Rende-Cosenza welcomes 310 international wine tasters

The White and Red Wine Session of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles starts today at Rende – Cosenza. Over 7,370 wines from nearly 40 countries are competing this year. The international panel features 310 wine experts representing 45 nationalities.

“For almost 30 years, our international competition has been guiding consumers in their choice of high-quality wines worldwide”, stresses Baudouin Havaux, chairman of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. “We are convinced that the splendid region of Calabria will not fail to surprise everyone involved in this year’s competition and will be a huge bonus for the prestige of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles.”

With nearly 1,400 wines, Italy ranked second for the number of entries right after France (1,645) and ahead of Spain (1,368). Of the 21 Italian regions competing, Calabria’s contribution stands out. The host of the competition outnumbered in entries even the largest wine producing region of Italy – Veneto, even though Calabria’s annual wine production of 96.600 hl per year is far smaller than Veneto’s (11.717.000 hl).

“It is not only my city, but the whole of Calabria that is hosting this very important event, which involves fundamental aspects of our region, such as its food and wine, tourism, roots and history. Calabria has the ambition to assert its status, secure recognition and show off its undiscovered treasures,” explains the mayor of Rende, Marcello Manna.

“The Competition represents a great opportunity for our beautiful region to gain visibility and at the same time allows us to offer a hands-on and authentic experience of this rich, multifaceted area,” says the Calabrian Minister of Agriculture, Gianluca Gallo.

The entire region has come together to make the five days of the competition a real success for the judges and for the image of Calabria. Even the famous mixologist Gianfranco Cacciola will travel from Venice to honor his region and help promote local products with a cocktail created specifically for judges at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2022. Also, the guitarist and composer Francesco Loccisano has composed the music to accompany the entrance of the sommeliers into the tasting hall during the opening ceremony of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. The piece showcases the local musical tradition, in particular the Tarantella and the chitarra battente.