Page 386 - NEWNORMAL_ANIMATED

NEW NORMAL „

WINETOURISM “The world is a book

and those who
do not travel
In Wikipedia you can read: Enotourism,
oenotourism, winetourism, or vinitourism read only a page.”
refers to tourism whose purpose is or inclu- Saint Augustine
des the tasting, consumption or purchase
of wine, often at or near the source. Where
other types of tourism are often passive in
nature, enotourism can consist of visits to
wineries, tasting wines, vineyard walks, or
even taking an active part in the harvest.
Enotourism is a relatively new form of tou-
rism. The ever first wine route was opened
between cities of Conegliano and Valdob-
biadene in North Italy. the Route of Prosecco
was first traced out in 1966 and then revised in
2003 along with the addition of thematic rou-
tes that can enhance the territory in its many-
-sided historical and artistic aspects scattered
all along the Prosecco hills.
Its history varies greatly from country to
country, region to region, but in places such
as the Napa Valley AVA and Wine Country, it
saw heavy growth once a concerted marke-
ting effort was implemented in 1975 that was
given a further boost by the 1976 Judgment
of Paris.
There was also a rise in the profile of eno-
tourism among English speakers with the 2004 Prosecco Wine Route, IconicLife by Loes de Vreugd
release of the film, Sideways whose two cent-
ral characters visit wineries and wine in the guest house at the winery is also offered. Many
Santa Barbara region of Southern California. visitors buy the wines made by the winery at
The industry around enotourism has grown the premises, accounting for up to 33% of
significantly throughout the first decade of the their annual sales. Most tourism agencies see
21st century. In the United States 27 million it as a segment of the industry with tremen-
travelers, or 17% of American leisure travelers, dous growth potential after lifting the travel
engaged in culinary or wine-related activities. restrictions.
In Italy the figure stands at approximately five „Enotourism Day“ is celebrated on the
million travelers, generating 2.5 billion dollars second Sunday of November each year to
in revenue. promote cellar visits in the Czech Republic,
Most visits to the wineries take place at or Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
near the site where the wine is produced. Vi- France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Portugal. In
sitors typically learn the history of the winery, North America, the first Wine Tourism Day was
see how the wine is made, and then taste the established for May 11, 2013 with events sche-
wines. At some wineries, staying in a small duled throughout the continent. ƅ

386