Taste of Italy

Author: Jeremy Parzen

  • Taste of Italy Vancouver in the news!

    Taste of Italy Vancouver in the news!

    The IACC couldn’t be more thrilled to see Taste of Italy grow as it expands its reach to other North American cities.

    That Vancouver television personality Jim Gordon (above, right) co-host of the popular lifestyle show “Our City Tonight,” and Tony Bocale, owner of the ANRA winery group, importer of fine Italian wines.

    See the YouTube below to watch Our City Tonight’s coverage of the first-ever Taste of Italy Vancouver, which took place in March of this year.

    Congratulations to the IACC Canada West on a great event!

  • A Taste of Italy Success Story: After a standing-room-only-seminar, Calabria prepares to send its best food products to Texas.

    A Taste of Italy Success Story: After a standing-room-only-seminar, Calabria prepares to send its best food products to Texas.

    Earlier this week, IACC business development manager Francesca Bacci accompanied Texas-based chef Luciano Salvadore to the Mercato delle Eccellenze di Calabria (MEC) in Calabria.

    Chef Luciano, the executive chef at Il Calabrese restaurant in South Lake (Dallas), had been asked by MEC’s founder and director Giovanni Guido to be part of panel was tasked withs selecting the best Calabrian products to be included in MEC’s first offering in the state of Texas.

    After all, who better than chef Luciano, an expert in Calabrian cuisine and a highly respected restaurant professional who has his finger on the culinary pulse of the state?

    Giovanni and chef Luciano were also part of a panel and standing-room-only seminar on the foods and wines of Calabria at this year’s Taste of Italy in Houston in March.

    Giovanni, Francesca, and chef Luciano were joined a number of leading Calabrian food producers and experts who shared their insights into the best of Calabrian gastronomy.

    “It’s important to work on building up our presence in foreign markets,” said Giovanni. “Calabria’s foods and wines are trending,” he added, “and we need to act on that momentum. Our next step will be for MEC to present these products at the next Taste of Italy in Dallas.”

    Image via Agrinvita.

  • IACC hosts a group of Italian winemakers for trade tastings and meetings May 25-26.

    IACC hosts a group of Italian winemakers for trade tastings and meetings May 25-26.

    Click here to register for Jaime Deleon’s seminar May 25.

    On Thursday and Friday, May 25-26, 2023, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central will be hosting a group of visiting Italian winemakers and grape growers for a series of tastings and meetings with Houston-based trade members.

    On Thursday, at 2.30 pm at Vinology, Kroger regional wine program manager and Advanced Sommelier of the Court of Master Sommeliers Jaime De Leon will be leading a seminar on native grape varieties produced by the wineries below.

    These are the featured wines:

    Cantine Borga – Emma Borga Bianco IGT Tre Venezie 2021
    Orsolani – Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG – La Rustia 2022
    Tappero Merlo domenici – Erbaluce di Caluso DOCG – Kin 2016
    Colle Adimari – Chianti DOCG – Governo all’uso Toscano 2021
    Malenchini – Chianti Superiore DOCG 2020

    Click here to register for Jaime’s seminar (open to trade and media).

    And on Friday, the IACC is organizing a series of one-on-one tastings and meetings for the winery representatives and locally based distributors.

    It’s a great opportunity to learn more about three different winemaking regions in Italy — Veneto, Piedmont, and Tuscany. And the events will give local wine distributors the chance to meet with potential suppliers.

    Their group will be led by Sebastiano Bazzano, an Italian export consultant whose company B.Connected helps Italian wineries to find the right importer in countries around the world. A longtime partner of the IACC, Sebastiano also works with importers and their suppliers to facilitates logistics once an importer has placed an order for his clients’ wines.

    The IACC couldn’t be more pleased to host this compelling group of winemakers, including the following estates:

    Cantine Borga (Veneto)
    Orsolani (Piedmont)
    Tappero Merlo (Piedmont)
    Colle Adimari (Tuscany)
    Malenchini (Tuscany)

  • Taste of Italy Houston 2023 THE VIDEO is here!

    Taste of Italy Houston 2023 THE VIDEO is here!

