Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine

The 8th Symposium organized by the Institute of Masters of Wine will be held in Florence, from May 15 – 18.

In just a few days, wine connoisseurs will convene in that cradle of the Italian Renaissance for 4 days of conferences, tastings, meeting and greeting. And there will be a significant number of the (only!!!) 312 Masters of Wine from around the world.

Symposium, as I’m sure you all know (and as my Ancient Greek-speaking son explained to me) means ‘drink together’: in the late 16th century in Italy it denoted a drinking party, having come via Latin from the Greek word sumposion, from sumpotēs ‘fellow drinker’, from sun- ‘together’ + potēs ‘drinker’. If you don’t believe me, just check Wikipedia!

This is no small thing – it’s kind of like the Olympics of wine – held every four years! And it’s a sellout – 450 delegates will be attending from all over the world, including of course, yours truly, who will be reporting live from the event! Keep your eyes peeled!