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50 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2017 Some people stay at hotels in towns near Verona and take the train in each morning. While this saves money on the room, there is an added cost of train rides. You'll also miss the late night parties—unless you add the cost of expensive taxi rides. Those who don't take the time to set up appointments with producers have to taste wines standing with the crowd— watching others who are sitting with the winery representatives, tasting the best wines with plates of housemade salumi and cheeses. The best producers fill their appointments months in advance. Use your suppliers, distributors and other con - tacts to help you set up appointments— star ting in January. Getting invited to the producer dinners that go on each night will also make your time at Vinitaly all the more memorable. Navigating the Trade Fair Once in Verona with a set schedule, it's time to get to the fair and navigate through the crowds. There are several options for getting to the fair grounds. The best way to go is on one of the free shuttles provided by many of the hotels. You don't have to be staying at the hotel to take the shuttle; you just have to know where these comfortable busses pick up. Ask an experienced Vinitaly participant about these shuttles. There are free city busses you can take; the schedules are on the Vinitaly website. A taxi will cost more than usual because of the traffic. The gates open at 9:30 a.m. People start lining up before 9. The line moves quickly once the gates open, so this is not a bad option to maximize your time at Vinitaly. Instead of standing in line, if you show up around 10:30 you can move right in. While appointments are important, you have to leave time to taste wines you enjoy and discover wines you're not familiar with. If you choose to go early enough, stop by a few of the tasting booths of Franciacorta (which is near the fair entrance) before they get busy—starting with some bubbles can make the day even better. The fair grounds are huge. The build - ings are enormous. Even those familiar with the layout can get disoriented. The numbered buildings are mostly dedicated to the different regions of Italy. Inside there are grids—A1 to F25 for example. The secret to staying orientated: Pay attention from which direction you enter a build - ing and think about which building you'll be going to for your next appointment. A good idea is to plan your last appointment towards the exit like in Sicily, not way over in Piedmont. The app is good for locating the grid number of the producers. Forty-five minute appointments give you time to get from one booth to another and account for delays. As the day gets later, you may have to wait for a specific appointment because others were late for their time slot. It is not the Italian way to be on time all the time. It's the Italian way not to just jump into business during the wine tastings. The beginning of the appointment is the stron - gest time for relationship building; a time to talk about life, family, sports, etc. Lunch is important to keep up your strength and the cheese and cured meats served at most tasting appointments is usu - ally not enough—although a few producers do serve a full lunch at their booths. Most eat at the panini places that are everywhere. There are nice restaurants set up, but you should make a reservation in advance if you want to sit and order from a menu without a long wait. After Hours While the fair ends at 6 p.m. each day, that's not the end of tasting wine or get- ting to know people. There are producer dinners all over town and at some nearby wineries. Sitting down with the producers and other members of the wine commu- nity for a meal, tasting their best wines and getting to know more about the winery is the best part of Vinitaly. Be sure to set up these dinners well ahead of time. The discussion will continue about whether it's worth the effort to travel to Verona, spend long hours tasting wines, attend wine dinners and get together with friends for one more late night drink— mostly because other venues are trying to duplicate what Vinitaly has been doing for over 50 years. What happens at Vinitaly will be hard to match. The fair is held in a city with a soul, where wines are exhibited with Italian passion and people come together as a community to taste some of the best wines in the world. { expositions } Forty-five minute appointments give you time to get from one booth to another and account for delays.