Vinitaly, “Opera Wine” and “Wine Spectator” narrate the USA’s love for Italian wine

There are many reasons why Americans love Italy- wine, food, culture, art, travel and more. Actually, there are 101 reasons, according to the April 2022 issue of “Wine Spectator”, one of the most popular wine magazines in the USA. The magazine has once again dedicated its “cover story” to Italy (the last one in 2021 was dedicated to Lamberto Frescobaldi, ed.). This is another sign of a slow, but complicated return to normality, in view of Vinitaly 2022 (April 10th-13th, in Verona), and the traditional preview, “Opera Wine 2022”, the Veronafiere wine tasting featuring 130 wineries selected by “Wine Spectator”.
The list of wineries underlines the widespread quality of Italian wines (WineNews published the full version on Sunday, March 6th), which in this edition includes 9 new entries (Grifalco della Lucania, Guido Berlucchi, Catabbo, Oddero, Istine, Castello di Monsanto, Poggerino, Scacciadiavoli and Romano Dal Forno). There are also 25 “all timer” wineries (that have participated since 2012, the first edition of the tasting Veronafiere and the US magazine organized). These are: Allegrini, Antinori, Bruno Giacosa, Ca’ del Bosco, Castello di Ama, Castello di Volpaia, Famiglia Cotarella, Ferrari, Feudi di San Gregorio, Fontodi, Livio Felluga, Lungarotti, Masi, Masciareli, Nino Negri, Ornellaia, Paolo Scavino, Pieropan, Planeta, San Felice, Tasca d’Almerita, Tenuta San Guido, Tormaresca, Umani Ronchi and Zenato. They have the task of representing Italy in the eyes of such a fundamental market as the American one. Antonio Laspina, director of the New York ICE Agency and coordinator for the USA of the Italia Trade Agency, said yesterday in an official presentation from New York that Italy “proved strong and resilient” despite the Pandemic. The numbers from the UIV-Vinitaly Observatory also confirm this and, according to the Observatory, in 2021, exports of Italian wines to the States reached the record figure of 2.2 billion US dollars, growing +18% compared to 2020 (and more than +14% of American imports on the whole, ed.), as Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere said. “The friendship between the US and Italy, on wine and more, is long standing. For many years, America has been the leading Italian wine market, and the relationship has been even more solid in these past two years. Vinitaly and Opera Wine 2022 will be an opportunity to renew it. It is no coincidence that the opening focus of Vinitaly 2022 will be dedicated to the markets of the strategic countries USA and Canada, from which a large and qualified representation of buyers and professionals will participate, thanks also to the work of ICE and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There will be many professionals from Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Holland, as well, and we are working to get a significant participation from the UK, Japan, Mexico and other Countries”, emphasized the CEO, Mantovani. The appointment at Vinitaly 2022, which will be returning to its full format, will be above all business, but it will also be a big toast to a longed-for return to normality. Or, at least, something that feels a lot like it.