Bologna, April 22, 2026 – In a global context characterized by the need to diversify export markets, BolognaFiere accelerates the international development of Slow Wine Fair and SANA Food, bringing its model to London.

The winning synergy of BolognaFiere's two events, which last February attracted more than 16,000 highly qualified visitors from the Horeca sector and 350 strategic buyers from 32 countries, continues its promotion consistent with the values of good, clean and fair wine, and of healthy, sustainable food attentive to valuing supply chains and territories. The next stop is the first edition of Wines Experience, scheduled for Sunday, April 26 and Monday, April 27 in the halls of Excel London.

 

WHAT IS WINES EXPERIENCE

It is the new B2B event network developed by United Experience, in collaboration with Fiere Italiane SEA and BolognaFiere, to support Italian wine&food producers and operators in strategic markets with high development potential. A service made especially necessary today by US duties, which force a quick rethink of export destinations. In this scenario, Wines Experience acts as an operational tool that facilitates access to qualified buyers and accelerates the creation of concrete business opportunities. And precisely in this perspective, Wines Experience London will be followed by format editions in Vietnam (Wines Experience Ho Chi Minh, The Adora Center, June 25-26, 2026) and in Mexico (Wines Experience Mexico City, Expo Santa Fe, November 5-6, 2026).

 

COLLECTIVE AND MASTERCLASSES BY SLOW WINE FAIR AND SANA FOOD

Slow Wine Fair will be present at Wines Experience London with a selection of 20 producers representing Italian productive diversity and quality supply chains that BolognaFiere's event, born from a Slow Food idea, promoted last February 22-24: 17 wineries and 2 spirits producers coming from 11 Italian regions – Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, Tuscany, and Veneto –, plus a Hungarian winery.

To further enhance the experience offered to UK market operators, Slow Wine Fair and SANA Food are organizing two masterclasses in collaboration with Slow Food, focused on the most distinctive elements of the two events. The tastings will be curated by Jonathan Gebser, deputy curator of the Slow Wine guide, to deepen, on one side, the verifiable criteria for selecting and evaluating good, clean and fair wine and food, and on the other, the relationship between wine, food and conviviality.

 

ROSSANO BOZZI, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS UNIT BOLOGNAFIERE

«The joint presence of the Slow Wine Fair and SANA Food in London represents a strategic step in the internationalization process that BolognaFiere is pursuing with its partners for these two events: for the first time, we are bringing an integrated trade fair model abroad, capable of highlighting wine, food, and quality supply chains together. The figures recorded in Bologna—350 strategic buyers from 32 countries, thanks to the support of the Italian Trade Agency—confirm that this B2B platform dedicated to the Horeca channel is ripe for the development of Italian agri-food exports. London is a natural hub for reaching advanced markets, high-profile operators, and new business opportunities. Through B2B meetings, experiential events, and educational content such as masterclasses, we empower our producers to engage with the international market in a concrete, professional, and contemporary way. We don’t just export products, but an ecosystem of values, expertise, and relationships».

 

FEDERICO VARAZI, VICE PRESIDENT OF SLOW FOOD ITALIA

«The success of the fifth edition of the Slow Wine Fair, which has been held concurrently with SANA Food for the past two years, is a clear signal for us: more and more operators and consumers choose a wine not only for its organoleptic qualities, but for the values it expresses, in line with what Slow Food has promoted for forty years. In a complex period for the sector, the principles of the Manifesto of good, clean and fair wine show that they can become concrete levers for economic development and new business opportunities. The selection of producers, both at Slow Wine Fair and in this first stop of Wines Experience, comes from rigorous and verifiable criteria throughout the supply chain. An essential job to distinguish between merely claimed sustainability and truly practiced sustainability, able to enhance territories and communities and to recognize wine's agricultural, environmental, and social role. A wine that confirms itself as a relationship element and symbol of conviviality, a concrete tool for connection between producers, operators and consumers, now also on an international scale. Participation in the first edition of Wines Experience wants to be a sign of trust and encouragement for the whole supply chain, so that it continues to invest in quality, transparency, and genuine sustainability».

