If the title of this article sounds a little pretentious, that’s because it is.
But what is wine appreciation if it isn’t the unnecessary intellectualization of our appreciation for fermented grape juice?
Or, to put it even more bluntly, an entire industry built around our need to rationalize our varying degrees of alcohol dependency, whether that be economic, emotional or physical.
But there is a good case to be made that what Stevie Kim has created in her so-called “Vinitaly marathon” is the cultural and intellectual heart of the global Italian wine community.
Professor Attilio Scienza is the intellectual godfather of our community. The endearing grandfather, at 80 years old it’s impossible not to be inspired by his profound knowledge and unfailing generosity. His masterclasses are invariably sold out and oversubscribed, and I’ve witnessed first-hand the queue that awaits him at the conclusion of yet another unapologetically long-winded presentation! In a world of TikTok and Instagram reels, Stevie Kim has given him the platform he deserves to convey his important message on the past, present and future of the Italian wine world, while invariably deploying the rhetoric of Aristotle or the metaphor of the odyssey.
From Professor Attilio Scienza down, the wine2digital offices on the second floor of Vinitaly’s Palaexpo conference centre provide the platform for some of the most influential, thoughtful and articulate thinkers in the international wine community as they pontificate on the biggest issues currently facing the industry.
Robert Joseph, Andrea Lonardi MW, Marc Millon, David Way, Jessica Norman Dupuy, Porter Jeff, Michaela Morris and Alojz Felix Jermann. Each of them provides a depth, breadth and crispness to their analysis of the Italian wine scene that is, in equal measure, invigorating, inspiring and well informed. The complementary (or should that be complimentary) wine on offer is an added bonus.
Often, wine tastings can focus on the technicality and superficiality of what is in the glass. And why not, when it’s as alluring and intoxicating as contemporary Italian wine (we are surely in a prolonged golden age of quality and diversity).
But wine, and Italian wine in particular, has a depth, a profondità, a resonance that is beyond the superficiality and pomp that characterizes so much of what goes on at Vinitaly.
Beginning with the ambassadors program, which is unapologetically tough (a 50% pass rate at the 2025 edition), to the constantly evolving concept of 5StarWines, which celebrates the originality, diversity and excellence of Italian wine, OperaWine, and the staggeringly rich range of masterclasses held during Vinitaly itself, each carefully conceived, structured and executed to confront the biggest questions currently facing the sector (and sometimes even providing some answers), not to mention showcasing some of the best and most innovative wine producers on the planet.
Amongst the froth, frivol and frankly hard-nosed deal making that goes on at Vinitaly, Stevie Kim’s wine2digital represents the cultural heartbeat of the show.
Underpinned by an exceptional and well drilled back office that doesn’t flinch at the prospect of precision serving upwards of 5000 wines to 2000+ discerning guests over the course of two intense weeks, we also understand that without being able to effectively communicate what we are doing to the outside world, we are trapped in an echo chamber of our own making.
That’s why Stevie has gathered an exceptionally talented team of photographers, graphic artists and social media wonder-kids capable of capturing and sharing those complex and profound stories to a global audience.
Of course, this is all just a rather long-winded way of patting ourselves on the back for a job well done. But why not? It’s been another exceptional vintage!
