It was a truly interactive sensorial experience the one set up by the Parsons School’s students in collaboration with the “Urban Office Architecture” study of Enzo Frugiuele for the Asti DOCG Consortium. The occasion for this display was Asti Experience, a 3-day long event held in New York encompassing seminars, meetings and tastings, promoting one of the best sweet sparkling wines in the world.

Theevent was held at the Astor Center in the East Village, a small red brick building sporting a sophisticated yet warmly welcoming atmosphere.
 

The event was indeed a real multi-sensorial showcase made of simple white wooden stands, representing in 5 stages how the 5 senses get involved during wine tasting and how they contribute to make this an incredible unique experience.

In the Touch stand visitors walked on soft green carpets representing the grass of a vineyard. In the Hearing stand relaxing music was played together with the sound of fizzling bubbles. Smell was teased with glass jars exhaling scents of honey, flowers and other aromas characteristic of sparkling wine.

An Ipad projecting fantastic images of ships sailing oceans of golden spumante through evanescent bubbles was the installation regarding Sight, and eventually the show culminated in the Taste stand that offered glasses of sweet sparkling wine and succulent culinary treats.

The seminars and tasting sessions were held by experts of the sector, such as the Asti Ambassador Ernst Knam, who took turns with other chefs like Vito Polosa and professionals as Paolo Barrichella, food designer, Carlo Enzo Frugiuele, architect, Michael Wilson and Ian Wolf, respectively Editor in Chief and Wine Editor of the American edition of the Italian food magazine La Cucina Italiana.

Asti Experience however had more to offer: on October 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th a number of bars and selected lounges offered tastings of gastronomical treats and Asti DOCG wine.

On www.astiexperience.com [2] the public can check out the program of the manifestation and have a chance to win a trip to Italy.
 

Asti experience is a splendid example of Italian wine, design and cuisine that proves once more the extraordinary interest of the American public for Italian culture, wine and food, and celebrates the quality and authenticity of the products of Italian consortiums.

Cheers.