Here's what you need to know about Italy's City of Wine for 2021

Wine is something that’s taken very seriously in Italy, and the country boasts several wine lands throughout it from the north to the south. And starting next year, Italy will also have an official Città del Vino, or a City of Wine.

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The decision came from the Città del Vino national association, a group that brings together towns and cities in Italy’s wine regions to promote and protect the quality of Italian wine and its relationship with the location it originates from. The association decided to assign the title of City of Wine for the very first time this year so that it would go into effect in 2021 – and the village of Barolo was declared the winner.

Rows of wine bottles in Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, Italy © Patrycja Zadros / Shutterstock

Barolo is located in the Piedmontese province of Cuneo and while it counts no more than 700 citizens it’s the birthplace of the homonymous Barolo red wine. Barolo also has an enviable location since it’s sitting right in the middle of the Langhe hills, which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

To win the title of Città del Vino 2021, Barolo beat out six more towns with an event calendar filled with exhibitions, classes, seminars and installations for the entirety of 2021. “This year has been a very difficult year and we believe that this new campaign is a loud message of hope and new beginnings,” said Barolo’s mayor Renata Bianco.

A picture of the vineyards in the Langhe hills — The vineyards around Barolo are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Langhe hills © ronnybas / Shutterstock

The general theme of the year will be a journey through time, as explained by Tiziano Gaia, a member of the Barolo&Castle foundation. In a statement, he detailed how all the initiatives and events will rotate around the idea of rediscovering traditional celebrations, the slow passage of seasons and the memories of those who have contributed to the history of Barolo wine.

The initiative’s guiding principles should be the promotion of the area’s wine culture and wine tourism, as well as highlighting the values of sustainability and eco-awareness that can prove advantageous in the long-run. The president of the Città del Vino association, Floriano Zambon, said that he feels that it’s exactly what they secured with the title of Città del Vino 2021 going to Barolo.