Author: Jeremy Parzen

Taste of Italy Houston, the largest trade fair devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine, March 6, complete schedule.

TASTE OF ITALY HOUSTON™️ 2023
COMPLETE SCHEDULE

MONDAY, MARCH 6 at 11:30 am @ THE OMNI HOTEL HOUSTON RIVERWAY
Presented by
Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas

11 – 5 pm Walk-Around Tasting (see the list of exhibitors here)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

11:30 am Seminar: Calabria, Land of the Mediterranean Diet
FEATURING: Giovanni Guido, general manager, Mercato delle Eccellenze di Calabria, and Luciano Salvadore, executive chef, Il Calabrese (Southlake, Texas), moderated by Jeremy Parzen.

Attendees will taste the following undiscovered authentic Calabrian products:

Cacio cavallo cheese
EVOO
Espresso Coffee
Pastries and cookies
Red Wine
Sodas
Seasonings

OPEN TO TRADE AND PUBLIC
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
$15 PER PERSON

2:30 pm Seminar: Italian Wines and Texas BBQ presented by Spec’s
PANELISTS: Pit Master Ara Malekian, Spec’s Italian Wine Buyer Tom Dobson, Dale Robertson, wine columnist for the Houston Chronicle, moderated by Jeremy Parzen

Featured wines:

St.Michael Eppan – Pinot Grigio FallWind
Tiberio Cerasuolo
Vite Colte Barbaresco
Cerrino Barbera
Beconcini Tempranillo
Tre Secoli Passione

OPEN TO TRADE AND PUBLIC
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
$25 PER PERSON

Click here for Taste of Italy Houston Success Stories.

February 22, 2023
Calabria, Land of the Mediterranean Diet, seminar and tasting, Monday 3/6.

Calabria: Land of the Mediterranean Diet
with Giovanni Guido, general manager, Mercato delle Eccellenze di Calabria
and Luciano Salvadore, executive chef, Il Calabrese (Southlake, Texas)
moderated by food and wine historian Jeremy Parzen

Monday, March 6, 2023
Omni Hotel Houston
11:30 a.m.

Click HERE to register.

Since the 1950s, doctors and nutritionists have been fascinated by the “Mediterranean Diet.” In the years immediately following the Second World War, scientists had begun to recognize that residents in certain geographic areas suffered fewer heart attacks than their peers in other places. They quickly realized that local diets were a main factor in this trend. Not only did residents in certain areas experience fewer cases of heart disease. An unusually high number of them lived to advanced old age — including many centenarians.

Calabria was one of those unusual geographic areas where people were living longer and suffering from fewer long-term illnesses.

In the second half of the 1950s, scientists like the legendary researcher Ancel Keys began to visit Calabria in their efforts to better understand the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.

In more recent years, Calabria has become a popular destination for food and wine celebrities like Lidia Bastianich, the celebrated television personality and cookbook author, and her son Joe, the pioneering restaurateur and wine expert turned pop culture icon.

That’s Lidia, above, with Giovanni Guido general manager of the Mercato delle Eccellenze di Calabria (Excellence of Calabria Market) during her visit last year with Joe.

On Monday, March 6, on the occasion of the Taste of Italy trade fair and festival, Giovanni will be joined by Luciano Salvadore (executive chef, Il Calabrese, Southlake, Texas) in a discussion of Calabrian gastronomy and the Mediterranean Diet. Food and wine historian Jeremy Parzen will moderate the panel.

Attendees will have the opportunity to taste a wide variety of Calabrian food products, including extra-virgin olive oils, cheeses, wine, and pastries.

February 21, 2023
Italian Wine-Texas BBQ SEMINAR
Ever since the first Italian Wine-Texas BBQ seminar and tasting in 2018, the event has become one of Taste of Italy’s most popular each year.

This year, celebrity pit master Ara Malekian (Chopped, Top Chef), owner of Harlem Rd. Texas BBQ, returns to Taste of Italy on Monday, March 6, 2023, to present a flight of his smoked meats paired with a flight of Italian wines selected especially by Italian wine expert and Spec’s Italian wine buyer Tom Dobson.

As in years past, Italian-focused wine writer and educator Jeremy Parzen will moderate the panel discussion.

CLICK HERE to register. The seminar will be held at the Omni Houston Hotel (Google map). Click here for Taste of Italy Grand Tasting registration.

