Enoforum 2011, the world meeting on viticultural research and techniques, was a great success.

In Arezzo, three days of “total immersion” in the latest innovations in the wine sector: The theme of “no added sulfur dioxide” wines was a major catalyst.

After Pescara, Conegliano and Piacenza, Arezzo hosted the seventh edition of Enoforum. The geographical location and the fair structure of the Tuscan city of art encouraged and supported a “peaceful” invasion of technicians, researchers and producers. Up to 950 congress attendees followed the numerous technical update sections, talked with the companies present and tasted wines made with innovative techniques.
But even more impressive was the scope of the speakers, who presented more than 100 scientific studies offering participants a comprehensive sample of the results obtained in recent years by no less than 44 Italian and 30 foreign research centers.

All topics related to wine production were covered, but in particular vineyard mechanization, filtration and aging technologies, traditional and innovative closures, the effects of oxygen and current national and international market trends. Particular emphasis was placed on sustainable development strategies, highlighting viticultural and enological practices capable of guaranteeing a quality product while respecting the environment and the social and landscape context of the territory. Of all these, a particular topic that polarized the attention of several speakers was that of sulfur dioxide-free winemaking, a technique that, in view of the growing interest of a significant number of consumers, is beginning to be considered a feasible option provided that specific and proven production protocols are adopted.