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Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ CategoryThis October, Italian wine lovers, producers, and writers will gather with their trade partners-in-wine to celebrate the US arrival of the Vinitaly in the World Tour. The US Tour will begin in Washington DC with a day of exclusive trade and press tastings and business seminars on Monday, October 17th at the Italian Embassy. The tour will move to New York City on October 18th with a fundraiser, open to the public and held in cooperation with the American Cancer Society. Events will conclude with a final day of tastings and business seminars for the wine trade and press at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. This year the seminar themes will be: ‘Technology and Innovation in the Wine Industry’, geared toward importers and distributors and ‘Scoring and the Media’s Influence on Consumer Purchase Habits’, geared toward restaurateurs and retailers. There will also be a seminar educating Italian producers on the workings of the United States market, dedicated tastings featuring the wines of Sicily and Morellino di Scansano, and a special Master Class with the Italian Sommelier Society (AIS) for sommeliers and wine educators. Vinitaly is the largest wine fair in the world with over 4,500 producers and 150,000+ visitors annually. The event is held every year in April in Verona, Italy (46th edition: Verona March 25-28, 2012).This year marks the 14th international tour for Vinitaly. The tour will be stopping in Russia, China and Korea with representatives making a stop in Japan as well. Press and trade registration for the Washington DC and New York City events is now available at the following links: For more information about the Vinitaly in the World Tour, please visit http://www.vinitalytour.com/  Related posts:
Tags: Italy, sommelier, Vinitaly, Wine For those who are not immersed in the spirits world– that is alcohol not ghosts–Tales of the Cocktail is taking place in New Orleans this week. From July 20 to 24, the Big Easy is home to thousands who are in the business of alcohol. While to most this seems like the world’s biggest party, and while that may be the case, Tales of the Cocktail is a time to network and learn more about products, drinks, the history of cocktails and everything surrounding liquor. Attendees learn a lot, but you can rest assured they will have a good time attending the seminars. With more than 46 seminars taking place in five days how do you decide what sessions to attend? The names alone of the panel discussions make it a hard decision. You can choose from “Making Love to His Tonic and Gin,” ” Sodatender or Barjerk,” “The Bad Bad Boys of Saloons,” ” What Would Aristotle Drink?” and ” Who’s Your Daddy? A Mai Tai Paternity Test.” These seminars provide the knowledge and expertise to help everyone involved in libations, including the customer. This is a time for mixologists to learn about different brands, modern drinks and the history and allure of classic cocktails. Master Mixologist and Partida Tequila Brand Ambassador, Jacques Bezuidenhout is a panelist in the “The Negroni: an Iconic Cocktail” seminar with Livio Lauro, President of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, and moderator Paul Clarke, Contributing Editor of Imbibe. The panel will discuss the history of the Negroni, how the mix of gin, Campari and vermouth still influences Italian culture, and how the drink became elevated to a cult classic among bartenders and spirit enthusiasts. Two clients, Partida Tequila and I Spirit Vodka, are attending Tales of the Cocktail. Be on the lookout for these two premium brands in New Orleans. If you are not attending, follow Tales of the Cocktail on Twitter at @totc, and/or have friends over and create your own event in which you and guests can try different spirits. Cheers. Related posts: Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments Off After the Wine Enthusiast and Apartment Therapy, here is a another great story on Soave published in the the Wall Street Journal by the notorious wine writer Lettie Teague. Italy’s Soave Makes a Refreshing Return Source: WSJ By LETTIE TEAGUE Jul 9th Americans are famously-some might even say fiendishly-happy when something or someone once heralded falls from grace. (Call it Yankee-style schadenfreude.) Fortunately, we’re just as fond of a good comeback tale. And one of my favorite stories of vinous redemption these days is Soave. A white wine made in the Veneto region in Northern Italy, not far from Verona, Soave (the name means “soft”) is made primarily, and sometimes entirely, from the Garganega grape (it’s sometimes blended with Trebbiano or Chardonnay). It’s also a wine that most people know best as a brand: Bolla, which was incredibly popular and incredibly bland. Bolla and Soave have been linked for decades, though their most famous era was probably the ’80s, when Bolla sold more than two million cases world-wide. (Its popularity was later eclipsed by Pinot Grigio, which was even more popular and even more bland.) But like so many boring-or worse-white wines from Italy, Soave has recently experienced a real renaissance. Thanks to a small group of committed producers who have concentrated more on character and flavor than production and profit, Soave has more or less rebounded from its dismal state. But only a few wine drinkers seem to have gotten the news. “Isn’t that the wine that comes in a jug?” asked my friend Alison when I brought a bottle of Stefanini Soave to her house. “It was the wine my mother drank; I think it was called Folonari,” she said, naming the brand that was probably Bolla’s biggest competition back in the day. (While Bolla and Folonari are still major brands, they’ve made some pretty broad brand extensions, producing wines that aren’t historically Veronese, including Pinot Noir and “Pink Pinot Grigio.”)
