Description
THE FESTIVAL
The state Piedmont Festival “Collisioni” was burn in 2009 by a creative team of writers, artists and journalists interested to find a formula able to speak to the new generations and tear down the fences between different artistic languages. From the first legendary edition, some of the most important Italian writers and musicians came for free at the spontaneous happening to meet the young audience from all the country and talk about the most urgent themes of present time. The festival grew up very fast staging concerts and international meetings, increasing and doubling every year its audience. Half of the audience are under 30 and the young people contribute to the festival activities, setting the artistic installments all over the village, making interviews on the web-radios, and playing music on the secondary stages. The presence of thousand of young people in the village, creates a very particular atmosphere, unseen in other events, and make Collisioni really unique in the European festival panorama. Since 2009 this village has tell itself, and send its massages around the world with tastes and fragrances of own hills. Good appreciations of the event came from artists as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Salman Rushdie, Michael Cimino, Jamiroquai, Suzanne Vega, Neil Young, Deep Purple, Paolo Nutini, Mark Knofler and Sting.
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BAROLO, THE RED WINE MECCA
Barolo is worldwide famous as the home of the well known wine with takes the name afther the village. It’s located in the heart of the Langhe Hills, in Piedmont, northern Italy, one our from Turin. The village is renowned for its vineyards and its variety of delicious red wines. Barolo is quite small (5,6 sq. km) with a population of 750 inhabitants. Plenty of people, mainly wine connoisseurs, from all the world, visit Barolo every year and join the music and literature festival Collisions in July.
Wine has been made and produced here from Roman times. It’s quite easy to reach the Langhe area with a short one hour drive. The place can offer beautiful sights, good restaurants, hotels, and farm holiday resorts. If you name Barolo to any Italian people, you’ll see their eyes lit up at the thought of the delicious wines and food produced there in the surrounding towns of La Morra, Barbaresco, Monforte e Serralunga.
These legendary names appear in the top restaurant wine lists across Italy. They are the villages and castles whose names have been given to wines, produced on specific selected hillsides. The Barolo area is the heaven of food. The lower slopes of the wine planted hills are the proper ground for the cultivation of the hazelnuts nicknamed “the round and gentle hazelnut of the Langhe”. These are folded into nougat, pounded into cookies and confections, and often married to chocolate. Nutella and its nobler versions originate here. Don’t miss thin handmade egg noodles called tajarin. Yolk-yellow, they are fabulously rich topped with melted butter, meat sauces or porcini mushrooms. Agnolotti, the local ravioli stuffed with mixed meats, are also typical of the Langhe. Meats here are often braised slowly in red wine – not food for faint hearted people, but they go well with the local red wines.
WHAT THE PIEDMONT STATE FESTIVAL COLLISIONI IS
At present Collisioni is one of the most popular, awaited and ground-breaking cultural events in Italy as well as the most popular music and literature festival able to attract the largest audience in Piedmont, north of Italy. The festival takes place in the very heart of the beautiful wine region of the Langhe Hills, in the village of Barolo that gives the name to the famous wine and is visited every year by thousand of turists attracted by the wine and food culture.
The main concept of the festival is the cross-over between different artistic languages and generations, taking it for granted that literature as well as music aren’t but narrative forms able to communicate ideas and emotions. The concurrent presence of literature conferences of some of the most prestigious international authors during the day and the international concerts during the evenings create a very unique atmosphere.
MORE THAN 100.000 PEOPLE IN FOUR DAYS FOR THE LITERATURE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL IN THE HILLS
The location was chosen in 2012 among the others by Bob Dylan for his only Italian concert in 2012, in the 50th anniversary of Blowin’ in The Wind, and by Patti Smith for the opening concert of her “Banga” Italian tour. In 2013 the Festival staged the only italian concert of Jamiroquai, in 2014 artists like Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Deep Purple, Caparezza, Suzanne Vega and Elisa and in 2015 artists like Vinicio Capossela, Paolo Nutini, The Passenger, J-Ax, Fedez, Mark Knopfler e Sting.
WHAT HAPPENS AT COLLISIONI
For three days a small village on the top of the hills turns into an open air non-stop stage where the audience attend lectures, readings and concerts for three days and live together in the magical mood of a small village in the hills. The concert arena is placed in the natural amphitheatre of the main village square, surrounded by the ancient vineyards of the five “grand crus of wine” Barolo. Collisioni is the biggest literature and music event in Piedmont organized with the grant aid of the Piedmont Region to promote culture and art.
