Taste of Italy

Blog

  • Wine tastings Nov. 29-30 in Houston: Taste Sicily, Abruzzo, and Calabria with wine writer Jeremy Parzen.

    Wine tastings Nov. 29-30 in Houston: Taste Sicily, Abruzzo, and Calabria with wine writer Jeremy Parzen.

    On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 29-30 in Houston, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is proud to present two wine tastings featuring three top Italian producers: Cantine Bruni (Calabria), Isula di Pantelleria, and Tenuta San Giaime (Sicily), and Citra (Abruzzo).

    The seminars will take place at Vinology on Tuesday, November 29, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; and Caracol on Wednesday, November 30, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

    Both seminars will be led by Houston-based wine writer and educator Jeremy Parzen, a leading Italian wine expert.

    The events are open to qualified trade and food and wine-focused media members. Seating is limited and is available on a first-come-first-served basis.

    Click here to sign up for the Tuesday, November 29 event at Vinology.

    Click here to sign up for the Wednesday, November 30 event at Caracol.

  • Taste Calabrian olive oil featuring Tenuta Pantano, October 27 at Eataly Dallas.

    Taste Calabrian olive oil featuring Tenuta Pantano, October 27 at Eataly Dallas.

    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 10/17 Houston, 10/20 Dallas.

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

    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 Houston 10/17 and Dallas 10/20.

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

    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.

  • Taste of Italy Dallas (Oct. 27): Buyer and media registration NOW OPEN!

    Taste of Italy Dallas (Oct. 27): Buyer and media registration NOW OPEN!

    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].

  • Taste of Italy DALLAS October 27. Register by August 30.

    Taste of Italy DALLAS October 27. Register by August 30.

    The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is pleased to announce the first-ever Taste of Italy Dallas!

    Taste of Italy Houston, now in its ninth year, is the largest trade show devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine in the U.S. We are thrilled to be taking the show on the road to 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

    RESERVE YOUR DESK THROUGH AUGUST 30, 2022.

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

    Meet importers, distributors, restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers, buyers, and specialized media. If you are a Buyer, click HERE to register! (NO DEADLINE for registration.)

    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].

  • IACC at the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth: American painters in Venice and Prosecco.

    IACC at the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth: American painters in Venice and Prosecco.

    On Thursday, July 14, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central was at the wonderful Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Ft. Worth.

    The occasion was the “Second Thursday” of the month event where more than 200 art lovers gathered to view the touring exhibition “Sargent, Whistler, and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano.”

    Guests were also there to hear a lecture by Alex Mann, who originally curated the show for the Smithsonian, and to taste some Prosecco with the chamber’s in-house wine expert, food and wine historian Jeremy Parzen.

    As the guests enjoyed two types of Prosecco — a zero-sugar added Prosecco and Prosecco Rosé by the Peninsola winery in Italy — they also sampled authentic Prosciutto di Parma.

    The event was made possible thanks to support from the Italian consulate and the Consul General Federico Ciattaglia.

    We highly recommend that you visit the exhibition, running through September. And we would like to share our heartfelt thanks with the museum for making us part of this spectacular event.

    The IACC’s participation has been sponsored by the Italian government’s ongoing Extraordinary Italian Taste campaign, which promotes authentic Italian wines, foods, and foodways.

  • IACC members at the Texas Restaurant Show. Thanks and congrats to the Texas Restaurant Associaton!

    IACC members at the Texas Restaurant Show. Thanks and congrats to the Texas Restaurant Associaton!

    The Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central would like to share its heartfelt thanks and warm congratulations to the Texas Restaurant Association for having hosted a phenomenal Texas Restaurant Show (formerly the TRA Marketplace) in Dallas this week at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

    More than 5,000 restaurateurs and industry experts were in attendance. And the standing-room-only seminars covered topics ranging from workforce solutions to ghost kitchens, growing through capital investment, diversity, inclusion, and bias training.

    The IACC was proud to be there representing our many food industry members.