There are also plenty of drinkers who don’t know Soave at all, including my friend Soula, who lives in Seattle. She had never heard of the wine until I served her some Soave during a recent visit. I found her ignorance especially surprising since a wine importer had told me that Seattle was a big Soave town-the third largest in the country, following New York and Boston. Perhaps Soula just isn’t drinking in the right places. Café Juanita in suburban Seattle has three Soaves on its wine list. Ristorante Barolo in downtown Seattle has three Soaves as well, almost as many as it does Pinot Grigios. Seattle wine merchant McCarthy & Schiering Wines stocks several Soaves in both of its store locations; Jay Schiering and his partner Dan McCarthy are “big Soave fans.” If only there was more of that Soave spirit in New York. Even one of my favorite wine stores, Crush Wine & Spirits, had just one, from Gini, on hand. “I tend not to stock more than one Soave at a time,” said buyer Joe Salamone. The same was true at Lincoln, one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York. Sommelier Bryan Burnett features only one Soave, though it’s a top one: the 2007 Pieropan La Rocca, on his list at $95 a bottle. The Pieropan La Rocca Soave is generally regarded as one of the leading examples of “serious” Soave, from a producer regarded as the best in the Veneto. In fact, Nino Pieropan, who took over the winery from his grandfather in 1970, has been credited with raising the profile of the entire appellation by limiting his yields and showcasing the delicate, spicy quality of the Garaganega grape. The Pieropan vineyards are in some of the region’s best locations (high, sloping hillsides) and their single-vineyard Soaves, La Rocca and Calvarino, are considered among the most complex. They’re fermented in oak, which lends them a richness and weight that Mr. Burnett likens to a California Chardonnay “without all the buttery popcorn flavor.” There are quite a few other good Soave producers as well, including Gini, Inama, Allegrini and Anselmi-though someone unfamiliar with Soave might not realize that they all produce the same type of wine. Inama’s Soaves come in Burgundy bottles, which have sloping shoulders; and those of Anselmi, Allegrini and many others come in the square-shoulder bottle of Bordeaux. Pieropan’s bottles don’t look like those of anyone else-they’re the narrow, tapered bottles normally associated with Austria and Germany. The Veneto actually once belonged to Austria, and even though his wines weren’t Austrian-owned at the time, Pieropan’s patriarch, Leonildo Pieropan, packaged his wines as the Austrians did. Adding to the confusion are the different classifications of Soaves. There’s the basic Soave, a wine made anywhere in the 12-plus municipalities within the Soave zone. Then there are the Soave Classico wines, a notch up in quality and selection as they’re only made only in the communes of Soave and Monteforte. There are also Soave Superiores, which must be aged in the bottle for a minimum of six months. And finally there is Recioto di Soave, a sweet wine made from a special selection of grapes that have been dried in the sun. Recioto di Soave comes in both sparkling and still versions and must be aged for a minimum of 12 months. For my Soave tasting I collected about 20 bottles of all different types, from basic Soave to Soave Classico and Soave Superiore-which, it turned out, weren’t necessarily the superior wines. I ended up dividing them into three classifications of my own. First were the weirdly tropical Soaves that tasted like cheap Chardonnay (there were about six of these, including the basic wines from Anselmi and Pra). Second were the bright, clean wines that were pretty basic but still refreshing. I had several favorites in this category, including the 2010 Ca’Rugate San Michele ($10), a citrusy wine with brisk acidity, and the 2010 Re Midas Cantisna di Soave ($10) and the 2010 Santi Vigneti di Monteforte. The big surprise in this category, however, came from the brand that once tarnished the Soave name-the basic 2010 Bolla Soave Classico, which was sprightly and attractive-and definitely cheap ($10). The Soaves in the third group were lively and refreshing, but also possessed of a penetrating minerality and an impressive weight of the sort that Mr. Burnett had dubbed “non-buttery-popcorn” California Chardonnay. These included the beautiful 2008 Pieropan La Rocca Soave ($30); the “regular” 2009 Pieropan bottling, an excellent deal at $15; and the 2009 Inama-another rich, lovely wine at the same price. Even the 2008 I Stefanini Monti di Toni had surprising weight and viscosity for a $15 wine. They were all wines that I liked very much and wanted to persuade the Soave-skeptical to try. But how to convince them? According to Bolla spokesperson Lars Leicht, Frank Sinatra was a fan-so much so that Ol’ Blue Eyes reputedly said, “No Bolla, no Sinatra,” when he sat down in a restaurant that didn’t stock his favorite brand. Maybe the next time I’m in a restaurant and don’t find any Soave, I’m going to declare: “No Pieropan, no Teague”-though I doubt it will have quite the same effect.
