Second Phase of Chianti Academy China kicks off in Guangzhou

June 04, 2019

Abstract : The second phase of the Chianti Academy China, a program for training Chianti wine experts, kicks off in Guangzhou city in South China's Guangdong province with a small foretaste at the Interwine fair being held in the city in June 3-6.

Photo: Giovanni Busi, Chairman of the Consorzio Vino Chianti (provided by ANSA)

BEIJING, June 4 (Xinhua) -- The second phase of the Chianti Academy China, a program for training Chianti wine experts, kicks off in Guangzhou city in South China's Guangdong province with a small foretaste at the Interwine fair being held in the city in June 3-6.

The Chianti Academy China is initiated by Consorzio Vino Chianti, a consortium that protects and promotes the activities of 3000 Tuscan wine producers.

Lessons of the training will include the history of Chianti wine, production regulations, production chain and marketing activities. The students of the Chianti Wine Academy will attend lectures delivered by professionals in the sector along with paired tastings of 30 different Consortium labels representative of all existing types, and will test the best combinations with foods.

The academy won a success last year on its debut in China with enrollment of 240 students in four Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.

As with the first phase of the program, candidates are expected to attend four different lesson modules and pass the final exam to acquire the qualification as a Chianti Wine Expert endorsed by the Consorzio Vino Chianti and achieve the certificate of the first official Academy of Chianti DOCG.

Figures released by Istituto di Servizi per il mercato agricolo e alimentare (ISMEA, Institute of services for the agricultural and food market) reveal a growth trend in exports of Italian wine to China. Compared to last year, in the first two months of 2019, exports of Tuscan DOP red wine from Italy to China amounted to 4,500 hectolitres, while the figure was 1,666 in the same period of 2018.

"China is one of the most attractive markets for Italian wine", said Giovanni Busi, Chairman of the Consorzio Vino Chianti, "our goal is to consolidate the presence of our wineries and our labels, as well as strengthen ties between our countries", added Giovanni. (Edited by Bao Nuomin, baonuomin@xinhua.org)