Author: Jeremy Parzen

Great news!

Taste of Italy is scheduled for March 13-14, 2022 in Houston!

For more information, please contact Italy-America Chamber of Commerce deputy director and Taste of Italy director Maurizio Gamberucci at [email protected].

Taste of Italy Houston is the largest trade fair in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian wine and food products.

Although last year’s event was held virtually, previous years have included more than 100 exhibitors and more than 500 attendees each year, including leading food and wine trade professionals, top buyers, and select food and wine-focused media.

“We are excited to get back to an in-person format,” says fair director and chamber deputy director Maurizio Gamberucci. “Italian companies are eager to get back to Texas and American trade professionals are excited to taste new products and make new connections.”

“There’s a good reason that the Houston-based chamber is ranked number one in north America,” adds wine and food educator Jeremy Parzen, who will be emceeing the fair’s breakout seminars and tastings. “It’s because this event genuinely connects buyers and producers. There are so many amazing success stories from previous years. We are planning to mount our biggest and best fair to date!”

And the news just keeps getting better!

As in years past, we have been able to schedule the fair to coincide with the Houston Rodeo and Livestock Show, one of the city’s signature events and a favorite of visitors from across the U.S. and the world.

Attendees will have the opportunity to attend an evening at the rodeo, including a concert by a top American entertainer (Lizzo was among the performers scheduled for 2020).

Please stay tuned for updates as they become available. We hope to see you in Houston in spring of 2022 when Taste of Italy Houston returns to its in-person format!

OCTOBER 5, 2021

PRESS RELEASE
ITALY-AMERICA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LOUISANA, TEXAS, AND CALIFORNIA

EXPORTS BEGIN WITH FIRST CONTRACTS

AMERICAN BUYERS IN CALABRIA WITH THE REGIONE CALABRIA AND THE ITALY-AMERICA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

THREE DAYS OF MEETINGS TO BE FOLLOW BY A TOUR OF THE U.S.

COSENZA, CALABRIA

Exports: The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce and the Regione Calabria (the superintendent for economic development, tourism, and internationalization) are pleased to announce the early results of the joint project “La frontiera americana — opportunità in Texas, Louisiana e California. Le eccellenze della #CalabriaStraordinaria negli USA” (“The American Frontier: Opportunities in Texas, Louisiana, and California. Top food and wine products from #CalabriaStraordinaria in the U.S.”).

The first contracts between producers and buyers have been signed.

Top food products and wines are ready to take off for the U.S. beginning in 2022.

The 50 businesses that took part in the project are extremely happy with the outcome, as are the American buyers who they hosted in Calabria last week.

Following the wonderful tours of different parts of Calabria in July, the representatives from the chamber of commerce came back to the region together with a delegation of leading buyers for four days of sales meetings and on-site visits. They stayed at the Palace Hotel Mediterraneo in Amantea where producers had the opportunity to teach them about their products. Over the course of their stay, the producers discussed the quality, identity, history, competitiveness, and added value of a wide variety of top products with their VIP guests.

There were also two more on-site visits. A delegation of buyers visited the Hotel – Ristorante Barbieri, a natural oasis that looks out over the Altomonte Città d’Arte (Art City). It was there that “agrichef” (farm-to-table chef) Enzo Barbieri, an ambassador for the #CalabriaStraordinaria project, took them on a tour of the gardens and ateliers where fruit preserves are grown and produced. He also shared some of the recipes developed over the years at his family’s Bottega Barbieri. Many of those products are now well known throughout the world.

Another delegation traveled to Badia di Nicotera in Vibo Valentia province where they visited Casa Comerci, an important producer of Calabrian wine. They were greeted by export director Rosa Comerci who led them through the estate’s vineyards of Greco Bianco and Magliocco Canino. They had the opportunity to see the vineyard workers as they harvested and sorted the grapes. They also tasted wines from another winery, Altomonte di Pizzo Calabro, with owner Nino Altomonte.

The chamber of commerce and Regione Calabria are now looking forward to the results of the third phase of their joint project, slated to begin in the U.S. in 2022. Launched by the Regione Calabria, this campaign represents a new, interesting, and solid opportunity for companies that are looking to export their products for the first time. The challenge ahead for all parties lies in expanding the reach of the participating companies. The goal of both the Regione Calabria and the offices of the chamber of commerce in Louisiana, Texas, and California is to present these companies and share their products from #CalabriaStraordinaria in coming months through events and market-focused initiatives.

Click here for images from the tastings and visits on Facebook.

Please join us for a webinar on the State of the Italian Wine Trade in the Pandemic Era with Brian Larky, founder and CEO of Dalla Terra Imports, on Wednesday, March 17, 10 a.m. CST.

Click here to register (open to all). Attendees will be provided with a Zoom link.

