After the great response recorded by the first edition, the competition "Best Wine Shopkeeper in Italy"' is back.

The contest, devised in 2021 by AEPI, the Association of Italian Professional Wine Shopkeepers, enjoys the Patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (Mipaaf) and is carried out with the collaboration of Vinarius Associazione Enoteche Italiane.

"Initiatives like this help us reiterate the importance of the supply chain and its centrality. In a journey that starts from the producer and reaches the final consumer, it is right to value those who guarantee and disseminate the quality of the product," commented Minister Francesco Lollobrigida, who spoke for a nod of greeting.

It is the first initiative that nationally ignites competition within the category by giving credit to the excellence and professionalism of the wine merchant. A figure that over the years has evolved in duties and responsibilities, acquiring an increasingly important role within the store and the room and becoming an absolute point of reference for the end customer.

"Knowledge of the product that extends to the ability to propose it and sensitivity in pairing it, but also willingness to listen, aptitude for dialogue, creativity and inventiveness in maintaining a direct relationship with both the consumer and the winery: a good wine steward must be able to do, and know, many things. Only in this way can he fulfill his role as an ambassador of wine and alcoholic beverage in general to which the Competition refers," explained Francesco Bonfio, AEPI President, during the presentation press conference held this morning in the Sala Cavour of Mipaaf. "The wine merchant is a figure that needs a new and more conscious media attention and deserves recognition for the role he plays in the wine and agri-food chain," he recalled.

The contest is open to both wine merchants operating in bottle shops, where takeaway sales are offered, and professionals working within mescitas (wine bars) where service is provided. Each type corresponds to a registration section that can be accessed by owners, consultants, collaborators and freelancers. Conditio sine qua non is that each aspirant be operational at the time of registration.

There are two special prizes in the competition: the Best Enotecario d'Italia UNDER30 with which the project wishes to stimulate and gratify young people who have chosen to enter the profession, and the Best Enotecario d'Italia all'Estero with which it wishes to pay tribute to the Italian who for various reasons practices outside the country.

Entries open today and will close in February to then give rise to the first selection process, to be carried out by the jury, and the two technical tests that will need to be passed to determine the finalists.

Each round will be judged by a panel of experts chaired again this year by Stefano Caffarri, communicator and important reference of the entire Italian food and wine sector.

Also confirming the value of the initiative is the great support of the Consortia that have chosen to join this second edition of the Competition as sponsors: Consorzio Vini doc delle Venezie, Consorzio di Tutela Vini del Trentino, Consorzio Vino Toscana, Consorzio di Tutela Vini d.o.c. Cirò and Melissa, Consorzio Vino Chianti Classico, Consorzio Tutela Vini Friuli Colli Orientali Ramandolo, Consorzio Tutela Vini Collio.

Nominations for the 2023 edition of the Competition have been officially opened. https://www.migliorenotecarioditalia.it