    Taste of Italy 2023: Nearly 400 attendees, more than 70 brands, more than 250 wines and food products presented, 2 sold-out seminars… THANK YOU to everyone who made Taste of Italy 2023 our best event to date! And special thanks to the honorable Mariangela Zappia, Italy’s ambassador to the U.S., and Italy’s Houston Consul General Mauro Lorenzini for joining us on such a memorable occasion!

  • Standing room only for Texas BBQ and Italian wine, a new Houston tradition.

    Standing room only for Texas BBQ and Italian wine, a new Houston tradition.

    Above, from left: Celebrity pit master Ara Malekian, owner of Harlem Rd. Texas BBQ; Dale Robertson, wine writer for the Houston Chronicle; Tom Dobson, Italian buyer for Spec’s; and presenter Jeremy Parzen.

    One of the greatest things about Taste of Italy, the largest trade fair and festival in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine, is the gathering’s “Texas BBQ and Italian Wine” seminar.

    Each year we ask a top Houston pit master to join some of the city’s leading experts on Italian wine to talk about the art of pairing Italian wines with classic and creatively smoked meats.

    Celebrity pit master and owner of the popular Harlem Rd. Texas BBQ smoke house, Ara Malekian returned this year. He was joined by Dale Robertson, the long-time wine writer for the Houston Chronicle and an italophile wine lover, and Tom Dobson, who selects Italian wine for one of the largest wine retailers in the country, Spec’s. Food and wine historian Jeremy Parzen moderated the panel. Tom selected the wines.

    The most surprising wine in the lineup was the St. Michael-Eppan Pinot Grigio from South Tyrol (Alto Adige) in German-speaking Italy. Tasting the Barbaresco-marinade brisket (yes, marinated in Barbaresco!) and pork ribs paired with the white wine drew a number of ooos and aaas from the crowd.

    The Vite Colte Barbaresco was another show-stopper while the Cerrino Barbera d’Asti seemed to be one of everyone’s favorite wines in the flight for pairing with Texas smoked meats. See Dale’s write-up here.

    Now in its fourth year, the Texas BBQ and Italian Wine seminar has really become an institution to itself. There’s no doubt that it’s a great way to discover the incredible range of Italian wines, their food-friendliness, and their approachability.

    Special thanks to Chef Ara whose food always takes this tasting over the top!

  • Sold-out Calabria seminar wows attendees with a wide spectrum of flavors.

    Sold-out Calabria seminar wows attendees with a wide spectrum of flavors.

    Above, from left: Caciocavallo Silano producer Antonio Arnone, Il Calabrese executive chef Luciano Salvadore, Mercato delle Eccellenze Calabresi Giovanni Guido, and presenter Jeremy Parzen.

    Taste of Italy 2023 opened with a seminar dedicated to the foods of Calabria. It was led by Mercato delle Eccellenze Calabresi (MEC) founder and director Giovanni Guido. And attendees had the opportunity to taste aged and fresh Caciocavallo (Calabria’s famous stretched-curd cheese) paired with a wide variety of flavors including bergamot-, Clementine orange-, and sardine-chili pastes.

    Chef Luciano Salvadore (Il Calabrese, Dallas) and Caciocavallo Silano producer Antonio Arnone (Vallefiore) prepared the small bites as Guido spoke about Calabria’s culinary treasures and his ambitious plans to bring Calabrian-focused retail outlets to the U.S.

    Arnone and Guido also spoke about the unique macroclimate of Calabria’s “valley in the sky,” as Parzen put it, the Sila plateau, a region renowned for the high quality of its cheeses and other food products.

    The savory finger foods were paired with Nerone di Calabria by winery Criserà, a wine made from Nerello Calabrese grapes.

    The sold-out crowd also had the opportunity to taste a range of Calabrian pastries paired with Calabrian-grown coffee.

  • Congratulations to the winners of the Houston Sommelier Competition 2023!

    Congratulations to the winners of the Houston Sommelier Competition 2023!

    Above, from left: Presenter Jeremy Parzen, sommelier Dario Najera, sommelier Jason Barnett, wine educator Walden Pemantle, Italian Consul General for Houston Mauro Lorenzini, and Kroger regional wine manager Jaime De Leon, founder of the Houston Sommelier Competition.

