USA: ITALY IS AGAIN LEADER OF IMPORTED WINES. ONE MILLION HECTOLITERS FOR $ 521 MILLION EUROS, THE ITALIAN NECTAR INCREASES IN QUANTITY (+10.5%) AND VALUE (+11.6%), TOTALING 32% OF “FOREIGN” WINES ON THE US MARKET

Italian wines are once again the most imported in the United States, says the Italian Wine & Food Institute, headed by Lucio Caputo. In the first half of 2010, Italy exported 1.082.990 hectoliters of wine worth $ 521 million euros, an increase of 10.5% in quantity and 11.6% in value, for a market share of 32.5% among imported wines. Italy has thus again passed Australia, leader in 2009 by exporting 340.000 more hectoliters of bottled wines than the “Aussies”.

“The success of Italian wine is an excellent signal,” commented Caputo, “ for ‘Gala Italia’, which will be held in New York and Los Angeles on February 10th and 14th, 2011. The two events, under the patronage of the Italian Ambassador in Washington and sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) will continue to contribute to the image, knowledge and distribution of wines, food and the most significant Made in Italy products, from fashion to art, on the U.S. market”.