AN AMERICAN FEBRUARY FOR ITALIAN WINE. FROM 12 TO 21 FEBRUARY, THREE BIG WINE EVENTS IN THE U.S.: “SUPERTUSCANS & OTHER GREAT WINES OF TUSCANY”, “ITALIAN WINE & FOOD GALA” AND “LOS ANGELES WINE GALA”

From 13 to 21 February, “Made in Italy” wines are moving to the United States: from the Atlantic to the Pacific, Italy’s winemakers will be guests at the three most prestigious wine sector events in the U.S. The Italian Wine & Food Institute (www.italianwineandfoodinstitute.com), in collaboration with the Italian Institute for Foreign Commerce (Ice), are the promoters of these events, under the patronage of Giovanni Castellaneta, Italian Ambassador to Washington.
The American market (that for many years now has been number one among importing countries for Italian wine), showed strong signs of growth in 2006, confirming Italy as the top wine supplier with a quota of over 30%. Numbers like these demonstrate the importance of these types of events: on the one hand, giving an opportunity to numerous Italian wine companies to meet the American press, and, on the other hand, offering enthusiasts, sector workers, and journalists the chance to expand their wine knowledge of Italy by direct contact with the most qualified and famous Italian producers.
The events will begin in New York on February 13th with the 7th edition of “Super Tuscans & Other Great Wines of Tuscany”, where it will be possible to taste over 50 labels of the most prestigious Tuscan wines together with specialties proposed by some of the top restaurants of Manhattan. On February 15th, once again in New York, “Made in Italy” will reappear at the “Italian Wine & Food Gala”, the historic event that has had a successful run since 1984. Along with the Italian wines from various regions, there will also be Italian food specialties presented at this event (Barilla, De Cecco, De Marco, Lazzaroni-Antica Pasteria and San Pellegrino).
From the Atlantic to the Pacific: the fairs end in California with the “Los Angeles Wine Gala” on February 21st. The setting for the exceptional event will be the famous Italian restaurant ‘Valentino’, in Santa Monica. The wine tasting will offer the possibility to taste over 50 selected high quality Italian wines accompanied by the famous dishes of Piero Selvaggio, the chef at ‘Valentino’.