Vinitaly without Vino? Sharlafied visits the Mixology Pavilion at Vinitaly 2022
Sharlafied goes to Vinitaly…. but it’s not to taste wine. There is a whole mixology section for the 2022 edition. We talk to Andrea Cason to find out how it got off the ground.
My interview with Andrea
Hi Andrea, how long have you been in the bar business and where did you start?
I started about 24 years ago. I did a lot of flair and and later on we developed our profession and we opened as a business 17 years ago.
Were you always on a team with another person?
With my current partner, Marco, we opened Bartenders SRL which is the company that deals with bar catering for events. For 17 years, we have been doing bar catering for events throughout Italy and even parts of Europe. The umbrella association is Bartenders Group Italia. We also offer courses in our Bussolengo location and masterclasses here at Romeo. Bartenders.it is our bar catering and reference website, so there you will find all the services that we offer. We do a lot of mobile bars and popups too. We’ve organized events for Dolce e Gabbana, Dior, and many international companies.
When did you start running Bar Romeo and what is the concept?
It has been officially open since December 2020. The concept here is that of a double room developed on two floors. This is an old church from the 1200s. In the lower part of the bistro, we tried to give a concept of well-being, aperitif, tapas, a lot of conviviality while the part of the cocktail bar upstairs has an international style. We always try to surprise our guests with new creations.
How and when did you start collaborating with Vinitaly?
With Vinitaly, we started last year with the Special Edition that took place in October 2021. We had a meeting with the Vinitaly office, who wanted to do something related to mixology. They turned to Bartenders Group Italia because we are both in Verona and because they know us, so we started a collaboration with them. We created a small masterclass area with 30 seats inside a pavilion, between other stands, and we organized six masterclasses over three days with a phenomenal turnout.
This year is the 54th edition of Vinitaly, in Verona, running from April 10-13, 2022; what do you have planned?
For this year, fortunately they have reconfirmed with us and we are a technical sponsor of Vinitaly. This year they have created a pavilion for us. It will be in Pavilion “I” near the entrance, just in front of the Toscana pavillon. The space is more than 500 square meters, with a masterclass area, a lounge bar area that of course will serve cocktails from the various sponsors, always managed by us. There will also be seven stands inside that will present their products.
How many masterclasses are there going to be?
There are going to be 14 masterclasses for four days, from 10 to 13 April, four per day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon, for one hour, with various important players.
I understand that you will also be hosting the regional AIBES (Bartenders and Supporters association 1949) competition in your pavilion as well.
This year we hosted the competition in collaboration with AIBES because it is an important and well-established entity in our field, with Samuele Ambrosi - AIBES Vice President, and Roberto Pellegrini, supervisor of the Veneto, Trentino, and South Tyrol chapter of Aibes. The competition will take place starting at noon on Wednesday April 13th.
This just in: Sharlafied will be on the panel of judges for the finals on April 13th!
Samuele Ambrosi and Roberto Pellegrini at an AIBES competition in Padova in 2021.
Can you give me a preview of some big names who will offer masterclasses for Vinitaly?
There will be Salvatore Calabrese, there will be Leonardo Pinto with Grappa Revolution, there will be Simone Carrozzo of Martini & Rossi, and Giorgio Facchinetti with the Asti Consortium. There are some other big names but you will have to wait to find out….
Plans for Vinitaly’s next editions?
Of course it will be to expand, then to make cocktails an integral part of Vinitaly because after over fifty years of Vinitaly the time has come: a cocktail side within Vinitaly is necessary.
Why do you think Vinitaly decided to add a section on cocktails?
Well, I think there has always been a mixology part within Vinitaly: wine distributors who always had a small side dedicated to their spirits, so in my opinion it was born as a result of that. They saw that the world of cocktails is progressing well in Italy and they perhaps thought there was a need to give it a dedicated area, without mixing it up with everything else but to give it the part it deserves. I’m not saying that it could become a Bar Convent (Berlin) but in my opinion, if we work well and more companies want to participate in it, it will develop very well in the coming years.
What is it: bartender or mixologist?
I am old school. When I started, we were doing flair, we had fun in bartending, we worked a lot with high volume. If you wanted to learn more, there was very little, you had to buy books abroad and study like I did. I have a library of 1000 books on the subject, so I really went searching. Then the schools arrived, training arrived. The companies became aware of this and perhaps there was a saturation of the world of training so perhaps too many and some poorly managed, but this thing has developed the world of mixing. Whether it’s bartender or mixologist, we are talking about the same figure:the person behind the counter must have the right passion, and the right passion can come from serving a great classic done right or doing something incredible, but always done correctly, with the right headspace.
When you are behind the counter, who are you: mixologist or bartender?
I am a barman. I do not define myself, perhaps because this thing has created too much controversy and we must understand that making a drink is our joy. It always allows us to study, to keep our brains trained and do research. What we bring to the customers doesn't have to be anything stressful. The guest comes to the bar to exchange a few words with the bartender and to relax. So we shouldn’t reduce the world of the bar to just what's inside the drink.
Romeo Bistrot.
Of course. It's so much about hospitality. As the Maestro, Salvatore Calabrese says, it is more about the way you serve than what you serve.
Exactly. So call me barman, bartender, mixologist, call me whatever you want, I am absolutely not offended. The important thing, however, is to maintain a concept of absolute hospitality.
Well, Andrea , I can’t wait to see the Mixology Pavilion at Vinitaly and judge in the AIBES regional finals.
See you there!
Useful accounts to follow
Bartenders Group @bartenders_group
Romeo Bistrot @romeobistrot_cocktail_bar
Verona Fiere @veronafierespa
Vinitaly @vinitalyofficial
Aibes Veneto & Trentino Alto Adige @aibesvenetoetaa