Businesses, wine consortia, Ice Agency, Vinitaly: the system of Italian wine in New York

Businesses, wine consortia, Ice Agency (Ita-Italian Trade Agency), and Vinitaly: the Italian wine system is heading to New York to reinvigorate the long-standing love affair between the United States and Italy wineries. A relationship that endures despite being tested by countless challenges, from tariffs, now less talked about but still in place and impactful, to inflation affecting the U.S., wars, declining consumption, and more. Yet “the stars and stripes” market, despite a -11.2% drop in imports in the first seven months of 2026 compared to 2025, to 997.4 million euros (though improving from the -14.1% recorded mid-year), remains “the market” for Italian producers: vital and strategic. They will be strongly represented at Vinitaly.USA 2026, taking place on October 26-27 in New York (for the first time, after two editions in Chicago), concluding the “Italian Wine Week” organized by Ice Agency from October 12th to 25th, involving more than 100 wine shops across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Jersey City, and following the renowned “New York Wine Experience” by Wine Spectator (October 23rd-24th). At Vinitaly.USA, among other announcements, the wineries selected for OperaWine 2027, the now traditional tasting event previewing Vinitaly in Verona and scheduled for April 10th, will be unveiled. As always, many leading Italian wineries will take center stage.
At the heart of Vinitaly.USA, hosted at Pier 36 in Manhattan, in the very heart of the “Big Apple”, business will naturally take center stage - with 300 leading exhibitors and more than 1,000 buyers already registered, including importers, distributors and Horeca professionals. Veronafiere, together with Ita-Italian Trade Agency, has focused not only on the United States but also on another key market for Italian wine, Canada (229.5 million euros in the first 7 months of 2026) - and on a smaller but promising market such as Mexico (30.8 million euros in the same period). Beyond business, there will also be a strong emphasis on education, both for Italian producers seeking a deeper understanding of the U.S. market and for American trade professionals exploring the diversity of Italian wine, through the “wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum” program. Special attention will be devoted to wine tourism in Italy, an area in which American travelers remain among the most loyal and most important visitors to Italian wine regions.
As noted, many of Italy leading wine names will be featured at Vinitaly.USA: from Feudi di San Gregorio to San Salvatore 1988, from Medici Ermete to Cantina Rauscedo, from Famiglia Cotarella to Cantine Lunae Bosoni, from Bellavista to Damilano, from La Scolca to Varvaglione 1921, from Antichi Poderi Jerzu to Mesa, from Cusumano to Donnafugata, from Collemassari to Donatella Cinelli Colombini, from Frescobaldi to Geografico (Piccini Group), from Marilisa Allegrini to Nardi Viticoltori, from Prosit Group to Tenuta Sette Ponti, from Gruppo Mezzacorona to Scacciadiavoli, from Angelini Wines & Estates to Farina, from Masottina to Nino Franco, from Pasqua to Ponte 1948, from Serena Wines 1881 to Villa Sandi and Ferrari, from Mack & Schühle Italia to the Veronesi family Oniwines, as well as Nonino. Industry groupings will also be present, including Consorzio Italia del Vino (which brings together 24 leading companies with combined revenues exceeding 1.5 billion euros and accounting for 15% of Italy total wine exports). Wine consortia such as Prosecco DOC, Lugana, Asti DOCG, Brunello di Montalcino and Sicilia DOC, among others, will also participate, alongside importers and distributors focused on Italian wines, including Banville Wine Merchants, led by Lisa Tolaini, and Edoardo Freddi International, headed by Edoardo Freddi, to mention just a few among many.
“The goal of Vinitaly.USA - Veronafiere president Federico Bricolo recently recalled - is to provide Italian companies with concrete opportunities to strengthen their market presence, establish new business relationships and access additional sales channels in the United States, which remains the leading non-EU market for our wine, even under current economic conditions”.
