Italian wine culture hits center stage in select U.S. cities during the first week of March 2008. The leading Italian food and wine media group,
Gambero Rosso, officially launched its first edition of the "
Gambero Rosso Top Italian Wines Roadshow" back in Winter 2007. The focus is to showcase the top award winners in their respective categories. Gambero Rosso honors these wines with a ‘Three Glass Award’ or
Tre Bicchieri, versus the more traditional point score commonly used by professional reviewers. The tour has already visited Stockholm, Zurich, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Bruxelles. Get ready America! The tour lands in New York (March 3rd), then San Francisco (March 5th), Los Angeles (March 6th) and wraps up the American leg in San Diego (March 7th). The tour returns to Europe in April, visiting Berlin and Dusseldorf (April 14th and 16th), to close in Moscow in the middle of October 2008.
The premise of the tastings is to better educate the press, trade and the public on the state of Italian wine, and the great strives that have been made in the last decade. The events will be conducted in an open walk-around fashion with seminars led by industry experts. The upcoming San Francisco tasting will mark my fourth "Tre Bicchieri" event I have attended, although this year marks the first ‘Roadshow.’ The venue has become much better attended with an expanded regional representation. Furthermore, the sheer number of wines to be poured has doubled. This is a must-attend event to really appreciate the menagerie of native varietals from unknown regions. Classic regions such as Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto will be showcased, but you will also expand your horizons by tasting wines from ancient growing regions from all corners of the country and neighboring islands. Expect to taste wines with regional personality that display a whole lot of soul and pedigree, from easy sipping value whites to limited reserve wines that are rarely poured stateside, and are highly allocated to the American market. I don't know any other Italian tasting that will be more informative and flavorful than this event.
San Francisco Tre Bicchieri Tasting
Wednesday, March 5th 2008
Herbst Pavillon - Fort Mason Center
Doors open for Press at 3:00 p.m.
General Admission 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Vinfolio has showcased several noted ‘Tre Bichieri’ winners in the past. Like Gambero Rosso’s mission, we also strive to secure and promote the best from Italy. A barrage of wineries has won multiple times over the years, and we are committed to sourcing these estates from both private collections and the Western European market.
Below is a list of estates that we have had the pleasure of showcasing both their older and more recent releases.
Piedmont: Gaja, La Spinetta, Elio Altare, Dominco Clerico, Giacomo Conterno, Matteo Correggia, Roberto Voerzio, Conterno Fantino, Aldo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa.
Tuscany: Fattoria di Felsina, Marchesi Antinori, Poliziano, Tenuta San Guido, Tenuta Fontodi, Isole e Olena, Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Querciabella, Casanova di Neri, Castello dei Rampolla, Montevertine and Tua Rita.
Veneto: Allegrini, Romano Dal Forno and Giuseppe Quintarelli.
