Roots of the South, the 21st edition of the Southern Italian Wine and Olive Oil Show is approaching.

The list of four national and international juries appointed to test and evaluate the wine and olive oil labels from over 80 wineries from Puglia, Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Sardinia, and Sicily is complete. Two international and two national juries will be tasked with testing and evaluating the wines submitted from two different perspectives: a broader perspective and a more "glocal" perspective. The first international jury, Group 1, will be chaired by Richard Baudains, Decanter, Jury President ; Sarah Lane UK, Decanter Travel, Daily Telegraph, Christine Austin UK, Yorkshire Post, Gwendolyn Alley USA, Wine Predator, Heather Dougherty UK, and The Buyer (trade mag). The second international jury , Group 2, is chaired by Antonello Nicastri Netherlands, Flore Restaurant (two Michelin stars), sommelier of the year for the “Gault-Millau ” guide, Rich Cook USA, journalist, The Buyer (trade mag) , Nan-Young Baek , South Korea, journalist of Sommelier Times , Katarina Andersson journalist grapevineadventures, As for the national juries , the first - Group 1 - is chaired by Alessia Canarino journalist, and composed of Giulio Cantatore winemaker Vinarius, Luigi Tarricone CREA researcher, Alfredo Pinto winemaker vice-president AEPI, Davide Liurini winemaker AEPI, the second, Group 2 which sees the leadership of Giuliano Rossi , President Vinarius, Salvo Ognibene, journalist Cibo today - Identità golose, Davide Giovannelli winemaker Vinarius, Giuseppe Barretta winemaker, Fabio Mecca Winemaker Nourished and in phase The list of importers present at the 21st edition is also defined: Jung Yong Cho (Curious Wine Seoul, South Korea), Duy Tuan Nguyen Toan Quoc Trading and Service Import Export Company Limited (TopWine Vietnam), Anthony Anna, Australia Mondo Imports, Mariusz Majka, Poland Magia del Vino, Soonhan Park South Korea Mabis Korea, Francesco Riccio Switzerland FR Selection, Roger Liggenstorfer, La Bottega del vino, Matt Steewes Canada. Radici del Sud is an event that for twenty-one years has been telling the story of the ampelographic deposit of Southern Italy to professionals and the press from all over the world, thanks to press tours and buyers' tours in the territories of the Southern regions, but also thanks to the Salon, where on Monday 8 June from 3pm to 9pm the new vintages of wines and oils from companies from all over the South will be presented to the press, importers and the general public; there will also be a food area where the protagonists will be the production and processing companies and chefs of Southern Italy . From 9 pm onwards , a large party is scheduled, hosted by the two chefs Giammichele Pagone of Plebiscito 7 Casamassima and Ottavio Surico of Borgo Antico di Gioia del Colle , and dedicated to the approximately 80 wines from Southern Italy that won this year's competition. It will also be an opportunity for experts to discuss current winemaking topics: on Monday 8 June, from 11 am to 12:30 pm, during the final conference that will award the best wines selected by the four juries of the competition, there will be much discussion, with the contribution of the institutions and experts present, about the strategic transformation of the decline in consumption from a problem to an opportunity, what opportunities the market offers today, and how much value, transparency, well-being, and language will be enough to reposition the wine industry, faced with declining consumption and the growth in demand for quality and prices, and the trends for 2026. The event is organized with the patronage of the Municipality of Gioia del Colle, with the collaboration of Vinarius, AEPI, FoodinAzienda, to the technical partner AIS Puglia, and to the sponsor partners: Navita, Lum, and Acqua Orsini. A tasting kit including a glass, glass holder, and tasting notebook costs €20; admission to the Food Area with free tasting of approximately 80 wines and a buffet-style tasting of dishes is €20; admission to the hall and access to the Food Area from 8:00 PM onward is €30.