With over 2500 producers showing their wares, it's quite easy to reach palate burnout during the five days of the fair. In addition to tastings at individual wine producers, there are a number of organized tastings held by various groups. Distilled spirits are also shown at the fair, with Italian Grappa available in abundance, and there is also a separate exhibit for olive oils.
Attendance is limited to professionals in the trade and members of the press.
Today, the Sangiovese continues to be an important grape in Italy and more recently in California. As a fan of Sangiovese, I was delighted to find a tasting of California Sangiovese at Vinitaly conducted by Terry Robards of The Wine Enthusiast Magazine . It was difficult to find a seat at the tasting which quickly filled with journalists from around the world, and there were a number of winery people on the panel who were prepared to talk about the wines and the history of the Sangiovese grape in California. I will report on the wines in the order tasted with my personal comments. It was not my intention to rate the wines on the ubiquitous 100 point scale.