A public service announcement…

If you work in the Italian wine business — whether as importer, distributor, restaurateur, or retailer — you already know that the industry’s annual trade fair in Verona, Vinitaly, represents one of the greatest opportunities to taste new releases and to interact with Italian winemakers and wine professionals from both sides of the Atlantic.

I’m pleased to share the news that the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce currently has 10 sponsored trips available for qualified wine and restaurant professionals.

The program is being administered by the Texas office of the chamber (where I serve as a consultant).

Before contacting their office in Houston, please be sure to register for the fair using this link.

(Make sure you select “Italy-America Chamber of Commerce Texas” as your point of contact to ensure that your application gets routed through the Houston office.)

Once registered, please contact the chamber’s deputy director for Texas, Maurizio Gamberucci, by clicking here.

The best news is that this year’s program will be focused on Vivit, the natural-organic-biodynamic pavilion at the fair.

If you’re a qualified buyer or restaurant worker (and servers qualify, btw), this is a great opportunity to get to Verona and the fair this year — for free.

I encourage you to apply and I hope to see you in Verona in April!