extraordinary importance for Piedmontese producers. Firstly, because it is one of the few markets in the world, among the main wine importing countries, in which Italy beats France hands down: our country, in fact, currently takes first place in the consumption of red wine, with 17.4 million litres imported, compared with 5.4 litres from France. In particular, Piedmont is one of Italy’s leading regions for sales, thanks to the success in the last few years of the great red wines of Piedmont: Barolo and Barbera in first place.

The centre of a real revolution of habits, which has recently favoured wine consumption at the expense of beer, Norway is, today, one of the most important markets in the world for wines of excellence, especially considering the very high spending power of its inhabitants. The transformation has particularly affected the young Norwegians, who are increasingly favouring the world of wine. Also noteworthy is how the food service is experiencing a turning point, with peaks of quality never achieved in the past: the wine lists of restaurants are renewing their offer, especially with Italian and high quality products.

In the last fifteen years, imports of Italian wine in Norway have more than doubled: the main strengths being the terroir, the hallmark that every producer leaves on his wine, and the capability to offer high qualityproducts at competitive prices, and, in this, Piedmont certainly has many cards to play. However, competition from other regions is increasingly fierce and this shows how important it is to strengthen the position of Piedmont with a series of promotional appropriate initiatives, also considering the fact that in this market there is still potential for growth in terms of volume, development at a regional level and product variety.

Considering said premises, as well as the success of the first two editions, I Vini del Piemonte organized the third consecutive edition of the Barolo & Friends Event in Oslo on February 15th, 2016 in the foyer of the Det Norske Teatret theatre. The event was sponsored by the Italian Embassy in Oslo and took advantage once again of the assistance of Michèle Shah, marketing consultant specializing in the promotion of Italian wines in foreign markets.

Programme

12.00am/1.00pm: seminar exclusively dedicated to professionals: tasting of a selection of wines from Piedmont with the cheese provided by the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium. The seminar was hosted by Liora Levi, winner of the title “Best Sommelier of Norway” and leading figure in the Norwegian wine sector.

11am/4.30pm: “Walk Around Tasting” reserved to invited professionals of the sector: traders, Ho.Re.Ca representatives, importers interested in buying wine from new companies, representatives of Vinmonoplet, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and journalist specializing in the wine sector.

4pm: Master Class dedicated to Norwegian wine lovers, hosted by Sandro Minella, Italian expert: tasting of a selection of wines from Piedmont with the cheese provided by the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium

4.30pm/7.30pm: “Walk Around Tasting” open to wine lovers, selected in cooperation with the magazine Aperitif.

Tasting room reserved to the representatives of Vinmonopolet, the Norwegian monopoly.