A pink thread that connects the Europe of wine and the gastronomic excellences of Abruzzo in a competition that will crown the best food-rosé pairing of the year.
This is essentially the Food & Rosé Selection by CMB, the first edition of the challenge organized by the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, in collaboration with the Region of Abruzzo, which from June 4 to 6 calls together in L’Aquila personalities from the world of rosé wine and gourmet gastronomy, as well as the wines awarded with the Great Gold Medals and the Gold Medals in the first edition of the Rosé Selection by CMB which took place last March in Brussels.
They will be, indeed, along with the dishes created by the kitchen of the Michelin-starred restaurant Magione Papale (L’Aquila), the protagonists of the three-day event in L’Aquila which, besides intense tasting sessions, also includes meetings for in-depth discussion and debates on key topics related to the pink drink.
The new competition was presented today in Rome, at the Terrazza Civita at Palazzo Generali in Piazza Venezia, in the presence of Emanuele Imprudente, vice president of the Region of Abruzzo; Baudouin Havaux, president of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and the Food & Rosé Selection by CMB; Lido Legnini, vice president of the Chieti Pescara Chamber of Commerce; Valentino Di Campli, president of the Abruzzo Wine Protection Consortium.
All set against the backdrop of Abruzzo, one of Italy’s leading areas for rosé wine production, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOCin first place, which with 6.2 million bottles annually represents 7% of the bottled product among Abruzzo’s DOPs, contributing decisively to the success of this type and to placing Italy among the world leaders in export terms (second place in value, with 20% of total shares, and third in volume with 13%, according to the latest data available from the World Observatory of rosés).
More than 120 labels are competing, coming from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia. Forty-five international expert tasters – including sommeliers, critics, buyers, journalists and representatives of organizations – will act as judges to define the most suitable food pairing for each medal-winning wine and thus to assign the Food & Rosé Selection Trophies.
Food & Rosé Selection Program
It starts Saturday, June 5 with the blind tasting sessions, during which the judges will classify the labels based on their typicity and their ability to pair with eight specific categories of dishes: aperitif; raw fish; cooked fish; cold cuts; cooked meats; spicy foods; cheeses; desserts. Once the potential pairing for each medal-winning wine is defined, Sunday, June 6 will see the heart of the competition with a sort of tête-à-tête, where it will be decided which rosé wine is best for each food category and which pink label will win one of the eight Food & Rosé Selection Trophies provided by the competition (Best rosé wine for aperitif; Best rosé wine for raw fish; Best rosé wine for cooked fish; Best rosé wine for cold cuts; Best rosé wine for cooked meats; Best rosé wine for spicy food; Best rosé wine for cheese; Best rosé wine for dessert). In the final phase, in fact, the jurors will taste again the previously blind-rated wines, but this time together with the dish from the assigned category.
To enrich the Food & Rosé Selection by CMB program, finally, there will be four panel discussions on the most important topics for the rosé wine sector (also available via streaming), ranging from global trends to the main technical developments in production, including packaging and marketing, focusing on Italian rosés made from indigenous grapes.
The four panel discussions of the Food & Rosé Selection by CMB (also visible live and always available on the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles YouTube account: https://www.youtube.com/user/Vinopres).
Friday, June 4, 5:30 PM – Regional Palace
“CERASUOLO, CHIARETTO, ROSATO: THE ITALIAN ROSÉS FROM INDIGENOUS GRAPES”
By Davide Acerra, administrator and communications manager of the Consorzio per la Tutela dei Vini d’Abruzzo (Italian language, with simultaneous English translation).
Friday, June 4, 6:30 PM – Regional Palace
“PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ROSÉ WINE: MAIN TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND IMPACTS ON THE PRODUCT”
By Gilles Masson & Nathalie Poulzagues, respectively director and project manager of the Research and Experimentation Center on Rosé Wine in Provence (French language, with English translation).
Saturday, June 5, 8:45 AM – Magione Papale
“GLOBAL WINE TRENDS: THE OPPORTUNITY OF ROSÉ”
By Pierpaolo Penco, marketing consultant for food and wine refinements and Italy Country Manager of Wine Intelligence (English language).
Sunday, June 6, 8:45 AM – Magione Papale
“THE NEW FRONTIERS OF PACKAGING AND MARKETING OF ROSÉ WINES”
By Kateřina Slezáková and Gaia Gottardo, respectively marketing manager of Vinolok and Vinolok distributor at Amorim Cork Italia S.p.A. (English language).