The Seminar will feature top Italian wines available at Spec’s, including the following:
- St.Michael Eppan – Pinot Grigio FallWind
- Tiberio – Cerasuolo
- Vite Colte – Barbaresco
- Cerrino – Barbera
- Beconcini – Tempranillo
- Cantina Tre Secoli – Passione
This event WILL sell out! Please do not hesitate to reserve your spot now.

Image via the Harlem Rd. Texas BBQ Facebook.
January 31, 2023
Exhibitors 2023 (March 6).

The following producers and food and wine groups showcased their products at this year’s Taste of Italy Houston, March 5-6. The Grand Tasting took place at the Omni Houston Hotel (Google map).

Cerulli Spinozzi (Abruzzo)
Citra (Abruzzo)
Caffè Gambilongo (Calabria)
Medi Mais – Clemì (Calabria)
Dulcis in fiore (Calabria)
Vallefiore (Calabria)
Dolciaria Alessandria (Calabria)
Pasta Forte (Calabria)
Agricola San Teodoro (Campania)
La Guardiense (Campania)
Arte & Pasta (Campania)
Consorzio Prosciutto di Parma (Emilia Romagna)
Cantine Campana (Emilia Romagna)
Coste di Borgo (Emilia Romagna)
Acetaia Paltrinieri (Emilia Romagna)
Tenuta Sant’Aquilina (Emilia Romagna)
Paradiis (Friuli Venezia Giulia)
Cantine Silvestri (Lazio)
Parvus Ager (Lazio)
Cantine San Marco (Lazio)
Casale 5 Scudi (Lazio)
Casteggio (Lombardy)
Spirito Cocktails (Lombardy)
Cantina Lodali (Piedmont)
Cerrino Azienda Agricola (Piedmont)
Poderi Roset (Piemonte)
Prediomagno (Piemonte)
Vite Colte (Piedmont)
Cascina Principe – Vacca (Piedmont)
Cantina Gentile Puglia
Donna Viola (Puglia)
Ferreli (Sardinia)
Cantina Oliena (Sardinia)
Cantina della Vernaccia (Sardinia)
Caseificio De Marcus (Sardinia)
Cao Formaggi (Sardinia)
LAIT Latteria Ittiri (Sardinia)
Isula (Sicily)
Baglio di Pianetto (Sicily)
Cantine Madaudo (Sicily)
Cantagallo-Le Farnete (Tuscany)
Val Virginio (Tuscany)
San Polino (Tuscany)
Tenuta Le Potazzine (Tuscany)
Querceto di Castellina (Tuscany)
Il Ciliegio (Tuscany)
Il pastificio toscano (Tuscany)
Villa Santo Stefano (Tuscany)
Cacciagrande (Tuscany)
Grati (Tuscany)
Azienda Le Vigne (Tuscany)
Nenni Spada Toscana (Tuscany)
Casale Bio (Tuscany)
Sensi Vini (Tuscany)
Cantina Benedetti & Grigi (Umbria)
Villa Bucher (Umbria)
Montelvini (Veneto)
Ornella Bellia (Veneto)
Vinicola Cordiali (Veneto)
Vero Italian Traditional Food (Italy)
Gruppo I Vinai (Italy)
Botter (Italy)
TerraMar Imports (Italy)
Nardini Liquori (Italy)
The Wine Hunter (Italy)

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCERS

Domaines Aimé Arnoux (France)
Pizzorno Winery (Uruguay)
Antica Bodega Stagnari (Uruguay)
Eccocivi (Spain)
Bodegas y Viñedos Lleiroso (Spain)
Vinum Vini (Undiscovered European Regions, and beyond)

January 30, 2023
A Taste of Italy Success Story: Long-time Taste of Italy exhibitor Monti Trentini.

Monti Trentini has attended every Taste of Italy since the first year the fair was held. And they also attended all of our virtual events when in-person events were not possible.

Over the years, they have developed a long-term relations with Selected Food & Beverage, a top Texas-based distributor and a proud IACCTX member. And they have had their products on the shelves of HEB supermarkets and gourmet shops since that very first fair they attended.

Another Taste of Italy Success Story!

January 20, 2023
A Taste of Italy Success Story: Vero Italian Traditional Food at Spec’s and HEB.

Stefano Albano, the owner of the Rome-based Vero Italian Traditional Food, is one of the shining stars of our campaigns here at Taste of Italy.