 

Back to the two masterclasses, which represent an exclusive opportunity for in-depth exploration for British buyers and operators interested in understanding the qualitative and cultural drivers of the Italian offer, here are the themes they will focus on:

 

Good, clean and fair wine: understanding selection criteria

Scheduled for Sunday, April 26, at 2:00 PM, the masterclass will focus on sustainability applied to wine and will provide concrete tools to evaluate productions consciously.

Starting from the Slow Food Manifesto for good, clean and fair wine, Slow Wine Fair will present its producer selection method, based on verifiable parameters along the entire supply chain—from vineyard to cellar—, to distinguish between claimed and real sustainability, and understand the agricultural, environmental and social value of the product.

The session will be enriched by a guided tasting of selected wines from the Slow Wine Fair collective present at the event, in line with the principles of the Manifesto, accompanied by healthy, sustainable and quality baked goods offered by SANA Food and made by La Deliziosa Pasticceria di Mastro Cesare (Borgomanero, Novara). The labels on tasting will be:

 

·         Il Poggio di Gavi - Gavi del Comune di Gavi Rovereto Black Label 2024 - Gavi, Alessandria

·         Rabel - Soffio 2020 - Santo Stefano Roero, Cuneo

·         Faraone Vini - Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Le Vigne 2025 - Giulianova, Teramo

·         Tröpfltalhof - RosèMarie 2023 - Caldaro, Bolzano

·         Tenuta Santa Caterina - Grignolino d'Asti Arlandino 2024 - Grazzano Badoglio, Asti

·         Cascina Corte - Dogliani San Luigi 2022 - Dogliani, Cuneo

·         Anna Maria Abbona - Dogliani Superiore San Bernardo 2017 - Farigliano, Cuneo

·         Fabrizio Dionisio - Syrah Cortona Il Castagno 2022 - Cortona, Arezzo.

 

The language of wine to share food memories

The masterclass on Monday, April 27, at 1:00 PM, will address the relationship between wine, food and conviviality, with a focus on the role of wine as a relationship and consumption element in different cultural contexts.

Starting from the vision of Slow Wine Fair, several gastronomic wines presented by the producers of the collective will be introduced, designed to accompany food and enhance the table experience, surpassing a purely technical reading of the product. In this context, wine returns to be a tool for connection among producers, operators and consumers even in international markets.

Here are the wines tasted, which will be paired with a selection of Italian cheeses and gastronomic products provided by Gastronomica Market, a selector based at Borough Market in London, in line with the principles of quality, supply chain, and tradition promoted by SANA Food:

 

·         PrimaLuce - Toscana Trebbiano Toscano Punto Luce 2024 - San Gimignano, Siena

·         Vigna della Cava - Marche Rosato Flo' 2024 - Ancona

·         Venturini Baldini - Reggiano Lambrusco Frizzante Marchese Manodori 2024 - Quattro Castella, Reggio Emilia

·         Tiziano Bellini - Giorgio 2021 - Viadana, Mantova

·         Tenuta Patruno Perniola - Puglia Primitivo Lenos 2024 - Gioia del Colle, Bari

·         Agricola Arzilla - Marche Rosso Arzillo 2023 - Fano, Pesaro e Urbino

·         Tenuta il Quinto - Morellino di Scansano Ficaie 2024 - Magliano in Toscana, Grosseto

·         Lidia & Amato - Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane Riserva 2018 - Controguerra, Teramo.

 

Slow Wine Fair and SANA Food will return together to BolognaFiere for the third joint edition from February 21 to 23, 2027.

 

 

BolognaFiere Press Office

Daniela Modonesi | daniela.modonesi@bolognafiere.it | +39 366 6659090

 

Slow Wine Fair Press Office

Slow Food | stampa@slowfood.it

Elisa Virgillito | +39 345 2598615

Elena Coccia | +39 348 0120860

Valter Musso | +39 335 7422962