On Friday June 8^th 2018 the Barolo & Friends Event came back to Copenhagen for the tenth consecutive year. The great tasting event organized by the consortium of promotion I Vini del Piemonte, with the support of the Italian Embassy in Copenhagen, took place as usual at Børsen, a seventeenth-century palace which was the historical seat of the Stock Exchange and is considered one of the most prestigious location of the Danish capital.

Incredible numbers for this tenth edition which saw the participation of 40 wine producers from different areas of Langhe, Roero and Monferrato. The 800 tickets available for the two sessions open to final consumers had been sold out long time before the beginning of the event and some 350 sector professionals took part in the trade session.

The format is already well established: a “walk around tasting” in the great central hall, with producers taking part in the event in order to personally present and explain their labels to Danish sector professionals and consumers as the Danes have been showing to know and deeply love Piedmont, not only for its great wines but also as favourite destination for their holidays.

Together with the main event, there were also two in-depth “master classes” led by Thomas Ilkjær, responsible of the school for sommeliers Vinakademiet and author of the most important Italian wine guide of North Europe. The first session was a comparison of different vintages of Barbera d’Asti, from 2011 to 2017. The second one, organized in cooperation with “Consorzio Colline del Monferrato Casalese”, was about Grigolino and the great designations of piedmont.

Beside the wine, there was also space for gourmet products, thanks to the cooperation with the restaurants Tèrra and Ché Fè, two landmarks for the lovers of the Italian cuisine in Copenhagen. The restaurants had a dedicated space in the food area, set up in cooperation with the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Denmark.

PROGRAM

• 11.30 / 15.30 >> trade session (walk around tasting)
• 11.30 / 12.30 >> Master Class reserved for professionals: “Barbera d’Asti from 2011-2017”,
  led by Thomas Ilkjaer. Sponsored by the Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato.
• 13.30 / 14.30 >> Master Class reserved for professionals: “The great diversity of Piemonte”,
  led by Thomas Ilkjaer. With the participation of the Consorzio Colline del Monferrato Casalese.
• 16.00 / 18.00 >> first session for final consumers (walk around tasting)
• 18.30 / 20.30 >> second session for final consumers (walk around tasting)

PREVIOUS EDITIONS

During the first ten editions, the Barolo & Friends Event of Copenhagen has had a great success both with the sector professionals and the final consumers registering, every year, about 1.000 participants. The Piedmontese wine producing companies which took part in the several editions were more than 300 and more than 60% of them declared that they found an importer in Denmark after having attended the event.