`7th 'Olio Capitale' Coming to Trieste - Olive Oil Times

7th 'Olio Capitale' Coming to Trieste

By Naomi Tupper
Feb. 12, 2013 08:44 UTC

The only Italian expo com­pletely ded­i­cated to pro­mo­tion of extra vir­gin olive oils will take place in the Italian city from the 1st to the 4th of March 2013, in a spec­tac­u­lar new loca­tion.

The his­tor­i­cal city of Trieste, located strate­gi­cally between the Adriatic sea and the Italian- Slovenian bor­der, plays host to this unique fes­ti­val cel­e­brat­ing high qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oils from Italy and the Mediterranean Basin every year. Although the city is most well known for its role in trade and eco­nomic impor­tance due to its geo­graph­i­cal loca­tion near the pop­u­lar tourist des­ti­na­tion of Venice, olive cul­ti­va­tion and extra vir­gin olive oil have played a part in local cul­ture through­out his­tory.

The 2013 event will see the expo held for the first time in the cen­tral Trieste Stazione Marittima, an impres­sive venue located on the shore-front, which is hoped to draw even more vis­i­tors to the city famed for its food and wine events. The objec­tive of the Olio Capitale expo is to sur­pass the great suc­cess of last year’s event, which saw a 15 per­cent rise in vis­i­tors, and a record num­ber of exhibitors over the pre­vi­ous year.

The expo encour­ages the con­sump­tion of high qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oils through­out Italy and the Mediterranean Basin and fea­tures numer­ous activ­i­ties, work­shops, demon­stra­tions and con­fer­ences designed to heighten the aware­ness of this unique prod­uct. This year will see over 250 olive oil exhibitors together under one roof, rep­re­sent­ing all of the pro­duc­ing regions of Italy, as well as some neigh­bor­ing Mediterranean coun­tries.

It is hoped that the com­plete focus on olive oil will raise aware­ness of olive oil qual­ity, which is deemed to be impor­tant in a mar­ket that is cur­rently strug­gling. President of the Trieste Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Paoletti expressed his believe that qual­ity and dis­tinc­tive­ness were assets that could help relaunch olive-grow­ing and sug­gested that this year’s event would be even more diver­si­fied, excit­ing and fruit­ful than pre­vi­ous years.

Recognized inter­na­tion­ally as a key event in the olive oil sec­tor, the expo is widely attended by pro­fes­sion­als, pro­duc­ers and olive oil enthu­si­asts alike. The event is an impor­tant net­work­ing oppor­tu­nity for pro­fes­sional oper­a­tors and pro­duc­ers world­wide, offer­ing pro­grams ded­i­cated to busi­ness and oppor­tu­ni­ties for meet­ings between exhibitors and buy­ers. However, despite the strong busi­ness focus, the event is also pop­u­lar with the gen­eral pub­lic at whom many of the dis­plays and work­shops are aimed.

This year, high­lights will include olive oil and food pair­ing cook­ing demon­stra­tions, con­ducted by the Olio Capitale School of Cuisine, fea­tur­ing a range of tra­di­tional and mod­ern cuisines. Visitors can also explore the sen­sory side of olive oil with tast­ing ses­sions guided by pro­fes­sion­als at the OilBar, or broaden their olive oil knowl­edge by attend­ing themed dis­cus­sion on indus­try trends, which in 2013 will have a focus on the Mediterranean diet and the role of extra vir­gin olive oil.

The main event of the expo how­ever, is the Olio Capitale Competition, in which con­tend­ing oils selected by a pro­fes­sional panel are judged by three dif­fer­ent groups; pro­fes­sional tasters, pro­fes­sional users, which includes chefs and restau­ra­teurs, and con­sumers from the gen­eral pub­lic. This three­fold judg­ing has been designed to rep­re­sent the entire olive oil mar­ket and pro­vide valu­able infor­ma­tion on how olive oil pref­er­ences vary between these groups.

Pre-reg­is­tra­tion for the event is now open and details can be obtained at the Olio Capitale web­site.



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