The event is part of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South-Central’s Taste of Italy Virtual Trade Fair 2021, March 15-17 (click here to browse a list of presenters and to sign up for tastings and meetings; appointments are still available and food products and wines will be delivered directly to your home or office before the meetings).

Brian and wine writer and educator Jeremy Parzen will be discussing new trends and strategies that have emerged in the time of the global health crisis. Brian will also be sharing his insights about what to expect over the next year and beyond.

About Brian:

Brian Larky revolutionized the way Italian wine was imported and sold in the U.S. when he started his company Dalla Terra in 1989. Literally decades before anyone else envisioned an importing model that would save consumers money by working outside of the traditional three-tier system (importer-distributor-retailer/restaurateur), he began setting up regional distribution networks that allowed wineries to sell their wines directly to local vendors. Today, Dalla Terra brokers the sales of some of Italy’s most iconic wineries, including Vietti (Barolo), Casanova di Neri (Brunello di Montalcino), Adami (Prosecco), Selvapiana (Chianti), and so many more.

About Jeremy:

Jeremy Parzen has been writing about Italian food and wine for more than 20 years. He is a widely published authority on Italian gastronomy and viticulture and serves as an adjunct professor at the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences in Piedmont where he teaches food and wine communications (in normal years). His blog Do Bianchi is considered to be a leading resource for Italian wine education.

On March 17, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South-Central and the Consulate General of Italy in Houston celebrate authentic Italian gastronomy with a virtual dinner and wine pairing featuring leading food producers and winemakers from Italy. The guests at the invite-only dinner include top food and wine professionals as well as local food-focused influencers and journalists. The event was made possible with the support of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s “Extraordinary Italian Taste” campaign. Please follow both on social media using the hashtags: #iffoodcouldtalk #trueitaliantaste #extraordinaryitaliantaste.

Authentic Italian Table:
“Nothing Like the Real Thing.”
VIRTUAL DINNER – BY INVITATION ONLY
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
7:30 pm CST

Featuring select wines and foods by some of the Taste of Italy Exhibitors: Wines from Le Velette (Umbria) and Cantine Silvestri (Lazio); EVOO by Olio Zucchi; pasta by Vero Italian Traditional Food; and cheeses by Monti Trentini.

Menu by Chef Giancarlo Ferrara, Amalfi Ristorante Italiano e Bar (Houston)

Antipasto

Focaccia Trentina con Formaggio al Tartufo e Speck

Olive oil focaccia stuffed with melted truffle cheese and Speck served with potato salad.

Primo piatto

Calamarata con Salsa allo Zafferano Fiori di Zucchini e Vezzena Stagionato

Pasta calamarata served with saffron sauce baby zucchini blossom and imported aged Vezzena cheese from Trentino, Italy.

Secondo piatto

Suprema di Pollo Farcita con Spinaci e Formaggio Lagorai

Organic chicken breast stuffed with Lagorai cheese and sautéed spinach with EVOO and onion, lightly breaded and oven roasted, served with Brussels sprouts and scalloped potatoes.

Dolce

Sfogliatella Napoletana con Crema alla Vaniglia e Amarene Fabbri

Traditional Neapolitan sfogliatella crispy and flaky pastry stuffed with semolina, ricotta and candid orange zest cream, served with vanilla pasty cream and Fabbri sour cherry in syrup.

Wines:

Cantine Silvestri (Lazio): Sparkling Brut 2020 and Rosso Colli Castelli Romani 2019

Le Velette (Umbria): Accordo Sangiovese 2015

The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is please to announced dates for the 2nd-Annual Taste of Italy Virtual Trade Fair and Festival.

To be held during the week of March 15-19, the virtual gathering will include:

– one-on-one virtual trade tastings with leading food and wine buyers in Texas and beyond;
– one-on-one virtual media tastings with top food- and wine-focused writers and social media influencers;
– trade-focused seminars with U.S. food and wine experts in Italy, Texas, and beyond;
– a virtual food and wine pairing dinner for food industry trade members;
– a virtual food and wine dinner for Italian food and wine lovers (a consumer event featuring Houston restaurants).

For next year’s week-long event, the IACC will also be working closely with exhibitors to help them focus and fine-tune their messaging and follow-up. Each presenter will have a personal IACC liaison that will prepare them for their meetings and facilitate interaction with potential buyers and media in the days following the online gathering.

IACC will also be producing short video interviews with each exhibitor conducted by our resident Italian food and wine educator. These YouTube clips will be published in the weeks running up to the fair and festival but will also be made available to participants for use on their own websites and social media.

By extending the event to five days (instead of the usual two), scheduling of the one-on-one meetings will be expedited and streamlined. And inspired by the success of the virtual dinners it mounted this year, the IACC is opening up at least one of the dinner events to the public this year in order to get invaluable feedback from consumers who love and follow Italian food and wine.

