Category: Taste of Italy

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.

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)

On Thursday, October 27, as part of the first-ever Taste of Italy Dallas, Italian food expert Jeremy Parzen will lead a seminar on the olive oils of Calabria featuring the oils of Tenuta Pantano (Badolato, Catanzaro).

As guests sample a flight of extra-virgin olive oils, they will also enjoy light bites created especially to pair with the oils.

SEMINAR
CALABRIAN OLIVE OIL
with Italian food expert
Jeremy Parzen

Thursday, October 27
12:00 p.m.
Eataly Dallas

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is pleased to present a Calabrian extra-virgin olive oil tasting featuring the oils of Tenuta Pantano. The guided tasting and seminar will be led by Italian food and wine expert Jeremy Parzen.

As Italian gastronomy took the world by storm in the 1990s and early 2000s, the interest in artisanally produced Italian extra-virgin olive oil grew swiftly. At the time, Tuscan and Sicilian olive oils were the focus of most food lovers in the U.S. No surprise there. But over time, Americans have expanded their interest in the category as they discovered Sardinian olis, Ligurian, and even Veneto olive oils produced along the banks of Lake Garda.

Despite this robust interest in top olive oils from Italy, Calabrian olive oils — some of Italy’s most coveted — have remained under the radar. That’s because Calabria is still Italy’s greatest “undiscovered country,” a land teeming with culinary treasures and delights that Americans have yet to experience. We are confident that tasters at the October 27 event will be excited to learn about Calabria’s unique soils and terroirs, including the maritime influence of the Mediterranean sea, which gives the oils their signature freshness.

“Calabrian oils are among the best I’ve tasted in recent years,” says Parzen, who launched his food writing career at La Cucina Italiana more than two decades ago. “Thanks to the work of the chamber, I’ve had the opportunity to taste a number of Calabrian products that are not yet available in the U.S. And I’ve been blown away by the quality and depth, especially when it comes to the oils and the wines.”

The Calabrian extra-virgin olive oil event is the featured seminar at this year’s Taste of Italy Dallas, the IACC’s first trade fair in that city.

Register now: Sicilian Wines Master Class in Houston 10/17 and Dallas 10/20.

The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is pleased to present a Sicilian Wines Master Class.

The Houston event will be led by Jaime De Leon, advanced sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers and regional buyer and wine program manager for Kroger. The event will be held on Monday, October 17, 5:00 p.m. at Roma restaurant in Houston.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

The Dallas event will be presented on Thursday, October 20, 5:00 p.m., by Italian wine expert Aldo Bove, educator and manager for Above Wines. The event will take place at Eataly.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.

Both events will feature wines by leading Sicilian wineries Cambria and Maduado.

Among the labels to be tasted will be wines made from Sicily’s Nocera grape. This variety, once considered a second-tier grape, is now getting a lot of attention from grape growers and winemakers who prize its wonderful acidity, an element that helps it retain its freshness during the long hot summers of recent years.

The events are open to qualified wine industry professionals and media.

SAVE THE DATE: Sicilian Wines Master Class in Houston 10/17 and Dallas 10/20.

The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is pleased to present a Sicilian Wines Master Class featuring the wines of Cambria (Messina) and Madaudo (Messina).

The wines and appellations to be tasted during the seminar will include Etna, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, a sparkling Grillo, and international grape varieties as well.

The events are open to qualified wine industry professionals and media.

To register, please contact IACC Deputy Director Maurizio Gamberucci by clicking here.

Buyer and media registration for Taste of Italy Dallas at Eataly is NOW OPEN!

Meet importers, distributors, restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers, buyers, and specialized media. If you are a buyer, trade specialist, or food-focused writer, blogger, or influencer, click HERE to register! (NO DEADLINE for registration.)

Click here for the list of exhibitors (updated daily). We look forward to seeing you in Dallas!

Taste of Italy Dallas

When: October 27, 2022, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Where: Eataly Dallas at North Park Center
8687 N. Central Expressway, Suite 2172
Dallas TX 75225

The first-ever Taste of Italy Dallas, a food and wine trade show devoted exclusively to Italian products in the U.S.

Eataly will select wines to be purchased and showcased during a special event scheduled for the following day, “All You Can Eataly,” October 28, 2022.

For more info, please contact us at [email protected].