In Milan, you can drink wine in the metro stations: three stops will become tasting rooms

If people don't go looking for wine, we'll go and bring wine where the people are." Okay, it sounds a bit like the alcoholic story of Muhammad and the mountain, but Paolo Porfidio, head sommelier at the Excelsior Hotel Gallia in Milan, seems to have clear ideas. And where are the people if not on the subway?

Thus was born the idea for Degu-Stazioni, which on September 27th will transform the spaces of three stations on Milan's Metro Line 5 into three wine tasting rooms. This daring project, unique not only in Italy but apparently worldwide ("We looked for photos of similar projects to get an idea of ​​what it will look like, but there aren't any because no one had ever done it before, and we had to ask artificial intelligence for an image," explains Porfidio), was conceived by the Somm is the Future association in collaboration with Metro 5 Milano. How will the day work?

Meanwhile, the tastings will take place at just three stations on Line 5, known to Milanese as the "lilac": San Siro Stadio, Garibaldi, and Isola, with limited access for event participants to the first two stops. Drinking will, of course, not be allowed on the trains or on the platforms: the tastings will take place exclusively in reserved areas, separate from those normally used by passengers and accessible only to adults with event tickets. The subway will instead connect the three stations, allowing participants to freely plan their own itinerary.

There will be only 1,200 tickets, 400 for each of the three time slots (12-3 p.m., 3-6 p.m., and 6-9 p.m.), and they must be purchased in advance on the Eventbrite platform. The Degu-Stazioni Pass costs €32 plus fees, while the full package costs €42 and also includes an ATM day ticket.

For those under 30, prices drop to €25 and €36, respectively. Each participant will receive a Tritan glass, a shatterproof material for safety reasons, with a glass holder, and will be entitled to nine tastings, choosing freely from the wineries located at the three stations, more than thirty from various Italian regions, from Piedmont to Sicily, from Lombardy to Puglia.

Among the producers present are Bastianich, GD Vajra, Hofstätter, Le Colture, Le Marchesine, Lunae Bosoni, Monsupello, Pasqua, Pietradolce, Ruffino, Tramin and Vallepicciola.

Over 50 Somm Mentors, sommeliers from leading Italian restaurants and hospitality businesses, will guide the audience. Sommelier training is a cornerstone of the project, which also involves the Italian Society of Sommeliers (AIS), ASPI, FISAR, and Assoenologi (Oenologists Association) in an effort to bring producers, professionals, and enthusiasts together around the same table—or, in this case, on the same subway line.

The more "live" portion of the event will be concentrated at San Siro. Talks, meetings with producers, blind tastings, and guided tastings are planned throughout the day.

Topics will range from sommeliers to contemporary dining, from large-scale retail trade to wine and food pairings, and even the relationship between wine consumption and urban life. Special attention will be paid to responsible consumption: ticket sales and service are permitted only to those over 18, and all the rules for subway users remain in effect.

It should be noted that Metro 5 provides spaces but does not directly sell or serve alcohol.

On the hunt for a new audience

The idea is to bring wine out of the places we're used to encountering it (restaurants, wine shops, fairs) and into one of the city's most everyday settings. This is also a way to reach a new audience, with a particular focus on young adults.

"Wine today needs to return to the people, to everyday places, creating connections, emotions, and contemporary culture," explains Paolo Porfidio, also the founder of Somm is the Future. Porfidio believes in the democratization of wine. "A single wine can be exclusive, but wine culture must be inclusive and connect wineries, regions, hospitality, and new generations."

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