Over a million tastings served in the name of excellence and the valorization of the territory, 185 events in 83 locations around the world in which the culture and food and wine of Friuli Venezia Giulia were promoted, over 2,000 recipes created to delight the public with unique dishes that told the regional culinary history in an original way, more than 35,000 bottles uncorked, 1,383 times in which winemakers, artisans of taste and partners appeared on the menus making each experience unrepeatable: this, summarized in numbers, is the photograph of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori consortium that this year celebrates 25 years .
Cuisine Wine Products Culture = Tourism
“For 25 years we have been telling the story of our land through its cuisine and its wines” says the president of the consortium Walter Filipputti and this is precisely the slogan chosen to accompany a year of events that will have its climax on September 15 with the official Celebration in the halls of the Friuli Foundation.
The equation Cuisine Wine Products Culture = Tourism is the basis of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori project, which for 25 years has been the standard-bearer of the food and wine excellence of Friuli Venezia Giulia, an extraordinary melting pot of people, cultures, and foods. The Consortium is a close-knit group of 72 top-quality companies: 25 restaurateurs who - from the Adriatic Sea to the Alps - are the standard-bearers of the many souls of regional cuisine, conceived and reworked by each according to their own personal research path; 24 winemakers and distillers and 16 artisans of taste who are supported by 7 technical partners .
Words at the press conference for the Twenty-Fifth
«Walter Filiputti and Fvg Via dei Sapori - began the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Pordenone-Udine Giovanni Da Pozzo - are an institution for our region. A team that has no equal, not only among the great personalities of the food and wine of the territory, but also among sectors, similar yet distinct, such as that of the great restaurant, that of the wines and that of the products of excellence. Fvg via dei sapori, with its protagonists, anticipated already 25 years ago that all-round vision that today is part of the promotion of the territory tout court. The development of this project, the awareness of the traditions and together the innovative drive of each member of the team and the catalytic abilities of Walter make the experience of the Consortium truly special, where everything is perfectly integrated, with the awareness that beautiful things, with a breath of the future, are made with cooperation, united in the individual specialties like an orchestra».
"At the end of the 90s there was great vitality in this territory, which expressed some of the events and projects, such as the Far East film festival, such as Fvg Via dei Sapori, of which today we are celebrating very important milestones of over twenty years", added the deputy mayor of Udine Alessandro Venanzi , who underlined "the great ability to interpret the change of these realities. The world is continuing to change - he said - and we believe that our entrepreneurs and those who animate our community are capable of continuing to interpret these transformations because they have always been capable of looking in perspective".
As the president of the Consortium Walter Filiputti explained later when introducing the events of the 25th , «at the beginning of the new century a silent and epochal handover was also completed: what we define as traditional cuisine, understood as the cooking of grandmothers and mothers, almost no longer existed - he recalled - A heritage of knowledge that had been silently absorbed and codified by modern catering which, to accommodate the changes linked to changed lifestyles, had to renew itself, starting from the knowledge of the past to better face the future, at the same time valorizing identity. With this fiduciary handover, the new catering has become a precious and irreplaceable library of culinary knowledge available to all. It therefore has the task of giving tradition a future, making it evolve. This is what the restaurants of Fvg Via dei Sapori have done, which also have the merit of having been forerunners in launching the formula now established "Cuisine Wines Products Culture = Tourism».
"The richness and variety of our food and wine heritage are the main reason for tourists who choose to spend their holidays in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Demoskopika's surveys on Italians' travel intentions confirm this and it's no surprise: our Region is known internationally for its culinary and winemaking excellence - concluded the regional councilor for productive activities and tourism Sergio Emidio Bini - The credit also goes to the Via dei Sapori, a happy intuition that in 25 years has made it possible to publicize and promote the products, chefs and locations of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The strength of this initiative lies in having recognized the important link between tourism and food and wine, systematizing the restaurant professionals in the Region and focusing on events dedicated to quality. In hindsight, we can say that it was a far-sighted choice, whose positive effects on the territory are evident. The rich calendar of events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its establishment does nothing but confirm the professionalism and quality of the Consorzio Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori, which deserves recognition for the work carried out in recent years to enhance our Region".