This aim is also made possible thanks to the crucial support of Ita-Italian Trade Agency (Ice), which has allocated more than 1.5 million euros directly to the U.S. event out of a total 5.8 million euros investment supporting Vinitaly activities in Italy and abroad. This forms part of the 19 million euros earmarked for the wine sector in 2026, more than double the 9 million euros allocated in 2025, also thanks to additional funding assigned to the Agency by the Italian Government. “We are ready: bringing Vinitaly.USA to New York has generated tremendous interest. We are sold out, and now it is up to us to make the event work. To do that, as we know, we need the right importers and distributors for the right producers, matching supply with demand. There are 600 buyers brought in by Ita from the United States, Canada and Mexico, and beyond. But we must continue to invest heavily in the American market, sowing the seeds today in order to reap significant results in the future”, said Ita president Matteo Zoppas to WineNews just days ahead of the event.
As noted, alongside business opportunities, the spotlight will also be on education, through the “wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum”, focused on market trends, sales channels, wine lists and restaurant trade, wine tourism, and professional training. The Forum will be hosted at Pier 36 in collaboration with Ita-Italian Trade Agency. A session dedicated to the future of Italian wine tourism and to the key players influencing American travel choices will open proceedings on Monday, October 26th. Among those expected to attend, there will be Alex Del Piero, the legendary Juventus No. 10, a member of Italy 2006 Fifa World Cup-winning team, now a Serie A Ambassador and entrepreneur in the restaurant sector through his N.10 restaurant in Los Angeles, ed. Organized with the support of Vinitaly Tourism, the discussion will feature Susan Kostrzewa, former editor-in-chief of “Wine Enthusiast” and now columnist for Resplendent Ink; Riley Pearce, Trip Development Director at tour operator Backroads; Cristina Mariani, owner and ceo of Banfi, whose winery has played a pivotal role in the development of the Montalcino territory over the last four decades; and Seth Snider, co-founder of Your Private Italy, a specialist in bespoke luxury travel experiences across Italy. The key relationship between Italian wine and the U.S. market will also be explored through two panels organized by Ita-Italian Trade Agency. The first, the Wine Industry Forum, “Il vino italiano e l’America: le prospettive. Costruire il prossimo capitolo delle relazioni vinicole tra Italia e Stati Uniti” - “Italian wine and America: the outlook. Building the next chapter of wine relations between Italy and the United States”, will feature Matteo Zoppas, Giovanni Sacripante, director general of Veronafiere, Bill Terlato, Chairman and ceo of Terlato Wine Group, Matteo Lunelli, ceo of Gruppo Lunelli, Alison Napjus, Senior Editor at Wine Spectator, Tim Marson MW, Director at Wine.com, and Bobby Stuckey MS, founder of Frasca Hospitality Group. The discussion will be moderated by respected journalist Maria Luisa Rossi Hawkins, Mediaset New York correspondent. This will be followed by “Produttori italiani e Master Sommelier americani: le domande che contano” - “Italian producers and American master sommeliers: the questions which matter”, featuring Master Sommeliers Laura DePasquale, Julie M. Dalton (Post Oak Hotel, Houston), Jonathan Eichholz (GuildSomm educator with experience in New York Michelin-starred restaurant scene), and Jim Bube, National Wine Director of the Hogsalt restaurant group. Moderation will be provided by Stevie Kim, Managing Partner of Vinitaly, and Jenny Hemmer DipWSET, Executive Director of GuildSomm International. The day will continue with “Mario Soldati: perché un grande vino ha bisogno di una grande storia” - “Mario Soldati: why a great wine needs a great story”, featuring Giuseppe Pastorelli, Consul General of Italy in New York, Chiara Soldati, granddaughter of Mario Soldati and head of La Scolca winery, Claudio Pagliara, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, and Silvia Baldini, communicator and Vice President of ICIF (Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners). The event will celebrate one of the great figures of twentieth-century Italian culture on the anniversary No. 120 of his birth. Scientific research and consumer habits will be the focus of “La scienza del bere bene. La via del vino: vino, salute e stile di vita mediterraneo”, - “The science of drinking well. The wine path: wine, health and the Mediterranean lifestyle”, featuring Giovanni Scapagnini, professor of Clinical Nutrition and Clinical Biochemistry at the University of Molise and founder and vicepresident of the Italian Nutraceutical Society; Federico Veronesi, ceo of Signorvino; Aedin Cassidy, Chair of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine and Director of Interdisciplinary Research at Queen University Belfast Institute for Global Food Security; and Immaculata De Vivo, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The panel will be moderated by journalist Felicity Carter, founder of Drinks Insider. Also scheduled in New York on October 26th, there are four masterclasses, ranging from a session on Sardinia native grape varieties led by Stephanie Johnson DipWSET, to a tasting on Metodo Classico sparkling wines organized by Wine Enthusiast with Jeff Porter, as well as two seminars curated by Filippo Bartolotta, focusing respectively on Friuli-Venezia Giulia and on “Sauvignon, Ramato e vini che sfidano le aspettative” - “Sauvignon, Ramato and wines which defy expectations”. To conclude the first day, as previously announced, Alison Napjus and Bruce Sanderson will unveil the wineries selected by “Wine Spectator” for Vinitaly OperaWine 2027, scheduled for April 10th at the Gallerie Mercatali in Verona, the traditional curtain-raiser to Vinitaly 2027.
