Real Italian Wine & Food Experience

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

An exclusive tasting event inviting engaged wine lovers and professionals to experience wines served blind while interacting directly with producers in an intimate setting designed to stimulate discovery and dialogue.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM

Official inauguration of Wines Experience London 2026 and formal opening of the exhibition floor.
This institutional moment marks the beginning of two days dedicated to strengthening the commercial, cultural and strategic relationship between Italian producers and the UK trade. The ceremony sets the tone of the event: positioning Italy not only as a heritage agrifood country, but as a contemporary, competitive and future-focused player in one of the world's most sophisticated markets. The ribbon cutting formally opens the exhibition and tasting halls.

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

A guided tasting celebrating Sicilian culinary heritage through artisanal pasta and carefully selected regional ingredients. This vibrant experience brings together a curated selection of producers, showcasing how traditional recipes and artisanal techniques translate into products with strong contemporary appeal. From rich, sun-driven flavours to fresher Mediterranean profiles, the session explores textures, aromas, and the identity of Sicily’s gastronomy, while offering practical insights into positioning Sicilian food across retail and hospitality, with a focus on storytelling and cross-category opportunities.

A tasting-led analysis of adaptation already happening in vineyards worldwide. Each session connects climate science → viticulture → sensory outcome → commercial decisions.
Format: 60 mins moderated panel discussion + guided tasting + 15 min Q&A.
Audience: Importers, distributors, buyers, sommeliers, wine directors, independent retailers

12:00 PM - 1:15 PM

This session is part of the Dialogue in Motion series—an evolving format designed to move beyond traditional panels and into more dynamic, participatory conversations.
Centered on Italian sparkling wine, this discussion brings together next-generation voices from both the production and vineyard sides, offering a more complete view of how wines are shaped, communicated, and brought to market. Rather than a single, static conversation, participants will engage through a series of guided table rotations. Each round builds on the last, allowing ideas to develop in real time while creating space for direct exchange between speakers and attendees.
At the core of the session is a central question: Can sparkling act as a catalyst—for new audiences, new narratives, and new ways of thinking about Italian wine?
Through this lens, the conversation will explore:
How sparkling wines are currently perceived across key markets
The role of the next generation in redefining identity, communication, and strategy
The tension between tradition and evolution, including new styles and cultural approaches
The realities of vineyard work and how they connect to commercial decisions
The role of consorzi and NextGen networks in shaping collective direction
Where investment—across marketing, trade engagement, and pricing—has the greatest impact
By bringing together perspectives that are not always in direct dialogue, the session aims to create a more connected understanding of the category—from the vineyard to the final point of sale. The format is designed to be both personal and commercially relevant, encouraging honest discussion, shared insight, and a deeper connection to the people and decisions behind the wines.

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Jonathan Gebser - deputy curator, Slow Wine Guide

Sustainability has become one of the most frequently used terms in the wine world, yet it is often emptied of meaning or reduced to a simple communication tool. For those choosing a bottle—or working within the wine industry—it is not always easy to understand what sustainability truly means or which criteria define these practices.
It is precisely to address this need that the Slow Wine Fair has developed a producer selection approach based on concrete and verifiable criteria.
Wine is, first and foremost, an agricultural product—not simply a finished good to be tasted, but the result of a complex process involving soil, biodiversity, human labor, technological choices, and social responsibility. Understanding wine therefore requires shifting the focus from the glass to the vineyard, recognizing that what we perceive is a reflection of what happens in both the field and the cellar.
The reference framework is the Slow Food Manifesto for “good, clean and fair” wine—not a rigid set of rules, but a tool to guide understanding and develop a critical perspective on contemporary viticulture. Distinguishing between declared sustainability and real sustainability requires analytical tools that are not always readily accessible.
This is where the role of the wine professional becomes essential: not only to inform, but to act as a bridge between producers and consumers, making what would otherwise remain distant more accessible and understandable. Only through an active dialogue between producers, professionals, and consumers can a system be built in which “good, clean and fair” wine is not only produced, but also recognized, demanded, and valued.
The theoretical session will be complemented by a guided tasting of wines selected by the Slow Wine Fair, chosen to represent different concrete interpretations of the Manifesto's principles. To complete the experience, a small selection of high-quality, healthy, and sustainable baked goods curated by Sana Food will be offered alongside.
The objective is not simply to taste, but to learn how to read wine through the lens of its agricultural context

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Vincenzo Arnese - DWWA Judge, Wine Director

Italy is globally celebrated for its reds, yet many of its most compelling wines come from its white wine traditions, particularly across Northern Italy. Shaped by diverse landscapes, from mountain vineyards to lake and coastal influences, these wines reflect a wide range of terroirs, grape varieties and winemaking approaches.
From wines defined by clarity and immediacy to those built with structure and the capacity to evolve, the selection highlights how Northern Italy's white wines move beyond familiar perceptions, with some increasingly recognised within the fine wine conversation.
Through the perspective of Decanter World Wine Awards Judge and fine wine specialist, Vincenzo Arnese, this session explores how Northern Italy's white wines are increasingly recognised on the global stage. Featuring a tasting of six wines awarded at DWWA, the selection reflects the competition's rigorous judging process and highlights benchmark examples that are shaping the category today.
Wines on tasting:
1. Muzic, Valeris Friulano, Collio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2023 - Platinum, 97 points
2. Podere Selva Capuzza, Menasasso, Lugana Riserva, Lombardy, Italy 2020 - Gold, 95 points
3. Zýmē di Celestino Gaspari, From Black to White, Veneto 2022 - Gold, 95 points
4. Cantine Volpi, Derthona La Zerba Timorasso, Colli Tortonesi, Piedmont 2023 - Gold, 95 points
5. Les Crêtes, Cuvée Bois Chardonnay, Valle d'Aosta 2022 - Gold, 96 points
6. Cantina Terlano, Rarity, Alto Adige Terlano 2012 - Gold, 96 point

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

An immersive tasting focused on one of Italy's most distinctive yet underexplored regions. Sardinia offers wines defined by sea influence, native varieties and natural freshness, key attributes for today's UK market.
The session provides a practical framework for positioning Sardinian wines, highlighting their gastronomic versatility, strong identity and potential for differentiation in both on-trade and retail environments.

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Roberto Costa - Founder, Macellaio RC and Luca Dusi - Founder, Passione Vino

A guided tasting with Roberto Costa and his head sommelier (Macellaio RC), exploring pairing through contrast and context. Each course moves from a classic match to an unexpected interpretation, evolving further with the addition of sauce or seasoning to reveal how subtle shifts can completely transform the wine in the glass, expanding the boundaries of what pairing can be.
Participants are invited to engage throughout, comparing wines, sharing observations, and experiencing how individual palate and perspective shape perception. Chefs and sommeliers are encouraged to attend together, reflecting the collaborative nature of pairing in practice.