    Now in its third year, the Houston Sommelier Competition was created by Kroger regional wine buyer and sommelier Jaime De Leon to help promote wine education in the Houston wine professional community. Since its inception, it has expanded eligibility to include candidates from anywhere in the world who wish to compete.

    This year’s first prize went to Walden Pemantle with Jason Barnett and Dario Najera winning second and third place, respectively.

    Pemantle, who works as a sales manager for a Houston-based distributor and educator at the Texas Wine School, will be taking part in an all-expenses-paid trip to Abruzzo wine country later this year.

    Barnett (sommelier, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse) and Najera (sommelier, MAD Houston) received scholarship awards of $600 and $400, respectively.

    Congratulations to the winners and everyone who competed! And special thanks to Jaime De Leon, the founder and organizer, and Master Sommelier Nathan Prater, who oversaw the testing and service exam.

  • Thank you to everyone who made Taste of Italy 2023 such a memorable event!

    Thank you to everyone who made Taste of Italy 2023 such a memorable event!

    Taste of Italy 2023: Nearly 400 attendees, more than 70 brands, more than 250 wines and food products presented, 2 sold-out seminars… THANK YOU to everyone who made Taste of Italy 2023 our best event to date! And special thanks to the honorable Mariangela Zappia, Italy’s ambassador to the U.S., and Italy’s Houston Consul General Mauro Lorenzini for joining us on such a memorable occasion!

    That’s madame ambassador Zappia, below, with IACC director Alessia Paolicchi (center) and IACC deputy director Maurizio Gamberucci (left).

    Congratulations also to the winners of the Houston Sommelier Competition!

    Click here to see the Taste of Italy 2023 Facebook album.

  • Ambassador Zappia, Consul General Lorenzini to attend Taste of Italy networking reception.

    Ambassador Zappia, Consul General Lorenzini to attend Taste of Italy networking reception.

    The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas is pleased to announce that the Honorable Mariangela Zappia, Italian Ambassador to the United States of America, and Mauro Lorenzini, Italian Consul General in Houston, Texas, will be attending the Sunday evening networking reception on the occasion of the 2023 Taste of Italy trade fair and festival.

    Madame Ambassador Zappia, above, and the Consul General will make brief remarks before the panel discussion held in the afternoon at the Omni hotel.

    “We couldn’t be more honored to receive such a high-level delegation at our event,” said IACC director Alessia Paolicchi. “With more than 60 Italian companies whose representatives have traveled to Houston especially for the event, we were already expecting it to be one of the best gatherings to date. Their address to our exhibitors will make it all the memorable.”

    Now in its ninth year, the Taste of Italy trade fair and festival is the largest event in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine.

    Image via the Embassy of Italy in Washington DC YouTube.

  • Taste of Italy remembers Francesco Tiralongo, leading manager for top Italian wineries and inspiration for Taste of Italy.

    Taste of Italy remembers Francesco Tiralongo, leading manager for top Italian wineries and inspiration for Taste of Italy.

    The world of Italian wine mourns the loss of one of its brightest stars this week.

    Francesco Tiralongo (above, left), veteran manager for some of Italy’s most iconic wineries, passed away yesterday, March 2, 2023. He was 55 years old.

    His passing was reported by scores of Italian mastheads, including the Giornale di Sicilia, the island’s leading daily newspaper.

    In 2020, Francesco became the CEO of Baglio di Pianetto, a top winery in western Sicily, owned by the Marzotto family (the same group that created Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio).

    Before that time, he had worked as a manager for some of the biggest names in Italian wine, including Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, Mionetto, Donnafugata, and Cantine Settesoli.

    His loss is acutely felt here in Houston, where he had had an outsized role in shaping the Italian wine community.

    Not only was he a close friend of Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Maurizio Gamberucci (pictured, right, with Francesco, above). But he was also one of the inspirations for the first Taste of Italy Houston, held nearly a decade ago.

    “He always had bold business ideas,” said Maurizio in an email. “When I moved to Texas, we came up with the concept of an Italian wine trade show that would later become ‘Taste of Italy.’”

    Francesco is survived by his wife Chiara and their two children, Nicolò and Eugenia.

    He will be sorely missed and dearly remembered.