Est. 2026 — Bergamo, Italia
Vampiri
Italiani
™ TRADEMARK PENDING
Italy's First Garlic Tasting Association
They run from garlic.
We taste it.
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They run from garlic.
We taste it.
In Italy, people talk about wine, oil, cheese.
Garlic — the oldest, most iconic, most feared ingredient in Italian cooking —
has never had a tasting association worthy of the name.
Until today.
Vampiri Italiani was founded to do what no one had done before:
evaluate garlic with sensory rigour, respect for Italian biodiversity,
and a healthy dose of irony toward those who still fear it.
On which our mission is built
100-point structured evaluation cards, protocols modelled on established Italian professional tasting methodology, comparative panels between Italian and international varieties. Garlic deserves the same respect as wine.
PDO, PGI, Slow Food Presidia. Italy holds an extraordinary and little-known heritage of garlic varieties. We bring it to the centre of national food culture.
The name is no accident. Vampires hate garlic: we love it, study it, celebrate it. A serious project inside an identity that doesn't take itself too seriously.
14 Italian varieties catalogued — from North to South, PDO · PGI · Slow Food Presidia · Local Ecotypes
PDO, PGI, Slow Food Presidia varieties and local ecotypes — mapped and tasted by Vampiri Italiani.
The map is updated as partnerships with producers grow.
The Calendar
Where Italian garlic tells its story — the 2026 circuit, from North to South
Calendar updated for the 2026 season. Past dates remain as a record of the circuit; future editions are refreshed year by year. Dates subject to confirmation by the organisers.
Protocols, measurements and corrections
Four levels of initiation for the worthy
Food and wine journalist with 35 years of experience, member of the Italian Order of Journalists (reg. no. 175535). Sensory training in cured meats and cheese, thirty years of tastings and masterclasses. Founder of Errante del Gusto and Grand Master of the Ordine della Margherita. He has tasted everything. Only garlic was missing — done seriously.
Expertise, contact networks and visibility across territories, on a voluntary basis with no governance role — in service of Vampiri Italiani's mission.
EPAM-FIPE executive and restaurateur in Milan, he follows regional De.Co. certifications (Denominazioni Comunali, the local designations established by Luigi Veronelli). He brings Vampiri Italiani his network and contacts across Italy's territories and typical products.