Champagne Experience 2023, new membership record and a top-level Master Class programme

After the exploits of the last edition, this year too Champagne Experience confirms itself as a point of reference for all operators in the sector and enthusiasts of noble French bubbles. On Sunday 15 and Monday 16 October , the ModenaFiere spaces will host 175 champagnes companies including historic Maisons and small vignerons within the event organized by Società Excellence , a reality that brings together twenty-one of the major Italian importers and distributors of excellent wines and spirits.

“ Succeeding in doing better every year is an important and ambitious challenge, but it is also the goal that guides our daily work as importers and distributors ” comments Luca Cuzziol , president of Società Excellence. “ Last year we were already very satisfied with having managed to bring together a very large and representative number of Champagne companies in the same place. This year we have managed to further increase the number and this is a reason for further satisfaction. We are sure that all visitors will be able to have an even more precise picture of the state of the art of a wine and a territory that never ceases to fascinate and amaze thanks to a range of expressions and top-level interpreters”.

For two days this year there will be more than 900 champagnes that can be tasted by visitors in the over five thousand square meters of Pavilion A at Modena Fiere. As usual, they will be divided according to their geographical origin, corresponding to the different production areas of Champagne - Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Côte des Blancs, Aube, in addition to the classic maisons gathered in a specific area - with the 'aim to offer an engaging sensory experience within a clear and well-organized scenario.

But the sixth edition of Champagne Experience is also characterized by a high-level Master Class program , thanks to the presence of a parterre of top-level speakers and a variety of topics and food for thought of sure interest. There will be 7 in-depth meetings, divided over the two days of the event. It begins on Sunday 15 October, at 12.30, with Bubbles in the dark , a sensory journey in which the participants will be blindfolded and, therefore, in addition to not knowing either the name of the producers or the types served, nor can they be conditioned by the colour. Leading them are Luca Boccoli , Chevalier de l'Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne, wine communicator, trainer and selector together with Ilaria Giardini , sommelier and passionate selector of artisanal wineries. Also at 12.30 Vito Intini , national president of Onav, will lead the first of the two meetings dedicated to Top Cuvées , with the tasting of 5 great champagnes. At 2.30 pm space for the Blanc de Blancs and their lively tension and longevity: in the chair Luigi Bertini , oenologist by profession, Fisar professor and of many seminars at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Turin. Following this, at 3.30 pm, the magnificent nuances of the Rosé champagne universe will be investigated by Luciano Ferraro , deputy director of Corriere della Sera, and Paolo Porfidio , head sommelier and ASPI coordinator.

On Monday 16 October, at 12.30, Manlio Giustiniani , FIS teacher and collaborator of many sector publications, will conduct an in-depth analysis dedicated to the 2008 vintage with 5 great interpreters in the tasting. At 2.00 pm, one of the great names of international criticism, Michel Bettane , creator together with Thierry Desseauve of one of the most influential guides in the world of wine, will illustrate to the participants what the so-called “ Vinification à l'ancienne ” is, i.e. the art of making champagne using wood. It concludes, at 3.30 pm, with the second of the two meetings dedicated to the Top Cuvées : always 5 great champagnes in the glass, this time told by Francesco Falcone , taster, writer and independent popularizer.

“Our Master Classes have been one of the flagships of Champagne Experience since the first edition” comments Pietro Pellegrini vice president of Excellence Society . “This year there will be many speakers who have selected topics of great interest capable of providing fascinating and above all useful interpretations for all the participants ”.