The biggest opportunities are in the seminars and guided tastings. In an effort to woo the potential customers , many regional associations educate you about wines from their members. After the completion of the international wine competition was over, the Italian Trade Commission had organised one of the trips for the jurors to the Northern province of Trentino. Our first stop was the local Chamber of Commerce in Trento where we tasted their bubblies a-la-Champagne and red wines made from  the local Teroldego. It took me a day to remember and pronounce the word but after learning and tasting over 30 different wines from the grape, I am convinced it is an outstanding value for money wine waiting in the wings to be as popular as Sangiovese, the well-know Chianti protagonist. Also, one doesn't have to chase the best and most expensive of Champagnes when Ferrari produced in this region is available.

The same wines were, of course, available for tastings, guided or otherwise, at Vinitaly later. Gaining a reasonable working knowledge was easy even for a novice, who is protected by the anonymity. At a formal tasting of Prosecco that followed one presentation, one of our compatriots wanted to try out ‘your most expensive wines please' and another politely requested a ‘sweet wine please'. In an identification parade, I won't be able to single out these gentlemen. When someone asked' how many vintages do you take out in a year' I was reminded of my friend Ariff Jamal in Burgundy who says ‘there are no silly questions in wine, only silly answers.'

Of course, if you are a business-minded student, and insist on  getting your money's worth, including the airfare and the hotel expenses,   there are the most exquisite  Barbaresco from Gaja, Tignanello from Antinori, Sassicaia, Ferrari Reserva Sparkling wines and hundreds of expensive, top-of –the-range and elegant wines to choose from. Where else would you find an endless and exciting range of excellent Brunellos, Super Tuscans, Amarones, Vin Santos, Barolos and Barbarescos?  And many professional views on how the Barolo from one village or even the vineyard is better than the other, including the differences in viticulture and winemaking techniques.

The only limitation at Vinitaly is that there are primarily only Italian wines. Of course, if you are serious in learning about other countries, there are 24 others to choose from. I believe a wine lover must visit Vinitaly at least once in his lifetime. I also believe like our Bollywood hero Saif Khan who insists you cannot have just one piece of Lay's potato chips. Ask our members Ranjit and Nanda Gupta who took my advice and went to Vinitaly – and are already planning to go to Italy specially to visit several vineyards next month!    

For a crash one day course, you may plan to visit Vinitaly India in Delhi and Mumbai in January, 2006. You could also spend three days in December in Pragati Maidan at IFE-India where there will be conferences, seminars, tastings and a lot of fun-you might even earn a wine diploma!

Subhash Arora