

ANNUAL
GALA ITALIA 2008
IN A NEW EXCITING FORMAT
New York City--The 23rd edition
of Gala Italia 2008, the most important New York-based Italian wine and food
event of the year, has been completely revamped and improved,
according to a recent announcement by Lucio Caputo, president of
the Italian Wine and Food Institute.
Caputo
stated that after 22 years of great success, the scope of the event has
been widened and adapted to new market and trade demands. “It will be a
more comprehensive show, including additional aspects of the “Made in
Italy” theme, with products reflecting suggestions made by trade
operators. And it will present more wines, foods and restaurants, all
against a backdrop of fashion, art and some emblematic Italian
industrial products, from the ubiquitous motor scooter to the quintessential
Italian designer sports car.
The exciting
new features of Gala Italia 2008, scheduled for February 21,
2008, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, New York City, will
include a major role for premium Italian wine and food products
presented within the framework of outstanding “Made in Italy”
products: fashion, art and gastronomy.
Caputo also
announced that starting with the Gala Italia 2008, an American
jury will each year award a Gold Medal to best wine presented by
each participating winery. The medal, created for this special occasion
by artist Renato Cipullo, will highlight the names of the selected
wines.
In addition, all participating wineries will receive a
certificate of merit identifying them as the group of “Special
Selections of the Top Italian Companies.” This should further enhance
the level of participating wineries and encourage them to present their
best wines to the more than 3,000 operators, industry professionals and
wine press from the Northeast who attend this most important US wine
show.
Two sit-down guided technical wine seminars, reserved
exclusively for wine media, will precede the traditional wine and food
tasting. The first seminar is dedicated to SuperTuscan wines with
the theme,
Super-Tuscan: Sangiovese and Cabernet? The second is dedicated
to Great Italian Wines of the 2003 Vintage and will feature the
most qualified wines among the Italian producers.
A special luncheon for the press, created by an
Italian chef, will be served between the seminars. During the
luncheon, the Gold Medal winners will be announced and presented by a
well-known Italian personality.
Gala
Italia 2008 will also feature participation by Italian restaurants
and leading Italian food producers, all to heighten awareness of the
healthy advantages of Eating Italian and the array of genuine
Italian products available in the U.S.
And in
another innovation, Gala Italia 2008 will offer a Fashion Show of
a spring/summer collection by a well-known Italian designer. The
collection
will presented by models on platforms in the Grand Broadway Ballroom and will
feature fashions for men and women, together with accessories and
jewelry.
Another special attraction will be an exhibition,
Leonardo e il Divino Licore dell’Uva (the Divine Grape Juice), which
will communicate, through a series of artifacts, how Leonardo da Vinci
may be
considered a preeminent wine expert of the 16th century. The exhibition, by
La Fucina di Leonardo, will be on view on the large balcony above the
Broadway Ballroom.
To top off the novelties for
the new
Gala Italia 2008, there will be
a dazzling display of Ferrari and Maserati, the ultimate driving
machines, along with the iconic Italian Vespa Motorscooter, attractions that will add to the aura and luster of
Italy's most celebrated exports.
Gala Italia 2008 is organized by the New York-based Italian Wine &
Food Institute, under the high patronage of the Italian Ambassador to
the United States in
Washington, D.C.

NEW RECORD FOR ITALIAN WINE EXPORTS TO THE U.S.
NEW YORK, JANUARY 2007—Italy, Europe’s largest exporter of wines to the
U.S., reached a new milestone in 2006 with its wines sales exceeding $1
billion dollars in value and 2 million hectoliters in quantity, it was
announced by Lucio Caputo, president of the Italian Wine & Food
Institute. The achievement was celebrated at a January news conference
and reception at the Italian Wine & Food Institute’s headquarters here
with a toast to the future success of Italian wine and the unveiling of
a commemorative plate to mark the new record.
At the ceremony, Lucio Caputo recalled how in 1975, when he launched the
first promotional campaign for Italian wines in the U.S., Italy exported
only 360,000 hectoliters, an amount valued at less than $40 million.
For seven years, Italian wines were vigorously promoted across the
country with spectacular results: Italy passed France as the leading
wine exporter to the U.S., and in 1983 Italian wines exports reached 2.4
million hectoliters with a value of $243 million. Put another way, the
increases represented, respectively, 563% and 582% increases in quantity
and value. The success of Italian wine has continued over the years in
both value and volume.
Caputo pointed out that with a 32.4 share of the imported market in
value and 30.7% of the imported wine in value, Italy enjoys the
preeminent position in the American market. With 2006 exports of more
than $1 billion in value and 2.1 million hectoliters, Italy’s exports
are now more than double those of France, four times more than Chile and
seven times more than Spain.
Caputo also underscored the huge changes in the American market in
recent years, both in its standard of living, the popularity of Italian
cuisine and the greater variety of Italian wines now available on the
market. The ratio in quality/price offered by Italian wines are far
greater than any one its competing wine-producing countries.
Caputo noted with pride the role played by the Italian Wine & Food
Institute in promoting the quality of Italian wines through its regular
series of events here, notably the Italian Wine & Food Gala that for the
past 22 years has been Italy’s leading promotional event in the United
States, both in New York and on the West Coast.

INSTITUTE HOSTING ITALIAN WINE AND FOOD EVENTS
IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES, BERLIN AND PRAGUE
NEW
YORK, MARCH 2007--The
Italian Wine and Food Institute is once again hosting
wine events
in 2007 both in the U.S. and abroad. The events include
the annual New York Super Tuscan & Other Great Wines of Tuscany and the
Italian Wine & Food Gala, the Angeles Italian Wine Gala and
Italian Wine & Food Galas in Berlin and Prague.
More than
8,000 wine
professionals and press
are expected to
attend the four events, which are a unique opportunity to taste and to
discuss Italy’s premium wines with the producers.
The
Supertuscan & the Other Great Wines of Tuscany
will be held
Feb.
19, 2007, at the Marriott Marquis in New York, will
include a seminar for the press on some of the best wines from Tuscany,
with special emphasis on the Super Tuscan wine.
A
press luncheon, featuring wines selected by the producers to accompany a
special menu, will follow
the seminar.
Afterward,
a
trade wine
tasting,
featuring more than
300 Tuscan wines,
will be
open to press, restaurateurs and wine professionals.
The
Italian
Wine & Food Gala, to be held Feb. 21, at the New
York Marriott Marquis, will feature a six-hour tasting for press,
restaurateurs and the trade, offering a panoramic view of Italy’s
diverse wine regions. Over 400 premium wines will be poured by producers
from more than 30 wineries throughout Italy.
The Los Angeles Italian Wine Gala
will be held Feb. 25, 2007 at the
renowned
Valentino Restaurant in Santa Monica.
All these important events will see the participation of the most
qualified Italian wineries along with their owners who will travel to
U.S. specially for the occasion.
All four events will also feature a large array of Italian gourmet
specialities by top restaurateurs and prestigious food companies, all
selected to complement the extensive variety of Italian wines.
The wine
tastings are organized by the Italian Wine and Food Institute under the
patronage of the Italian Ambassador to the U.S.
For
information or invitations,
visit the Institute's
online
registration
page.
The Italian Wine & Food
Institute, headquartered on 42nd Street in New York, is a non-profit
organization, founded in 1983 for the enhancement of the image and
prestige of Italian wines, gastronomy and food products in the USA.
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