Simply Italian - Chicago and San Francisco

Simply Italian, one of the best Italian wine events held annually in the United States, is returning to Chicago and San Francisco soon. The events will be held on Monday, October 26 in Chicago and again on Wednesday, October 28 in San Francisco (details below).

Simply Italian has been a great success for a decade now, with its combination of seminars and a gala tasting for the trade. This year, seminars include one about the wines of Veneto, Piedmont and Tuscany; one on Frascati; one on Emilia-Romagna, and finally, one on Sardinia (I will be conducting that seminar in Chicago).

Following the seminars will be a gala tasting featuring more than 50 producers from various regions of Italy, including Friuli, Lombardy, Piedmont, Veneto, Sardinia and Tuscany.

Here are the details:

Chicago - Monday, October 26

Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile

633 N. St. Clair St.

San Francisco - Wednesday, October 28

The Fairmont - San Francisco

950 Mason Street

For more information or to register (trade only), go to ieem.usa 

or call them at: 305-937-2488

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

Tre Bicchieri tastings - USA

I've just learned the deails about the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tastings to be held in New York, San Francisco and Chicago the last week of February. Anyone in the trade who is interested can go this this link for details on how to register

As I live in Chicago, I am particularly excited about this event, as this is the first time it is being held in my hometown. I attended this event a few years ago in New York City and loved it, not only given the opportunity to taste a great cross-section of Italy's best wines, but also the chance to meet many of the country's most famous winery owners and winemakers.

Soon, I will have a list of producers whose wines will be poured at the Chicago event - check back for that.