The story
It all started on September 12, 2000 , a date that would mark a turning point for the restaurant industry in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Aldo Morassutti , of the Da Toni restaurant in Gradiscutta, gathered a dozen colleagues at the Là di Moret restaurant , driven by a common vision: to promote and enhance local gastronomy. He invited Walter Filiputti, an expert in food and wine and marketing , to present a program. That day, not only was the idea for the Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori Consortium born, but the first stone was laid for a project that would help place quality catering in the tourism promotion system . The needs that led to the creation of the Consortium were simple, but fundamental: the need to give a strong and united voice to regional catering by creating a platform to launch local excellence and to work as a team. The intuition looked beyond, to the good of the territory, with the awareness that it was the true common treasure to be defended and enhanced. The Consortium's founding charter, signed by 20 restaurants , sanctioned the commitment to overcome individuality and work, at the same time, for the collective good. The territorial component was the driving force behind the project's success, transforming the food and wine panorama into a strategic pillar for regional tourism, and opening the doors to collaboration with local institutions , such as the Chamber of Commerce of Udine and Pordenone-Udine, Promoturismo and the Municipalities. The cultural aspect was part of the programs. In 2003, the Consortium published its first book, "Friuli Via dei Sapori" translated into 6 languages. In 2011, "I Solisti del Gusto" was published through a narrative that intertwines the flavors and culture of the entire region (in 3 languages). To these publications were added 9 "Monografie golose" (20,000 copies printed) that were given as gifts to restaurant customers, contributing to a widespread diffusion of knowledge of the territory.
The events 2025
The calendar will open on June 17 at the Castello di Spessa di Capriva with a now traditional Dinner Show , a format that is very popular today and which the Consortium pioneered, which will see 25 chefs simultaneously cook a spring menu in front of the public, supported by winemakers and producers, to tell the story of their land through food and wine.
On July 8, the Consortium will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a big event at the Castle of Udine , the city where it was founded in 2000 in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Udine, then chaired by Enrico Bertossi. Each restaurant will present its own iconic dish - intact through time and fashion - that best represents it.
On July 29th, the Dinner Show dedicated to summer cuisine will take place on the beach of Grado, with the sea at sunset as a backdrop.
September 15th will be dedicated to the Celebration of 25 years , which will be hosted in the rooms of the Fondazione Friuli in Udine starting at 17:00. For the occasion, a video and a magazine will be presented that will tell the story of the Consortium in an agile and attractive way.
The 72 companies
The restaurants: AB Osteria Contemporanea of Lavariano di Mortegliano, Ai Fiori of Trieste, Ai Tre Merli of Trieste, Al Gallo of Pordenone, Al Grop of Tavagnacco, Al Paradiso of Pocenia, Al Ponte of Gradisca D'Isonzo, Alla Luna of Gorizia, All'Androna of Grado, Caffetteria Torinese of Palmanova, Campiello of San Giovanni al Natisone, Carnia of Venzone, Casa Valcellina of Montereale Valcellina, Costantini of Collalto of Tarcento, Da Alvise of Sutrio, Da Nando of Mortegliano, Da Toni of Gradiscutta of Varmo, Enoteca of Buttrio , La Torre of Spilimbergo, Le Fucine of Buttrio, Lokanda Devetak of Savogna d'Isonzo, Mandi Parentesi Friulana of Lignano Sabbiadoro, Mondschein of Sappada, San Michel and of Fagagna, Vitello d'Oro of Udine.
The gastronomic journey of Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori is also joined by winemakers and distilleries, excellences in the agri-food sector and artisans of taste, as well as technical partners: together, the group is the standard-bearer of the best that Friuli Venezia Giulia has to offer at the table.
The excellent winemakers and distillers: Albino Armani, Castello di Spessa, Count D'Attimis Maniago, Dario Coos, Di Lenardo, Edi Keber, Ermacora, Eugenio Collavini, Forchir, Gradis'ciutta, Jermann, La Viarte, Livio Felluga, Livon, Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore, Nero Magis, Pascolo, Petrussa, Picech, Sirch, Venica&Venica, Vistorta, Zidarich, Nonino Distillatori.
In collaboration with: Chamber of Commerce of Pordenone-Udine, Promo Turismo FVG.
