Tre Bicchieri Returns!

The Tre Bicchieri tastings are back in America, beginning with a tasting this Thursday, the 7th in San Francisco and continuing next Tuesday, February 12 in Chicago and finishing up on Friday the 15th in New York City.

These tastings are organized by the Italian wine publication, Gambero Rosso. Each year in the fall, they publish their annual guide to that year's finest Italian wines and reward these offerings with a rating of one to three glasses (tre bicchieri). This year, 20,000 wines from 2350 producers were judged for the guide with a mere 399 being awarded the highest rating of Tre Bicchieri.

This is of course a must attend event for anyone in the media or trade that works with Italian wines. What I love about the event is how comprehensive it is; if your education of Italian wines is limited to reading a few American publications, chances are you know about a few famous reds. But with this tasting, you will have the opportunity to taste a great range of the best wines of Italy and discover first-hand the marvelous array of viticultural products offered by Italy. Thus you will try examples of sparkling wine such as Prosecco and Franciacorta, outstanding whites from Alto Adige, Friuli, Liguria and other regions as well as gorgeous reds such as Barolo, Brunello, Amarone, Taurasi and Barbera, to name only a few.

In each city, there will be more than 110 producers pouring their wines; each one of them earned a Tre Bicchieri rating in the 2013 guide. For a list of participating producers in each city, click on the city's name: San Francisco, Chicago, New York City.

I will be attending the event in Chicago at the historic Union Station. I hope to see you there! I'll be more than happy to point out a few of my favorites.

For trade and media RSVP, contact Christine Volkmer

For Love of Italian Wine

Next week, courtesy of the Italian Trade Commission, I will be attending Vino2011, arguably the finest Italian wine event held in the United States. This the third time this event has been held in New York City; I attended last year's event and was quite impressed with the organization of so many excellent tastings and seminars that explored the vast world of Italian wine.

This year, I have the good fortune of being a panel speaker for a special seminar entitled "Where Have all the Medals Gone?", in which my fellow panelists and I will discuss the importance of medals and points regarding today's wine buying decisions. This should prove to be a fascinating seminar, especially in regards to the uniqueness of Italian wines, especially those made from indigenous varieties.

I'll also be attending several seminars, including ones about Friuli, moderated by Tom Maresca, one of the country's leading writers on Italian wines, as well as the rediscovery of Soave and the overlooked but wonderful Sagrantino di Montefalco. Other seminars include one on award winning wines from Tuscany, moderated by Master of Wine Ronn Weigand and one on the distinctive reds of Puglia, moderated by Bill Marsano, an Italian wine specialist and former James Beard award winning writer.

There will be several other seminars devoted to the future of Italian wines as well as special theme dinners and perhaps best of all, a grand tasting on the final day with several hundred Italian producers in attendance pouring their latest releases. I'm looking forward to a great four days in New York City!

This is a trade event - information can be found on the Vino2011 website.

VINO 2010

I'll be in New York much of this week attending VINO 2010, a three-day event with seminars, tastings and dinners featuring Italian wines. Billed as the largest Italian wine event outside of Italy, this should be an illuminating time for me, as I'll get to try new releases of wines from several regions, including Toscana, Calabria, Lombardia and Friuli and also meet produces from those areas. I'm especially excited about a seminar on Bolgheri and Morellino di Scansano to be conducted by Piero Selvaggio, proprietor of the famed Valentino Resturant in Santa Monica. I'm also looking forward to what should be a fascinating seminar on the red wines of Calabria that will be moderated by Alfonso Cevola, a wine writer and wholesaler in Houston as well as a look at the underrated reds of Puglia in a seminar conducted by wine writer/educator Charles Scicolone.

I'll see many long-time friends and make many new friendships, I'm sure and can't wait for the special dinner at Del Posto, with a menu created by Lidia Bastianich!

I'll return with several posts very soon about my time in New York City.