Verona joins Great Wine Capitals

Verona has become the tenth member of the Great Wine Capitals Global Network (GWCGN), an international association of cities across the world that champions wine tourism in their regions.

The Italian city, which is the second largest city in the wine-producing region of the Veneto, signed a partnership at a ceremony at the annual meeting of the GWCGN’s in Porto last week.

The Northeastern province is one of the leading exporters of wine in Italy, with a 12% share of the export market. Wine accounts for around 9% of the regions total exports, and numbers DOCGs – Amarone della Valpolicella, Bardolino Superiore, Recioto della Valpolicella, Recioto di Soave and Soave Superiore – as well as 14 DOCs within its province.

The agreement was signed by Nicola Baldo, member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce of Verona, in charge of Tourism.

The GWCGN said was a honour to welcome a new Italian partner to the network. “This will certainly increase the GWC impact in terms of wine tourism around the world,” it said.

The organization was established in 1999 to promote member cities whose wine regions were recognised as assets of economic and cultural significance. Its members span the Old and New World in order to encourage education, business and travel between its member cities, and supports initiatives and research grants for developing innovation in wine tourism and marketing.

Current members include Bilbao (Rioja), Bordeaux, Mendoza, San Franscisco (Napa Valley), Porto, Valparaiso (Casablanca Valley), Cape Town (Cape Winelands) and Mainz (Rheinhessen), with Adelaide (Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills, Langhorne Creek, McLaren Vale, Limestone Coast and Riverland) joining in March this year.