Definition: University of Gastronomic Sciences

To achieve this, the University plans to use a high-tech environment and a team of leading experts to teach a wide range of multidisciplinary subjects, from history to marketing, law and anthropology. The programme will also include internships in dairies, wine cellars, kitchens, etc.

A wine bank aims to build up a "historical memory" of the best vintages:

The 2,500 m² cellar will eventually house some 200,000 bottles from all regions of Italy. Enough to tempt a saint...

For lovers of Italian wines, of whom I am passionately one, it's enough to drive you crazy. Imagine a huge cellar that seems to go on forever, stacked with hundreds of cases filled with Italy's finest vintages. Piedmont is the first region to welcome visitors. Wines from this region account for 50% of the cellar, which currently holds 60,000 bottles. Eventually, it will be able to hold around 200,000. The names of the producers roll off the tongue: Bruno Rocca, Aldo Vajrà, Armando Parusso, Pio Cesare... This cellar is a place of irresistible temptations, unfortunately well guarded. And then come the Tuscan wines: Antinori, Poliziano, Fattoria del Cerro, Barone Ricasoli, etc. Next come the other regions of Italy: Trentino, Marche, Campania, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Sicily, etc. Already thinking of selling my soul to Dionysus for a few bottles of 1996 Barolo (an exceptional vintage), I set off in search of information about this fabulous Wine Bank.

"The aim of this bank is to build up a historical memory of wine," explains Paolo Enria. "Its primary function is to store the great vintages of Italy's finest wines." Unfortunate! What is the point of creating a historical memory of wine if it turns to vinegar after too many years of storage? Displaying empty bottles seems infinitely more sensible to me. It is then that I learn, with not entirely disinterested joy, that it is possible to buy the bottles on display. Producers solicited and selected by the bank have the opportunity to deposit 180 bottles per year, corresponding to three labels. These bottles can then be reserved by future buyers, who will be able to enjoy their purchase when the bank decides that the wine has reached maturity and is ready to drink. The buyer therefore undertakes to leave their wine to age in the bank for a specified period. The price at which the wine will be sold will be decided by the producer.

The bank will also serve as a wine museum. Visits will be organised for the public, who will be able to walk among the crates, equipped with an audio guide providing information about the wines and their producers. Tastings, courses and wine-tasting weekends are also on the programme of activities at this new kind of bank. Pollenzo thus offers the opportunity to build a past for a sector that is more focused on the present and the future.