From “New York Wine Experience” to “Vinitaly USA”, Italian wine in the spotlight in the States

Between the “New York Wine Experience”, a cult event of wine in America, signed by “Wine Spectator”, on October 17 and 19, and the debut of Vinitaly.USA, in Chicago on October 20 and 21, directed by Veronafiere and Ita - Italian Trade Agency, the next few days in the U.S. will be hot for Italian wine, which is a leader in the States and growing in 2024, as witnessed by Ice New York data, reported by WineNews, and as reiterated by those of the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, according to which “3 out of 10 imported bottles speak Italian, for a market share in value that in August grew to close to 34% and rises to 43% if we look at the Midwest (which includes 12 states). Accomplice to the lengthening in the first 8 months of the year, with orders from Italy up 4% to the tune of $1.5 billion against an overall average of US imports down 3%, with France retreating to -8% (to $1.6 billion)”.
“An undoubtedly encouraging scenario, the Italian one on the shipments front, which, however, according to the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, is not enough to erase the complexities of the period: on the sales and actual consumption front, in fact, the situation remains complicated, although partially sustained by a sparkling wine typology, also driven by the cocktail trend, which is confirmed to be in good health”. It is precisely in this framework, in any case, that the debut of Vinitaly.Usa, the first Italian wine trade fair format in the States, organized by Veronafiere and Fiere Italiane, with the support of Ita - Italian Trade Agency, staged on October 20 and 21, on Chicago’s Navy Pier, dedicated to American buyers and operators from the restaurant and distribution sectors, with more than 230 Italian companies, with many top names, five regional collectives (Calabria, Campania, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio and Sardinia and the institutional presence of Veneto and Umbria), more than 1,650 labels for tasting and a schedule of 30 business-to-business events, as well as a strong representation of institutions from Italy and the U.S., and organizations from the Italian wine industry.
“This is”, explains Veronafiere Spa president Federico Bricolo, “a fundamental debut for the promotion and positioning of wine made in Italy. A relevance also underlined by the participation of the Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida and, on the American side, of the Governor of Illinois, Jay Robert Pritzker. Vinitaly.Usa is the result of a convergence of vision and strategy with all the institutions in charge. In our development plan, Vinitaly.Usa aims to become the reference exhibition for the growth of companies on the first destination marketplace, which closed the second four-month period of this year in a positive way”. And the market is one of the main focuses of Vinitaly.Usa, which will host the Ita - Italian Trade Agency wine business forum, “Between tradition and innovation: the future of Italian wine in the American market”. For Agency President Matteo Zoppas, “Italian wine is being confirmed internationally, thanks to an identity that enhances its quality and prestige. Vinitaly.Usa represents a strategic platform to consolidate the presence of Italian product in the American market, strengthening Italy's reputation as a leader in the wine sector. Thanks to the synergy between the public and private sectors, we are preparing to project the success of Italian wine even higher and achieve increasingly ambitious goals”.
But, anticipating the debut of Vinitaly USA, as mentioned, returns the No. 43 edition of a central event in the promotion of wine in the States, the classic “New York Wine Experience” by “Wine Spectator”, staged in the “Big Apple”, October 17-19, where Italian wine will be the protagonist in the “Top 10 Wines of 2023” tasting, with the No. 1 overall, Argiano’s Brunello di Montalcino 2018, presented by Bernardino Sani, Mastroberardino’s Taurasi Radici Riserva 2016, with producer Piero Mastroberardino (no. 5), and with Antinori’s Chianti Classico Marchese Antinori Riserva 2020, poured and narrated by Albiera Antinori, but also in the focus dedicated to the 2020 vintage of Barolo, with Federica Boffa (Pio Boffa), Walter Fissore (Elvio Cogno), Barbara Sandrone (Luciano Sandrone) and Giuseppe Vajra (G. D. Vajra), as well as with the many big names featured in the “Critics’ Choice Grand Tastings”, including names such as Allegrini, Altesino, Argiano, Biondi-Santi, Bruno Giacosa, Ca’ del Bosco, Carpineto, Casanova di Neri, Castello Banfi, Castello di Albola, Castello di Fonterutoli - Mazzei, Ceretto, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona, Fattoria dei Barbi, Ferrari Trento, Fontodi, Fuligni, Gaja, Jermann, Lamole di Lamole, Le Chiuse, Marchesi Antinori, Marchesi di Barolo, Marchesi Frescobaldi, Masi, Masseto, Nino Franco, Nino Negri, Ornellaia, Pio Cesare, Planeta, Romano dal Forno, Ruffino, Tenuta San Guido and Zenato, to name a few.
Among the most expected moments will be the second part of the exclusive interview with Angelo Gaja, one of the most admired Italian producers in the world, signed in person by Marvin R. Shanken, the founder of the publishing group, which also owns “Wine Spectator” itself (the first part was in the April 2024 issue of the magazine). For a week that will magnetize attention to wine, and Italian wine in particular, in the world’s first market, where the wine business is worth $300 billion a year.