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Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment » The ancient food pyramid has been replaced by the brand spanking new MyPlate.gov. and it looks as though Grana Padano fits quite nicely into the new diet. The new USDA guidelines and MyPlate illustration has been garnering a lot of buzz with Michelle Obama as spokesperson and top chefs including Lidia Bastianich getting behind the new user friendly and healthy diet. Whole-wheat shells with spinach, bacon, and cecci “If you were to [eat out] in the Mediterranean, you would not find two-thirds of your plate filled with meat,” says Bastianich. “It is only here, where there is such an abundance, that this exists. So the new guide is wonderful. Related posts: Tags: Grana Padano On June 6, 2011, Alma Graduate School announced the inaugural year of its Food and Wine MBA and the donation of 10 full scholarships by Ferrarelle. The event was held at Eataly’s new rooftop Birreria and successfully raised awareness and interest in the program. The MBA program teaches students to become managers, marketers and ambassadors of Italian cuisine and wine. The one year program, taught in English, is currently accepting applications. Click here to learn more and apply for the program. Related posts:
Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments Off On a perfect summer day in NYC, jubilant crowds gathered to welcome 26 weather-beaten sailors at Chelsea Piers. A Motley Crew they were certainly not! Instead, a group of novice sailors comprised of Italy’s finest players from the cultural and show business world. Sponsored by Grana Padano, the modest sailboat had the vivacious Oscar Farenneti, Eataly entrepreneur and Captain John Soldini, the intrepid world famous navigator at the helm. Throughout the six week voyage, the ship’s cooks including Mario Batali and Moreno Cedrini were allocated a strict budget of $6.50 per person for rations. Quite a departure for men who lord over some of the most famous kitchens in the world. Saying that, there seemed to be no signs of malnourishment or scurvy on their return so I wonder if they were threatened with mutiny aboard! Related posts: Posted in: Uncategorized | Comments Off  Garganega is the main variety used to make Soave wines. Soave wine and its principal variety, Garganega, got lots of face time at this year’s Vino 2011 Italian Wine Week in New York. Soave was one of only a handful of regional showcase seminars during the week. At the seminar, Giovanni Ponchia, head oenologist of the Soave Consortium, and Attilio Scienza, a premiere expert in volcanic wines from the Universita` di Milano, explained what makes this volcanic white so unique. Soave has enjoyed a re-emergence in the US in recent years. Our very own Gino Colangelo was on hand to speak about the success integrated marketing has had for the category in the American market, using CPR’s campaign for the Soave Consortium as a case study. 2011 promises to be a big year for Soave. Keep a look out this April at Vinitaly – Garganega is the variety that will represent the Veneto region in Vinitaly’s commemorative “White Wine of Italy”, celebrating 150 years of Italian unity. Related posts:
Tags: Garganega, Italian wine, Soave, Veneto, Vinitaly, Wine  Lidia, Giovanni Mantovani (CEO of Veronafiere) and friends present check to the American Cancer Society  Guests enjoying a glass of wine at Vinitaly Day at Eataly (Disclaimer: Colangelo & Partners is the agency for the Vinitaly US Tour 2010) Just finished up Vinitaly Day at Eataly and the Vinitaly US Tour. This year saw a number of firsts for Vinitaly: the first-ever consumer ticketed Vinitaly US event (donated 100% of proceeds to the American Cancer Society; raised $33,000!); first-ever event in Philadelphia and a special tasting of wines from 6 of Italy’s most influential producers (Antinori, Banfi, Masi, Pio Cesare, Santa Margherita and Zonin) at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC hosted by the Ambassador and Ettore Riello, president of Veronafiere. All in all, a great success as Vinitaly builds its brand with American wine lovers as well as the US wine trade. Related posts:
