Italian Wines 2022

 

The Italian Trade Commission

A Tasting of Wines from Italy
27th Edition

100 PRODUCERS / 15 REGIONS 

November 2, 2022

A TASTING OF WINES FROM ITALY is The Italian Trade Commission's flagship event connecting Italian wine producers and their agents with Canadian wine buyers.

Two venues were presented in Canada: the first one in Toronto 0n October 31, 2022 at the Royal Thomson Hall, and the second one in Montreal on November 2, 2022 at the Bonsecours Market in Old Montreal. This is an annual event hat has become a flagship commercial event for Canadian professionals. It celebrated its 27th edition with a great style. The Montreal event was truly significant, well attended and appreciated by wine connoisseurs and many professionals.

This year, no less than 100 Italian producers from 15 regions took part presenting impressive 500 wines. Counting Toronto and Montreal, they hosted more than 2,000 industry specialists, including agents, representatives of provincial monopolies, hotels and restaurants, specialist journalists, top sommeliers, commentators and wine enthusiasts.

This year, the event included a masterclass on organic Italian wines, as well as a preview of the tasting reserved for representatives of the provincial monopolies and the specialized press. In the afternoon, a second masterclass dedicated to a specific category of Italian wine took place.

Italian wine is very popular in Canada. The figures speak for themselves: the value of imports over the past 10 years has increased very rapidly, from 301 million to 540 million dollars, with a growth of 71%. Italy is Canada's top wine exporter by quantity, with 55 million liters shipped in the first eight months of 2022 and a 12% increase from the same period a year earlier (source: Statistics Canada). In terms of value, during the same period, Italian wine exceeded 422 million Canadian dollars, becoming the fourth largest destination market for Italian wine in the world. it was the fifth in 2021.

The wine sector is one of the fundamental pillars of “Made in Italy” in Canada. Italian wine represents a fifth of sales from provincial monopolies, thanks to the 467 million liters sold for a value of 8.5 billion Canadian dollars. The provinces of Quebec and Ontario represent respectively 45% and 33% of Italian wine sales which, in the first eight months of 2022, reached 69 million liters for a value of 1.4 billion dollars Canadians. It is very obvious that Italian wine producers are increasingly positioning themselves in leading positions in Canada.

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Gambero Rosso Trebicchieri Tour 2022

 

June 21, 2022

After three years of absence, the Trebicchieri tour came back to Montreal on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. The event was held in the spacious and modern special events area in the Centre des Science, located in the Old Port of Montreal. It was open to the professional wine growers and distributors as well as dignitaries, wine connoisseurs and  the wine experts form the hotel and restaurant business. Numerous superb Italian wines were offered for tasting, all made form native Italian grapes. The event's attendance was impressive.

The program included two master classes and later there was the Montreal Top Italian Restaurants Award Ceremony. (Unfortunately, I had to leave earlier.)

The event was a part of the Gambero Rosso World tour. Next stop will be in Toronto on June 23, 2022.

Here is the photo reportage from the special Gambero Rosso Montreal wine tasting event.

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Les rendez-vous Beaujolais 2022

 

Les rendez-vous Beaujolais

Salon and panel discussion

June 13, 2022

The Salon began with an hour long panel discussion: “Soil mosaic, diversity of vintages” moderated by Jacky Blosson.

The Beaujolais wine growing regions were discussed as well as the characteristics and the specificity of the soils for growing various vintages.

The discussion panel was followed by wine tasting in an adjacent room in the presence of 8 winegrowers and merchants from France and their representatives.

The following photos capture the tasting process, the introduction to various wines, and the delight of the new discoveries.

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Oregon & Washington 2022: Wine and Gastronomy

 

Oregon & Washington 2022

Wine and Gastronomy

June 6, 2022

This event in Montreal was a celebration of specialty wine and food and featured a great number of producers from the USA Oregon and Washington states.

The event was held in Old Montreal, at the spacious upper floor of Marché Bonsecours.

It was an incredible chance to discover 250 wines from those US west regions. Many vintages were aged and/or produced in limited quantities. It was a great opportunity to learn about many dynamic wine regions and their unique terroir.

The event also presented a chance to talk to numerous wine and food producers or their representatives. 

There were also novel and tasty food items on display and offered for tasting.

At the center of the hall was a table with finger food. Later on, chef Sara Hauman, who came directly from Portland, Oregon (Top Chef), presented cooking demonstrations. Unfortunately, I had to leave earlier.

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