After the Real Italian Wine & Food Experience at Exscel - looking backwards and forwards

After the Real Italian Wine & Food  Experience at Excel, I have been looking back at their website and catalogue and what I discovered and enjoyed at this new style trade show. 

Why Sunday and Monday?

Firstly, the date of the show was a Sunday and a Monday. The day of the week chosen was not an accident, nor simply due to the availability or price of the exhibition hall. The organizers, wineexperience.com, chose a Sunday and Monday because that is when many restaurants and food and wine businesses are closed or have fewer customers, consumers, and can afford the time to go to an exhibition for business to business meetings.

Looking Back At What I Learned and Missed

I missed out on the blind tasting area. I like an attractive bottle and label. If I had more time, next time I would do the taste test without the distraction of the bottle and labelling. 

Super Seating - Lounge Based

What I did enjoy was the cosy seating.

Instead of having everybody walking around whilst sampling drinks, and spitting, which I hate, a new system. Not the old cross between a random cocktail party and a boozy pub crawl. Nor the other system of  having front desks where temp agency staff ignore passers-by, and a gatekeeper holds back everyone from a VIP area. 

Something much better.  Each stand at this show had comfortable chairs. This created and a nooky look and feel so you were invited to sit down and savour the drink, and sometimes food.

Sitting Listening To Stories

Whilst it is possible that every stand has a story, it did seem to me that I could quickly establish if we had no connection before sitting down. The most smiling and welcoming people often knew they had a great story, or were willing to chat away until we found a profitable point or subject of mutual interest.

Here's a summary of what I learned.

1 Cans Of Semi-Sparkling Wine 

The stand had both bottles of sparkling rose wine and cans of semi-sparkling. I tried both and I was honest, tactless, enough to say that the cans did not have as much of a sparkle, a bubble, as the traditional bottle. Convenient to carry, for a picnic, backpack. 

Why no bubbles? Just for a cheaper product? No. The promoter, Cristina, explained that, as most people already know, the heavy glass of the Champagne bottle and similar sparkling wine bottles, is there to withstand the pressure of the bubbles. The much lighter aluminium cans can't take such strong bubbles without the risk of bursting. Once I knew that, I was no longer disappointed by the smaller sparkle of the canned drink. Just a different product, for different occasions, different requirements, different weight, size, and price.

Looking Forward To the Next Real Italian Wine & Food Experience

Similar trade shows are being organized in the Americas in Mexico City, in Mexico, in April

In summer of 2026, in June, in Asia. The event is in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. An opportunity for a side trip to one of the two top sites in Asia, the green pinnacles in the blue sea, visited by boat on a romantic  overnight dinner cruise at Halong Bay.

The next opportunity is in November in Mexico City. 

Next year I shall want to attend this trade show again in London, England. 

2 Forno Minniti For Perfect Panettone

Large Panettone from Forno Minniti. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I look forward to seeing and sampling what is new from Forno Minniti, the makers of the oh so aromatic and tasty Panettone, flavoured with bergamot (which is an orange) and almonds. What will they come up with next year?

The Spelling of Panettone

Notice the spelling. Minniti has double n, one letter tee. The opposite of panettone.

But panettone has double t and the ne twice. The word starts with pan, not just a cooking pan, but the word for bread, or cake, in many languages, such as the French phrase for chocolate pastry, pain au chocolat. The word panettone ends with the word one, o - n - e.  You can get a small panettone but in my photo is one big one. Panettone.

Useful Websites On Italian Food & Wine Shows & Food

winesexperience.com

fornominitti.it

italianwinecan.com

it stands for italy.

Tea Time Fun For Families At Fortnum's

Enticing window displays. Huge flowers and animals to entertain children. Look closely and you will see a gold topped Champagne bottle in the lower middle.

 Upstairs in Fortnum & Mason food store in Jermyn Street, London.

I had a freshly squeezed orange juice. Hard to find in London. But everywhere in Singapore.

Teeny ice cream cone came with the double espresso. 

A informative placemat for adults, with a reverse for kids to colour.

Useful Website on Fortnum's

fortnumandmason.com

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Save the ocean - wines under water

 

Excel Exhibition Centre - the excellent best and worst for travel and toilets

 Excel this year I was at The Real Italian Wine And Food Experience. The absolute best was the juxtaposition of the entrance on the ground floor and the toilets also on the ground floor opposite.

This end of the gigantic venue, larger than some airports, is best. You still have a five minute dog leg or L shape walk to Prince Regent station. The semi circular 4 star hotel has a spa and gym, delegates who stayed their told me. The hotel is conveniently right outside.

Left, the multi coloured hotel.

Behind it is a large car park.

Advantages of Prince Regent Station DLR

Although one DLR stop further from central London, best for events at the end furthest from the Custom House station end. 

The station has a convenient lift behind the long staircase.

Advantages Of Custom House Station DLR

This alternative Custom House station is at the big entrance which is for larger events occupying the entire building or shows at this end. The walkway above from the station passes a wall of green plants on your left. On the right you pass restaurants and a coffee shop.

Toilets on Two Levels

Inside Excel the first toilets you reach are down stairs. Not ideal if you are carrying goods to or from the show. Good if you want to get some exercise. If you can wait, you can use the ground floor toilet at the Prince Regent station exit at the other end. 

The hall is the size of a major airport. I wish they would instal a travelator!

DLR stands for Docklands Light Railway. 

TFL Transport For London.

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Organic wines from Sardinia

 

The business has a restaurant, a farm, cheeses, cookery classes, and b and b at the farm.

The owner's nice niece, Elena, told me.

 

Seaide sandy Soil Vineyard in Sardinia

 Sand is great for fighting the vine destroying the phyloxera insect  which killed vines a century ago. In the last decade olives had a threat.

The sand requires a vine with strong roots. The Sardinian vines here also benefit from the savoury, not salty but savory aroma. Sea air in a glass.

You can go for tastings buying one glass or a flight.

The sun and sea make this special.

The nw airport is Alghero. That area speaks 

The town of Bardesi has the long beaches.

Wine from Sardinia Pareda zone and wine name

 

Vino Rosato, 

(pink) or rosé wine, from 

 Meana Sardo is the name of the village. Three grape varieties.

You can order feom their website as little as one bottle to test it out but the postage is more economical spread over a case of 6 bottes or more.

They are small but can organize tastings for groups on request.

People fly into the  Cagliari airport in the south.

A meandering road,

 Off the beaten track.

The owner is Filippo Podda.

I met him in London, at Excel.

He speaks some English and his leaflets are in both Italian or English. 

Sardinian food is fabulous and zI hope to go there in a year or two. My husband Trevor has written a book on island wines, called Isle Drink

Learn Italian on Duolingo

I have been brushing up my Italian on Duolingo, which has improved a lot recently with listening and speaking exercises.

Useful Websites on Italy and Sardinian Wines

Www.cantinameana.it

In the middle of Sardinia. Nothing major to see here but it is the mid point between