Tags: Eataly, Food, Italian wine, Lidia, Veronafiere, Wine VINITALY, THE AMBASSADOR OF ITALIAN WINES, AND EATALY PAIR THE BEST OF ITALIAN FOOD & WINE AT ‘VINITALY DAY’ October 25th Event at Landmark Eataly Location in New York City Promises a New Beginning for Italian Wine Promotion in the US Although Eataly, the Italian artisan wine and food marketplace, has yet to officially open its doors in New York, its upcoming calendar of events already offers exciting news. The Eataly principals, the Farinetti family (Oscar Farinetti and his son Nicola), have finalized an agreement this week with Stevie Kim, general coordinator of Vinitaly International to showcase Italian wines in New York City on October 25th in trade and consumer tastings. Vinitaly, the wine promotion property of Veronafiere, will partner with Eataly as part of its upcoming Autumn 2010 U.S. Tour, which will take place in New York, Philadelphia on October 27th and culminate with an event at the Italian embassy in Washington DC on the 28th. Eataly’s opening, anticipated for the end of August, has created considerable buzz in the wine and food industry because of its revolutionary concept and the power of partners Lidia Bastianich, Joes Bastianich and Mario Batali. “Veronafiere, organizer of Vinitaly, the largest wine fair in the world, is ready to embrace this new and dynamic format to exhibit the best examples of Italian wines. We are extremely excited to present this new format in New York City,” declared Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere. ‘VINITALY DAY’ will be an entire day dedicated to the best Italian wine producers in the most innovative and newest retail space dedicated to Italian food and wine in New York and perhaps anywhere in the United States. The event will transform the brand new marketplace, located on 5th Avenue and 23rd Street in Manhattan, into Vinitaly for the day. Italian wine producers will pour their wines from every corner of the 36,500 square foot marketplace. Vinitaly International enters its 12th year but this latest event with Eataly will signal Vinitaly’s first-ever strategic effort to target a wider audience in the US and generate broad consumer publicity for the event and for producers. Vinitaly Day at Eataly New York has twin aims for its diverse audiences. On the one hand, Vinitaly wants to excite the American wine trade (importers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, wine consultants, wine educators) who are tired of ‘the same old wine trade events” by bringing them a totally new concept of marketing Italian wines in a contemporary context. Vinitaly at the same time wants to introduce American wine consumers to Vinitaly, to Verona and to leading Italian wines. The day will include a series of trade panel discussions followed by a tasting for the trade and then a charity tasting event for the consumers with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. The festivities will also include a consumer sweepstakes with the winner heading to Verona in April of 2011 for Vinitaly, the largest wine event in the world. Further details on the festivities will be released later this month. For additional information, email: vinitalytour@veronafiere.it Colangelo and Partners Public Relations is planning and promoting the Vinitaly Tour in the States. Related posts:
Posted in: Events , Uncategorized , Wine | Comments Off Arnaldo Caprai recently held a tasting of its award-winning, high end wines Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni and Sagrantino di Montefalco Collepiano and the very well priced Montefalco Rosso. Hosted by Lou Di Palo at NYC’s Enoteca Di Palo, Colangelo & Partners PR organized and staffed the event and secured the city’s top tier wine media and sommeliers including The New York Times, Gramercy Tavern, International Wine Cellar and dell’Anima. Sagrantino di Montefalco is Umbria’s beloved native varietal. The grape, which contains the most polyphenols ─ antioxidant compounds ─ of any grape in the world, is a complex, full-bodied wine that pairs beautifully with full-flavored, luscious foods. Lou Di Palo selected items that showed these Umbrian wines at their best: thinly sliced salumi, wonderful pecorino, and the most luxurious porchetta I’ve ever eaten. The Arnaldo Caprai Sagrantino wines are delicious now and age exceptionally. Montefalco Rosso, at $23, is a fantastic everyday wine and a great way to begin an exploration of the wines of Umbria. Related posts:
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