The peculiar feature of the festival is is its social involvement with young people. Every year the government provides with boarding more than 1000 literature and arts students coming from all Europe, especially from the poorest regions who couldn’t otherwise join cultural activities. Every year during the festival some of the most important Italian singers and writers organize meetings with the youth to speak about urgent matters of the present days.
THE 2016 WINE PROJECT IS BACK
STUDIED BY IAN D'AGATA,
SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR OF VINITALY
AND WINE DIRECTOR OF FESTIVAL OF COLLISIONI
After the resounding success of the past edition, with over 4.000 participants at the wine tastings, the Wine Project of Collisioni has improved his program, bringing this year more than 50 international critics, importers, buyers, and foreign experts of wine market. The Creative Director of Collisioni Wine, the journalist Ian D'Agata, scientific director of Vinitaly, has selected this year for the festival a shortlist of critics and importers from all over the world, with particular attention to the US market, that has always been important for our wines, and some emerging countries like China and Korea, that are becoming the new frontier of the wine market. These special guests (critics, market experts, sommeliers) could interact with the public and the partners of the festival during the tastings, in the different dedicated areas: the Temple of Enoturista, the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, the Tasting Room. The meetings and the tastings are dedicated to wine labels and names, short seminars open to the national and international public of the Festival to learn about wine culture and discover the great italian wines with the guidance of producers and experts. The entire project,which last year recorded the sold out of reservations,is promoted before the festival on the Collisioni social media (over 260.000 followers on the Facebook Fanpage).
THE 2016 WINE PROJECT AT COLLISIONI
JULY 15-18, 2016
BAROLO (CN), ITALY
AN EARLY HEADS UP ON ALL THAT’S NEW AND EXCITING AT THE 2016 EDITION OF COLLISIONI’S WINE PROJECT, DEVELOPED BY IAN D’AGATA, COLLISIONI’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR WINE&FOOD.
There are three souls determining the international success of Collisioni, the first Agrirock festival in Europe. First, the greatest artists of the international music scene, like Elton John; second, major literary, cinematic and journalism figures and authors such as Nobel Prize winners like 2015’s Svetlana Alexeieva, and third, international stars of the world of wine. The focus on Italian and international wines & foods is of great importance and an integral part of the spirit and vision of Collisioni. Collisioni’s wine project is made up of seminars, meetings, guided tastings, round tables, and winery visits, that allow for the presentation of over 600 Italian and foreign wines to thousands of wine lovers attending the event every year. And it allows close-up encounters between wine producers and the world’s most renowned wine experts in private wine tastings in which the wine estates will be able to present and explain their wines to a selected professionals-only audience.
The single most unique characteristic of Collisioni’s wine project is the Selected Invited Experts panel, an exclusive group of the world’s most famous wine experts, important wine professionals from all over the world that will be Collisioni’s guests in Barolo during the days of the Festival. This year, more than 80 Michelin starred and World’s 50 best restaurants classified sommeliers, wine writers and journalists, opinion leaders, managers of hotels and hospitality groups, wine collectors, and enotourism-marketing experts will be on hand at the 2016 edition of Collisioni. This selected panel of invited experts represents the signature of Collisioni and its Wine Project; a selection of the world’s most respected wine experts expressly chosen each year by Ian D’Agata, creative director of Collisioni’s Wine Project, who, along withFilippo Taricco, artistic director of the Collisioni Festival, wished to realize an event characterized by the presence of important personalities of the world of enogastronomy at the international level.
D’Agata, whose Native Wine Grapes of Italy was recently awarded the 2015 Louis Roederer International Wine Awards Book of the Year, a prize never before won by any Italian, is also Contributing Editor at Britain’s prestigious Decanter magazine, staff writer of Vinous (where he covers the wines of Italy, Alsace, Bordeaux, Canada and China) and is the Scientific director of the Vinitaly International Academy. Asked specifically about Collisioni’s latest, upcoming edition, he leaked out some news, with more to come in the weeks and months ahead.
