The Slow Wine Coalition is born

What is the Slow Wine Coalition?

A global network that unites all those active in the wine industry in order to bring about a revolution in wine driven by environmental sustainability, protection of the landscape and rural social and cultural growth. The foundations for the formation of this community were laid in Bologna on October 11, 2020, when we presented the Manifesto for good, clean and fair wine during Sana Restart. The manifesto’s principles were inspired by the reflections generated by the hundreds of vignerons who gathered in Montecatini and Florence in 2009 for the second Vignerons d’Europe meeting. The idea is not to set this document in stone, but for it to become a starting point for further debate and discussion. Slow Food wants to use this manifesto as inspiration to bring together actors from all along the wine production and distribution chain, united by an awareness that the role of wine can no longer be purely hedonistic, linked to the pleasure of taste, but must increasingly move towards a genuine environmental sustainability, protecting the landscape and enabling the cultural and social growth of winemaking areas.

Pollution, biodiversity loss caused by weedkillers and desiccants, monocultures, exploitation of workers…

Let’s not beat around the bush: The world of wine still suffers from some serious problems whose resolution will require much more than a handful of virtuous producers (though thankfully their numbers are growing every day). It will take a unity of purpose, in other words the creation of a network that can help us to spread awareness of what these virtuous producers are already doing, to encourage their colleagues to follow their example and to promote with culture and intelligence wine produced in a way that helps the environment, the landscape and society.

Uniting in a single network winemakers and winegrowers, enthusiasts and professionals—whether distributors, restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine bar owners, journalists or bloggers—will make it possible to shape the future of viticulture.

Wine is the agricultural product with the greatest visibility and recognizability. Our hope and belief is that a revolution based on wine can ultimately spread to other products too.

How do members join the Slow Wine Coalition?

At this specific moment in history, when most of us desperately want to return—safely—to sharing moments of conviviality and joy, we want to invite future members of the Slow Wine Coalition to come together to sign the Manifesto of Good, Clean and Fair Wine. Winemakers can start to organize small events with their friends and clients (who can also sign the manifesto) to celebrate joining the coalition.

And then? Time for the Slow Wine Fair!

Early next year there will be a chance for many of the communities that we hope will have been created around the world to come together. Modeled on Terra Madre, this important event for winemakers, wine professionals and enthusiasts will be held in Bologna, from February 26 to March 1, 2022, when Sana Slow Wine will present the Slow Wine Fair, an international event dedicated to good, clean and fair wine. Organized by BolognaFiere with the creative direction of Slow Food, it will also host the first international meeting of the Slow Wine Coalition, an opportunity for debate and discussion between all the members of the network, shaped by Slow Food’s almost 20 years of experience organizing the Terra Madre gathering of food communities. During the four days of the Slow Wine Fair, hundreds of producers from around the world will come together for conferences, debates, tastings and the showcasing of thousands of wines. This exhibition will be enriched by a collaboration with the Società Excellence, which unites 18 of Italy’s leading wine distributors. Sunday will be open to enthusiasts, while Monday and Tuesday will be reserved for professionals.