A unique trail, perfectly connecting the Friuli Venezia Giulia coast with its mountains, travelling through its vineyards and hills, and creating a network of regional food and wine resources together with cultural and environmental ones, in order to build a transversal and integrated product to enhance food and wine tourism and make it more accessible for tourists. This is the ambitious goal of the “Tastes of Friuli Venezia Giulia Food and Wine Tour” (Strada del Vino e Sapori Friuli Venezia Giulia, SVS), a project arising from the Regional Law 22/2015 to develop regional tourism in a coordinated, competitive and non-fragmented manner, linked to the world of wine and agro-food and in line with the tourism market demand.
Under the Regional Law, PromoTurismoFVG, in collaboration with ERSA, is the chosen organisation for the Trail’s complete management and coordination of all members. Thereby making Friuli Venezia Giulia the only region in Italy, at this time, to have a single organisation managing the wine trail projects and undertaking all actions related to the operation with its own internal resources. To this effect, PromoTurismoFVG receives funding from the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia and uses it to fulfil the purposes of the system and the operators that belong to it.
The “Tastes of Friuli Venezia Giulia Food and Wine Tour” project also brings another important change to the Italian wine tourism world: Friuli Venezia Giulia is in fact the first region in Italy to regulate (art. 6 of the Regional Law 22/2015) the administration of traditional agro-food production, and speciality and quality non-cooked production along with tastings during wine cellar visits.
The SVS aims to give tourists a true holiday experience, surrounded by the wine and food of Friuli Venezia Giulia, just like a genuine, authentic and quality sample of the “Made in Italy” taste. Among the targets of SVS are the creation of products and bespoke services for the wine-tourist, organised either individually or in groups, the development of activities related to wine and other local products, the implementation of promotional activities aimed at placing the offer in the market, the communication and promotion of a single receptacle that holds all of what the region and its partners have to offer, the integration of the SVS contents with PromoTurismoFVG’s sales promotion strategy and all regional partners’ strategies.
The key word characterising SVS’s first actions is synergy: in fact, PromoTurismoFVG has worked closely with a work group, composed of the regional food and wine world’s main players, to build a product that can easily be shared within the region. The fruits of our labour came from the
experience and work done when managing the previous tourist wine trail..
SVS, which involves the community as a whole, is not a physical journey but a single receptacle in which six different life experiences areprovided in related areas, which will benefit from unique promotion.
The following categories and subjects can only, and exclusively, join Tastes of Friuli Venezia Giulia Food and Wine Tour: wineries, i.e. cooperative wine cellars and private wine producers; agro-tourism operators with accommodation and board or one of the two activities; restaurants, trattorias, osterias with kitchen, restaurants located in hotels of at least 3 stars; farms producing and processing traditional food products. From 2018, membership of the following will be available: tasting shops, bars and other similar places with or without kitchen (bars, breweries, bakeries, cafes, wineries); arts and crafts companies which focus on items linked to the rural, wine and food world, food and wine museums, eco-museums and structures with inherent local traditions linked to food, wine and craft products; the environment, culture and infrastructure of artistic and cultural interests or parks; service companies (travel agents, tour operators, transport hire firms, cooperatives of tour guides) and professionals and entertainers linked to tourism, culture and local traditions
The “Tastes of Friuli Venezia Giulia Food and Wine Tour” participants benefit from promotion provided by PromoTurismoFVG, which includes web marketing, media relations, advertising investments, participation in trade fairs and specific marketing aimed at improving the identification and enhancement of structures. SVS will also have a logo and corporate image.
To ensure a high standard of quality, the required minimum qualities for participating are listed in
individual membership cards, by each category.
These requirements, along with other relevant details as to how SVS operates, can be found within the regulations that govern the project.
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