And so it is that Collisioni 2016 is both happy and proud to announce, among others, Jeffrey Porter(USA), Wine Director of the Batali& Bastianich Hospitality Group; Keith Goldston (USA),Master Sommelier and Wine Director at Capella Hotel, Washington DC.; Anna Rönngren (Sweden),sommelière at the two Michelin star Frantzén Restaurant and educator at Restaurangakademien in Stockholm; Bryant Mao (Canada), Chief Sommelier of Hawksworth Restaurant, winner of the best Sommelier in British Columbia award in 2015; Leonid Sternik (Russia), best Russian sommelier in 2006 and owner of theVincent Restaurant in Saint Petersburg; Elin McCoy (USA), author and journalist who is also the wine and spirits columnist for Bloomberg Markets; Jay Hutchinson (USA), sommelier of Ai Fiori Restaurant, New York; Roberto Dante Martella (Canada), owner ofGrano Restaurant in Toronto, perhaps Toronto’s best known Italian wine and food destination where visiting Italian producers hold regular wine tastings each month; Beatriz Machado (Portugal), sommèliere at The Yeatman, a Relais & Chateaux member in Porto and winner of a “Best of Award of Excellence” wine list from Wine Spectator; Bernardo Silveira M. Pinto(Brazil), wine importer; Chris Horn (USA), Wine Director of Purple Café in Seattle; Madeleine Stenwreth(Sweden), Master of Wine, wine consultant and educator; and from the Far East, amongst others, Dorian Tang (China), National Education Managerof ASC Fine Wines, and Ying Guo (China), Chief Sommelier of the restaurant at the Four Seasons in Shanghai.
“However, this is just the beginning, and the best is yet to come” jokesIan D’Agata, who has a few more aces up his sleeve that will be announced in due course. His selection of experts, that grows bigger every year also thanks to the support of the many consortia and producers that have believed in Collisioni’s wine project from the beginning and helped it develop over the years, adds credibility to Collisioni and is a major point of attraction for the wine producers who know they will meet only true, well-known professionals selected on merit alone. “Every year, many journalists and sommeliers ask me to invite them to the festival” explains Ian “… but clearly, I have to select with caution. I owe it to those of have put me in charge at Collisioni,as well as to the wine experts we invite each year, and to all those wine producers in Italy and abroad who have had faith in the Collisioni team and its Wine Project, to select only those who have a real impact on Italian wine on Italian and international traditional and emerging markets. The exchange of experiences, memories, and knowledge – “collisions”, if you will - between the invited guests, the producers and the public really adds to Collisioni’s charm, providing a real growth opportunity for all involved. And in so doing, it can make a significant contribution to explaining and broadcasting the intricacies and the quality of the very best in Italian wine and food products all over the world. And I am very proud to be a part of all of this”.
COLLISIONI FESTIVAL 2016 WILL BE HELD IN BAROLO ON JULY 15TH TO 18TH.
INFO, PROGRAMME AND COSTS, MEETINGS, CONCERTS AND TASTINGS SOON ON THE WEBSITE.
COLLISIONI WINE PROJECT
Creative Director: Ian Domenico D’Agata
COLLISIONI CONTACTS
IAN D'AGATA
Scientific Consultant of Vinitaly International and Scientific Director of Vinitaly international Academy, Ian is the winner of 2015 Louis Roederer International Wine Awards Book of the Year with his Native Wine Grapes of Italy. He is the first Italian ever to be honoured with this prize. Contributing Editor atDecanter (UK), staff writer for Vinous on the wines of central and southern Italy, Alsace and Canada for Vinous (US). He is the Italian correspondent for China’s TasteSpirit magazine and teaches Italian wine culture at NYU Master’s Program in Food Sciences (US). He is the Creative Director of the Collisioni Wine Project.
«I am really glad I joined forces with Collisioni for the development of a cultural project about wine culture that aims to become a pool of prestige and international appeal. Collisioni is an outstanding festival, that succeeds in gathering together important international artists such as Sting, Mark Knopfler and Nobel Prizes as Herta Muller or Vidia Naipaul as no other in Italy. Here, culture and art support Regional traditional food and wine all around Italy and abroad. In thinking about and building up the program – made possible by the collaboration of the many wine producers and Regional realities, who are long-run partners of the festival – I tried to respond to a double interest: on the one hand, the purpose was to bring to the festival some of the most important wine critics and journalists from all over the world, in order to develop a relationship between international experts and producers and products from all over Italy. On the other hand, I was willing to offer a panel of didactic tastings and meetings to a wider public. A series of dynamic and appealing events to meet the expectations of those who come to Collisioni every year to discover the finest wines and learn how to appreciate them as well››.