Wine tourism will once again take center stage on the second day of the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum, on Tuesday, October 27th, with two dedicated sessions. The first, “Dalla cantina all’itinerario: come l’industria turistica internazionale vende l’enoturismo italiano” - “From winery to itinerary: how the international tourism industry sells Italian wine tourism”, organized by Ita-Italian Trade Agency and hosted by “The Travel News” editor Sara Magro, will explore how global tourism operators market Italy wine experiences. This will be followed by the first-ever Vinitaly event in New York organized by Italy Ministry of Tourism with the support of Enit (Italian National Tourism Agency): “Futuro dell’enoturismo in Italia: destinazioni, esperienze e opportunità per il mercato globale” - “The future of wine tourism in Italy: destinations, experiences and opportunities for the global market”, featuring Ivana Jelinic, ceo and acting president of Enit, and Gianluca Caramanna, advisor to Tourism Minister Gianmarco Mazzi. The spotlight will also turn to American consumers and the U.S. market, from distribution channels to restaurant wine lists. “Dove il vino può crescere: come i produttori possono conquistare i Millennials e la Gen Z in età legale per il consumo di alcolici” - “Where wine can grow: how producers can win over Millennials and legal-drinking-age Gen Z consumers” will be led by Erica Duecy, wine market journalist and founder of Business of Drinks, in conversation with Max Rohn. Attention will then shift to Texas, examining the diversity of the market through the cities of Dallas, Houston and Austin. The discussion will feature Steven McDonald MS, Tian Lewis DipWSET, Austin Farina, Head of Wine Program and Operations at MML Hospitality, a company operating restaurants, hotels and retail businesses across five U.S. states, and June Rodil MS. Meanwhile, Francis Creighton, president and ceo of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (Wswa), Sean O’Leary, an attorney specialising in alcohol regulation and direct-to-consumer wine sales in the United States, and Bartholomew Broadbent, importer and founder of Broadbent Selections, which represents more than 30 international producers in the U.S., will explain “Come funziona davvero il sistema di distribuzione del vino negli Stati Uniti articolato su tre livelli” - “How the U.S. three-tier wine distribution system really works”. The program will also include a new round of masterclasses, beginning with sessions curated by Filippo Bartolotta dedicated to the many faces of Friuli-Venezia Giulia wines, from extreme-altitude vineyards to sweet wine production. Italian grape varieties will be explored through the tasting “Oltre Nebbiolo e Sangiovese: i vitigni italiani che i giovani sommelier dovrebbero proporre oggi” - “Beyond Nebbiolo and Sangiovese: Italian grapes young sommeliers should be recommending today”, led by Stephanie Johnson and Jack Liggett. Alongside it, “Decanter” will host “Il carattere regionale dell’Italia: qualità premiata e identità dei territori”, - “Italy regional character: award-winning quality and territorial identity”, presented by Michaela Morris. “Oltre le basi: degustare l’Italia” - “Beyond the basics: tasting Italy”, guided by Sarah Heller MW will conclude the educational program of the Vinitaly International Academy tasting
The two-day program of business meetings, networking opportunities and tastings will represent a crucial moment for a united Italian wine sector trying regain momentum in the United States. Over the past decade, Italian wine exports to the U.S. increased from 1.28 billion euros in 2015 to 1.75 billion euros in 2025, a growth of 36.7% according to Istat data. It is a market that Italy wine industry is determined to strengthen once again.