Top Italian gastronomy, super premium wines and sparkling wines, and bar culture evoking a Roman atmosphere at the Balaton Wine&Gourmet festival

September 6-8. the Balaton Wine&Gourmet festival was held in Veszprém again this year, where – in addition to the restaurants and wineries of the Balaton region – visitors could now gain an insight into the gastronomic specialties and wine selection of Italy. As part of the Italian participation organized with the cooperation of the Budapest office of the Italian Institute of Foreign Trade (ITA), numerous presentations and tastings took place, featuring speakers who are rarely seen at the same time at the same event. Not one, but two Michelin-starred chefs arrived in Veszprém: Giuseppe Di Iorio and Mauro Elli, who brought the flavors of the regions of Lazio and Lombardy to the lucky participants every day.

The presentation of wine culture, which is one of the great strengths of this year’s host country, was given a prominent role at the event: those interested could delve deeper into the world of Italian wines, which are famous worldwide and enjoy unwavering popularity in Hungary, with the guidance of oenologist Gabriele Valota, an expert of the Assoenologi wine association. Assoenologi is Italy’s most important and one of the oldest wine associations in the world, where Gabriele Valota is the coordinator of the Youth Section of Northern Italy, and despite his young age, he is a wine consultant employed throughout Italy, whose areas of expertise are primarily sparkling wines made with the classical process and resistant grape varieties. On this day, Valota held a master class on Italian sparkling wines for professionals and interested parties, where, in addition to prosecco, Franciacorta and other traditional champagne-aged items complemented the spumante and frizzante wines. This was followed by a master class presenting top wines with selected super premium items, some of which are not yet available anywhere in Italy, nor everywhere in Italy.

On this day, cocktail lovers were not left without a sensation, as the guest of the event was master bartender Fabio Bacchi, who during his career visited the most important hotel chains in the world, his professional journey was accompanied by numerous prestigious international awards, the trade press elected him Bar Manager of the Year three times, and he won also a knighthood of the Order of Champagne and Anysetier. Through his own company, he provides corporate consulting related to product development and support and training programs for the spirits sector. He is the founder and editor of the most important Italian bar magazine, BarTales Magazine, and the Roma Bar Show, the largest Bar&Beverage trade event in Italy, was born under his name. Those interested could meet Fabio Bacchi on all three days of the event, of which on Saturday he gave a presentation about Italian bar culture on the stage of the Mercato Italian marketplace, accompanied by countless cocktails and aperitivos made on the spot.

On the occasion of the festival, we were also visited by the expert of the Italian National Olive Oil Tasting Association, Carlotta Pasetto, olive oil sommelier, who gave a highly successful lecture and master class on olive oil, one of the most defining elements of Italian gastronomy and the Mediterranean diet, and its many types and uses.