Has Dry January ended? Fantastico! Not that mine was particularly dry. Why deny oneself the results of viticulture? Surely one of life’s greatest pleasures.

On Thursday, 9 February- in my capacity as on staff wine aficionado- I attended Vinitaly’s 55th Wine and Spirits Trade Show. Vinitaly, by choosing to host their roadshow at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, put our capital alongside world cities: New York; Tokyo; Zurich.

The invitation came from my friends at the independent Cardiff restaurant, Casanova, where, alongside Antonio Cerosimo‘s amazing food, you’ll be able to sample a fine selection of Italian wines, curated by Luca Montuori. Visit, and they will become your friends, too.

Trivial Pursuit fans will know that Italy is the largest producer of wine in the world. Puglia (the stiletto heel of the ‘Boot’) alone produces more wine in a year than the New World powerhouse of California state- amazing the titbits one garners in-between quaffing Tramin Alto Adige Gewürztraminer and Pieropan Valpolicella Superiore “Ruberpan”.

Those were just a couple of my favourites. The organisers supplied 48 wines in total. I’m no Master of Wine, but I consider myself to have a decent knowledge of Italian wines- I encountered some for the very first time. Luckily, I won a copy of Italian Wine Unplugged 2.0, presented to me by Vinitaly International Managing Director, Stevie Kim, and Claudio Povero, representing the Italian Trade Agency. Now, with this wine encyclopaedia at my disposal, I have no excuse not to know every grape.

The Vinitaly Roadshow having been held at the Principality Stadium will prove an excellent overture to the return of our home-grown event, The Cardiff Wine Festival– a collaboration between Luca Montuori and Robert Maggi, a Vinitaly Italian Wine Ambassador and owner of online wine retailer and Cardiff wine bar WinesnVines (www.winesnvines.co.uk). Due to take place at The Parkgate Hotel on Saturday, 24 June 2023- tickets start at just £25- you will be able to sample over 250 wines and get the rare opportunity to meet the winemakers. And it will be a cosmopolitan affair with appearances from British cheeses, Italian pastas and Spanish tapas. Yummy!

The 55th Vinitaly Roadshow was a great vintage, one we were proud to have Cardiff host. Grazie!