HERE THE NAMES OF THE FIRST GUESTS
EXPERTS, OPINION LEADERS AND INTERNATIONAL SOMMELIERS
JEFFREY PORTER
USA
Advanced Sommelier and candidate Master Sommelier, after a career as Wine Director at Restaurant Osteria Mozza, Hollywood and Del Posto in New York, since 2014 he is Wine & Beverage Director of all the restaurants of the Batali&Bastianich Hospitality Group in the United States.
KEITH GOLDSTON MS
USAOne of the youngests Master Sommelies in the world, world traveler and consultant of prestigious restaurants, hotels and wineries, he has been defined as “a wizard at matching food with interesting wines” byWine Spectator. Keith is Wine Director at 5-stars luxury Capella Hotelin Georgetown, Washington DC.
ANNA RÖNNGREN
Svezia
Manager and Sommelier at Frantzén Restaurant, two Michelin stars, in Stockholm. The restaurant is famous for its wine list, especially noteworthy for its great and varied selection. She is educator at Restaurangakademien AB.
.
BRYANT MAO
CanadaWine Director at Hawksworth Restaurant in Canada, the recipient of numerous awards for the quality and originality of its wine list. Bryant formerly worked in London and he declares he loves European wines. He won the coveted 2015 Sommelier of the Year award in British Columbia.
LEONID STERNIK
RussiaGeneral Manager of Vincent Restaurant in Saint Petersburg. Winner of numerous awards in Russia and abroad for his wine-related work, his activity includes running or participating in wine education programs in various institutes for wine experts.
ELIN MCCOY
USAWine journalist and noted expert, wine and spirits columnist at Bloomberg News and Markets, she writes on various specialized journals. She is winner of prestigious prizes and author of books and guides.
JAY HUTCHINSON
USASommelier at Ai Fiori Restaurant, New York, co-founder and Beverage Director of East Boston Oysters, organizer of exclusive wine and food events in various locations in East Boston, with chefs, artists, wine experts convening in some of the most fascinating places of the city.
ROBERTO DANTE MARTELLA
Canada
Founder and co-owner of Grano Restaurant, Toronto, a real institution for its wine and food menu and for its celebration of the typical Italian lifestyle. Grano offers a rich Italian wine list and hosts monthly wine tastings and dinners with Italian wine producers visiting in Toronto.
BEATRIZ MACHADO
Portogallo
Sommelière and wine educator, she is Wine Director at Porto’s The Yeatman Hotel, member of the luxury Relais et Chateaux chain, awarded the Best wine list prize in 2011 by the most famous Portuguese wine journal: “Rivista de Vinhos”.
BERNARDO SLVEIRA M. PINTO
Brasile
Wine importer in Brazil for Zahil Ltda. and owner of Prensa, enogastronomy consultant group. He graduated from WSET and is an educator for the didactic programmes of The Wine School, Sao Paolo.
CHRIS HORN
USA
Wine Director of Purple Cafe & Wine Bar, Seattle, winner of the Washington State Wine Award as Sommelier of the Year in 2015. The Restaurant is famous for its wine list, that grows every year thanks to the curiosity and interest of its knowledgeable Wine Director.
MADELEINE STENWRETH MW
Svezia
Swedish Master of Wine, she has had a long and distinguished career in the wine business and in wine importing. She runs her own independent consulting activity in relation to wine production, importing and marketing. She is also a lecturer and educator for WSET didactic programs in Sweden.
YING GUO
Cina
Senior Sommelier at the prestigious Four Seasons Hotel,Shanghai, she has been honoured with various prizes in China, among which the Best Young Team 2015.
DORIAN TANG
Cina
National Education Director, ASC Fine Wines in China, in 2014 she was awarded “Best Educator of the Year” by Wine Australia. Judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards (DAWA), she formerly worked for the USRoyal Caribbean Cruise Line. She is currently a student in the Master of Wine course.
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Relais Villa D'Amelia http://www.villadamelia.com/
Albergo dell'Agenzia http://www.albergoagenzia.it/
