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Welcome to
VOLUME VII,
NUMBER 3 of Wine News, the e-Letter from the WineCountry.IT network. (Would you
rather see the e-Letter on your favorite browser? Use
this link. Usa il link seguente se vuoi leggere
le News in italiano).
February was so busy that we had to skip sending out the monthly e-letter, thus this month we are sending it out a few days in advance, before we go back to Italy for the 43rd Vinitaly, the largest wine trade show in the world, held yearly in Verona.
On February 23rd we organized the first ever Sorsi DiVino 2009, at the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, California, a very successful invitation-only event which attracted numerous guests, despite the rainy weather and road work just in front of the Consulate building.
Sorsi DiVino 2009 was barely over when I flew to Tuscany to participate in the second Arezzo Wine 2009, a minor, though very well organized trade show. Now, barely three weeks after returning to California, I am heading back for Vinitaly 2009. In these times of lean market, networking is more important than it has ever been, thus we continue promoting the Made in Italy brands in general, and the quality products of the associated estates in particular, keeping their brands very much in front of the American consumers.
Loris Scagliarini, WineCountry.IT President |
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Articles |
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| Arezzo Wine Sideways 2009 • Part 1 |
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 On February 25, 2009, just a little over 36 hours after wrapping up Sorsi DiVino 2009, the quality Italian wine tasting which WineCountry.IT organized at the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, I board an Europe-bound Air France flight to participate in the second Arezzo Wine trade show, in Tuscany.
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| Part 2 |
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 Though relatively small, especially when compared to such a trade show as Verona's Vinitaly, Arezzo Wine 2009 turns out to be a very well organized, excellent event. The group of young people who took care of the organization, have set up well thought out one-on-one meetings between the participating producers and professional buyers, importers, distributors arrived from various European and non European countries.
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| Part 3 |
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 In the evening I am the lucky guest of honor of Luigi Carnevali, a long time friend of mine who is the current head of the Modena chapter of the Associazione Italiana Sommeliers (AIS, or Italian association of Sommeliers). The event is an educational tasting of five great French wine from the Loire Valley, paired with five courses featuring French haut cuisine recipes made with local Emilian ingredients.
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Part 4 |
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 We arrive at the estate on a cold, gray, rainy day, with misty low clouds hanging over the naked vines rolling along the brown hills. We park in front of the main house and, stepping out of the car, we are welcomed by Mozart's music echoing among the hills to nurture the vines, spreading in all directions from around the small compound including the cellar, the wine tasting building, and a gazebo used for open air parties from spring to fall, when the weather is much mellower.
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| Amorim Cork Listed Among the Top 'Green Companies' in the World |
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 From the environmental point of view, cork is the best wine stopper.
According to authoritative British wine magazine The Drink Business, Portuguese cork wine stopper producer, Amorim is among the top 50 'green companies' in the world, that is, firms which produce respecting the environment. The world leader wine stopper producer is the only company worldwide to make the list in this category.
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GAIN Report: Wine Consumption to Fall |
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 According to the GAIN (Global Agriculture Information network) report, the EU remains the world's largest wine producer, consumer, exporter and importer. Total EU-27 wine production in 2008/09 dropped one percent due to adverse weather, mainly in France and Spain. The drop in production in France and Spain was not completely offset by increases in production in other countries.
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Sting to Launch his own Red Wine |
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 Former Police frontman, Sting, is the latest pop star to turn to wine production, as he prepares to launch a red wine produced in his own Italian estate in Figline Valdarno, in the UK and US.
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Australian Wine Exports Continue to Fall |
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 Monday, January 9, 2008, the Australian site ABC reported that higher alcohol taxes in the UK, unfavorable exchange rates, and the global financial crisis have all contributed to the decline of current wine exports.
According to the Aussie site, a new report shows that from February 2008, to January 2009, exports fell 701 million liters (over 185 million gallons), or 9% compared to the previous 12-month period.
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Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Juventus Wine Labels |
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Italian winery Scrimaglio, located in Nizza Monferrato, in the heart of a wine zone whose traditions date back to the 1200s, has teamed with car maker Fiat to produce the Fashion Wines line, sporting labels featuring the brands of Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia, as well as Milan's soccer team Juventus, owned and sponsored by Fiat.
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Cooking for Wine Tirreno 2009 |
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 The appointment is from March 1 to 5, 2009, and is part of the 29th annual Mostra Convegno Tirreno C.T. (Exhibit Convention [of the] Tyrrhenian Sea), the trade show dedicated to restaurant and hotel sectors. The trade show is organized by Tirreno Trade in Versilia, at the Fiera Internazionale di Marina di Carrara (International Trade Fair of Marina di Carrara).
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As was widely expected, based upon the slow start in January, as reported by ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, or National Institute of Statistics), 2008 closed with a negative balance for the wine export volume, at 17.8 million hectoliters (over 470 million gallons), or minus 7% compared to 2007. On the other hand, there was a slight increase of 2% in value of exported wines, for a total of 3.6 billion euros (calculate 
On February 23, 2009, the 