    About the organizer, the Texas Restaurant Association:

    Formed in 1937, the Texas Restaurant Association (TRA) serves as the advocate and indispensable resource for the foodservice industry in Texas. As a leading business association, the TRA represents the state’s $70 billion restaurant industry, which comprises approximately 50,000 locations and a workforce of 1.3 million employees. Along with the Texas Restaurant Foundation, the workforce development arm of the TRA, the association proudly continues to protect, advance, and educate a growing industry as the TRA enters its 85th anniversary year. For more information, please visit www.txrestaurant.org.

    The IACC’s participation has been sponsored by the Italian government’s ongoing Extraordinary Italian Taste campaign, which promotes authentic Italian wines, foods, and foodways.

  • A new authentic Italian restaurant opens in Houston: Davanti.

    A new authentic Italian restaurant opens in Houston: Davanti.

    Congratulations to longtime IACC member chef Roberto Crescini (above, left) and his business partner and veteran Houston restaurateur, Francisco Calza (right), for the launch of their new restaurant Davanti!

    The restaurant officially opened its doors earlier this week.

    “Located near Central Market at 2900 Weslayan St.,” writes restaurant editor Eric Sandler for the popular lifestyle magazine CultureMap, “Davanti will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a menu built around Crescini’s freshly made pastas that diners can combine with different sauces and proteins. Other menu items will include pizzas and Italian desserts like tiramisu. Italian wines and craft beers from both Europe and America will anchor the beverage program.”

    Chef Roberto has a wide following of fans who loved his housemade pastas at his previous Houston-area restaurant. Calza, known fondly as Paco, has worked in the highest levels of the Houston restaurant scene and is the creative force behind one of its most celebrated Spanish restaurants.

    Chef Roberto, Houston wouldn’t be the same without you! We are all looking forward to enjoying Davanti!

  • IACC members featured at 85th annual Texas Restaurant Show in Dallas, July 10-11. Register now.

    IACC members featured at 85th annual Texas Restaurant Show in Dallas, July 10-11. Register now.

    The staff at the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce South Central is gearing up for the Texas Restaurant Association’s annual trade fair, the Texas Restaurant Show, July 10-11 in Dallas, now in its 85th year (see below for more background on the event).

    Click here to register. Use the following code: TRSItalia22. Please note that you will need to create an account to sign up.

    The IACC will be there will a number of its members, including the following: VERO Italian Traditional Food, Chiorri, Tenuta dei Mori, Selected Food & Beverage, Monti Trentini, Consorzio Prosciutto di Parma, Tutti Lili Vini, Peninsola Prosecco, Beviamo International, and Santo Iolo.

    And there will also be a space devoted to Calabrian wines (just added!).

    IACC will be there! We hope you can join us.

    From the Texas Restaurant Show website:

    The Texas Restaurant Show is the Texas Restaurant Association’s annual restaurant and foodservice show. The largest of its kind in the Southwest, it is backed by TRA’s more than 85 years of industry leadership, and is as bold, unique and packed with opportunity as the Lone Star state itself.

    Now in its 85th year, the Texas Restaurant Show dazzles visitors with stunning and interactive displays, state of the science products and equipment, cutting edge technology and the very latest news, trends and advice from dynamic industry leaders. Thousands of restaurateurs, chefs, and industry executives attend over the two-day period and over 400 booths and 300+ companies participate, showcasing everything from artisan food products and craft beverages to linens, mobile technology, security, kitchen equipment, supplies and much more.

    Part trade show and part conference, the Texas Restaurant Show motivates and inspires everyone – from first time restauranteurs to industry veterans. Engaging seminars and interactive panels are offered by industry thought-leaders on trending topics and specialty pavilions offer an exciting, diverse and valuable glimpse into the latest products and services that the market has to offer.

    Many nationwide consumer and industry trends have their roots right here in the Texas market. The Texas Restaurant Show provides attendees a chance to meet face to face with industry leaders, discover innovative products and practical tools, make valuable connections and discover relevant information not to be found any place else in the country.

    Texas remains one of the hottest growth markets for the restaurant industry as a whole, with sales projected to be $52.4 billion by the end of 2016. With over 42,500 eating and drinking establishments in the state, every $1 million spent in Texas restaurants generates an additional 26.3 jobs.

    The IACC’s participation has been sponsored by the Italian government’s ongoing Extraordinary Italian Taste campaign, which promotes authentic Italian wines, foods, and foodways.