Not only are his food products like his Pasta Vero now available at Spec’s, one of the largest fine wine and gourmet food retailers in the country with nearly 200 stores across Texas. Many of the wineries he represents are also now available at stores across Texas like Spec’s and the state’s leading supermarket chain HEB, which is based in San Antonio but has multiple locations in all of the states major metropolitan areas and in many rural areas as well.

Just another Taste of Italy success story!

January 11, 2023
Houston Sommelier Competition 2023 now accepting applications for March 5-6 event. All wine professionals welcome regardless of accreditation.

Now in its third year, the Houston Sommelier Competition is currently accepting applications for its March 5-6 event.

And for the first year since the competition was first launched, the organizers are accepting applications from any and all wine professionals who would like to participate, regardless of accreditation, affiliation, or home city. (In previous years, Court of Master Sommeliers members were not allowed to compete and the event was open only to residents of Texas and neighboring states. This year, anyone can participate).

If you’d like to compete in this year’s event, please register HERE.

For more information, please contact the Director, Jaime De Leon: [email protected]

The competition includes three exams: Theory, blind tasting, and service.

For the theory component, competitors must answer a wide range of questions about wine and viticulture throughout the world. For blind tasting, they must identify the grape, appellation, and other technical information for wines they taste without viewing the bottles or labels. For service, they must complete a mock shift on the floor of a restaurant where the guests, played by the judges, ask questions about the wines they will be served.

The winner and two runners-up receive monetary awards intended to help them pursue their studies in wine.

Since its inception, the Houston Sommelier Competition has been part of Taste of Italy, the largest food and wine trade fair in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine. Last year, the gathering expanded to Dallas with its first-ever event there. And this year, Vancouver will also host a Taste of Italy.

The event is supported also by the Consorzio Tutela Vini d’Abruzzo. Stay tuned for details on this year’s prizes and title sponsor.

January 6, 2023
Taste of Italy to include international food and wine for first time ever.

For the first time ever, Taste of Italy, the largest food and wine trade fair in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine, will be featuring exhibitors from countries outside of Italy.

“We have had so many great success stories thanks to connections exhibitors have made at the fairs,” says event director Maurizio Gamberucci, Deputy Director of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central. “Over the years, a number of producers from the U.S. and Central and South America have asked us to open it up to international exhibitors.”

Now in its 9th year, Taste of Italy has expanded beyond Houston to include gatherings in Dallas and now in Vancouver, Canada for the first time.

“We believe that this ‘cross-pollination’ will be a win-win for everyone involved, including the buyers who attend the event,” he adds.

If you’d like to learn more about reserving a stand at the upcoming Taste of Italy fairs (Vancouver, March 2-3; Houston, March 5-6; Dallas dates to be announced soon), please contact Maurizio via email here.

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCERS

Domaines Aimé Arnoux (France)
Pizzorno Winery (Uruguay)
Antica Bodega Stagnari (Uruguay)
Eccocivi (Spain)
Bodegas y Viñedos Lleiroso (Spain)
Vinum Vini (Undiscovered European Regions, and beyond)

January 6, 2023
A Taste of Italy Success Story: Vite Colte, producer of Barolo and Barbaresco, in Texas since 2019.

Vite Colte, a top producer of Barolo, Barbaresco, and other iconic wines from Piedmont, first participated in Taste of Italy in 2019.

Not only did they sign a deal with Spec’s, one of the largest retailers of fine wines in the U.S., but they also connected with an importer in Mexico who is bring their wines in for the first time. They have also used their contacts at Taste of Italy in Houston to make connections with other IACC offices across North America.

It’s another one of the countless examples of Italian food and wine companies breaking into the U.S. market thanks to their experiences at Taste of Italy.

January 5, 2023
A Taste of Italy Success Story: Melegatti at Spec’s, one of the largest fine wine and gourmet food retailers in the U.S.

While most of the exhibitors at Taste of Italy are medium-sized and family-run companies, the trade fair — the largest in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian products — also features some of Italy’s most well-known and iconic brands.

When Peter Gryska, the head fine food buyers at Spec’s in Houston, found out that Melegatti, the iconic producer of panettone, was looking for distribution in the state, he jumped at the chance to add the products to his retail and distribution products. Today, those products are available throughout the state at the behemoth retailer’s nearly 200 locations.

December 19, 2022