Exhibitor sponsorships are also available for producers who would like their products to be featured at trade, media, and consumer virtual events.

The IACC has decided to call the event “the 2nd-Annual Virtual Taste of Italy” because even once in-person gatherings are safe again, the chamber intends to mount parallel in-person and virtual events.

If you and your company would like to learn more or would like to apply for the 2021 Taste of Italy Virtual Trade Fair and Festival, please contact IACC deputy director Maurizio Gamberucci by emailing him here.

This event was made possible with the support of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s “Authentic Italian Table” and “True Italian Taste” campaigns. Please follow both on social media using the following hashtags: #iffoodcouldtalk #trueitaliantaste #extraordinaryitaliantaste.

On Monday and Tuesday of this week (September 21-22, 2020), the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central held its first-ever virtual Taste of Italy trade tasting in cities across Texas.

Participating winemakers and food producers were asked to ship samples to the U.S. earlier this year.

Texas-based food and wine professionals and food and wine-focused media used a new virtual platform scheduling tool create specially for the event by IACC partner GrapeIn.

The IACC then distributed the products among trade members and influencers in Houston (where the chamber’s offices are located), San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.

Starting at 9 a.m. on Monday (4 p.m. in Italy), participating producers and the Texas-based professionals took part in Google Meet calls, each with the same wines and/or foods in front of them.

“I had never tasted a Gutturnio,” said an Austin-based wine importer, a veteran of the trade. “I was excited to learn about a new appellation.”

“In my more than two decades as a wine writer,” said a leading Houston-based wine educator and blogger, “I had never tasted a still wine made from Lambrusco di Sorbara. There’s a first for everything and this one was thanks to Taste of Italy!”

More than 20 producers in Italy took part in the two-day event and more than 40 trade members and 20 media community members participated here in Texas.

“The best part,” said a Dallas-based influencer, “is that I get to keep the bottle of traditional balsamic vinegar!”

Despite a few minor technical hiccups, it was an unmitigated success.

“We were extremely pleased with the results,” said IACC director Alessia Paolicchi. “It was challenging to coordinate the delivery of so much wine and so many food products but the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, on both sides of the Atlantic.”

“Our overarching mission,” said deputy director Maurizio Gamberucci, who coordinated the event, “is to promote awareness of authentic Italian wines and food products and to create connections between Italian and U.S. businesses. We were really pleased with the results and we plan to develop and expand our virtual trade events moving forward.”

On Monday, August 3, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central will be hosting a webinar featuring Grape-In, a new and highly innovative online platform that allows winemakers to bypass America’s three-tier system for wine sales and connect directly with trade buyers.

Watch the recording here!

According to the founders’ market research, corporate wine groups who sell to America’s five largest importers account for roughly 60 percent of wine sales in the U.S. (an increase of 20 percent with respect to a few decades ago).

The big companies’ market share continues to grow as wine industry consolidation continues to expand its reach. And the channels and opportunities for small- and medium-sized wineries continue to become fewer and farther between and increasingly narrow.

The idea behind the GrapeIn concept is simple: By connecting suppliers directly with trade buyers, GrapeIn enables small wine and spirits suppliers to bypass the monopolized distribution market to dramatically increase sales and profitability.

And by harnessing powerful Artificial Intelligence technology, GrapeIn is able to identify potential clients with laser-sharp focus and accuracy.

For our webinar presentation of their company and platform, we’ll be talking with the company’s lead executives.

If you are a small to medium-sized winemaker in Italy, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to go right to the source.

Looking forward to connecting you and GrapeIn next Monday!

TASTE OF ITALY 2020
Digital Hybrid Italian Food and Wine Trade Show

When: September 21-22 HOUSTON,
September 28-29 NEW ORLEANS.
Who: Top Italian producers, regional distributors, local buyers and trade members.

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE MORE INFO.

CONNECT WITH TRADE MEMBERS
Interact with leading buyers, including importers, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs, and media in Texas, Louisiana, and beyond.

INTERACT REMOTELY & SAFELY
Thanks to digital video conferencing technology, producers will be able to engage with buyers in a 100 percent safe environment.

STRENGTHEN YOUR BRAND VISIBILITY
Meet new buyers, taste with current clients, introduce new products and vintages, launch new packaging, schmooze with taste-makers and opinion leaders.

IACC FOLLOW-UP
IACC food and wine professionals will follow up with your contacts in order to ensure that you make the most of your Taste of Italy experience.

Not only will the TASTE OF ITALY DIGITAL CATALOG be available online during the fair but it will also be featured online at TasteOfItalyHouston.com for 1 month prior to the event and 2 months afterwards.

Sponsorship opportunities also available.

Producers, looking to ship your samples? The IACCSC is offering early-bird rates for shipping! Contact us today at [email protected] to learn more about discounted shipping.