Valentino's Piero Selvaggio to become Italian wine Hall of Famer

One of the highlights of the Italian Trade Commission's Vino 2009 U.S. wine convention this weekend in New York will be the induction of eight wine-industry professionals into the commission's newly created Distinguished Service Hall of Fame. Two Californians--Valentino's Piero Selvaggio and Corti Bros.' Darrell Corti--are among the inductees.

Since its mandate is to promote trade and industrial cooperation between Italy and foreign countries, it's little wonder that the commission has found that focusing on Italian wine is good for business. It is also little wonder that Selvaggio and Corti made the organization's short list.

In Italy wine is often taken for granted

Italy and France are the two biggest wine producers in the world, and Italy has more land under the vine than any other country in the world, with the exception of Spain.

Unlike either France or Spain, the Italians cultivate grapes almost everywhere on the Italian peninsula, from the Alps in the north to the islands that are closer to the north coast of Africa than the Italian mainland. The Danzante Pinot Grigio we review this week is a light, fresh wine made from grapes grown in North East Italy.

The three northeastern areas where the fruit is sourced are Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Together they form a region known as Tre Venezie. The land is at high altitude and subject to cool summers, while warm winds blow in from the Adriatic Sea.

Learn the ABC's of Italian Wine

Can’t pronounce “Fiano d’Avellino,” let alone describe its taste?

Savona, Gulph Mills’ upscale French and Italian restaurant, hopes to change that.

On Friday, January 9 at 5:30 p.m., Savona’s sommelier, Melissa Monosoff, will host an evening of wine tasting and education that will feature six wines from southern Italy, including: Fiano d’Avellino, Greco di Tufo, Grillo, Nero d’Avola, Primativo and Aglianico.

The event costs $35 per person, and includes samples of each vintage (three whites and three reds), as well as hors d’oeuvres prepared by Savona’s executive chef Andrew Masciangelo.

Italian sparkling wine exports blossom

Italy's sparkling wine exports registered a 29% increase in sales last year, with UK sales rising nearly 100%.

According to Italy's sparkling wine trade body, the Forum Spumanti & Bollicine, sales rose to 1.6m in value and were up by 11% in volume on 2007.

This is the first time exports of Italian sparkling wine (Spumante) have overtaken national sales, said Giampietro Comolli, President of the Forum.

'Spumante is clearly overriding Champagne and seducing foreign markets because it beats other sparkling wines on the merit of its quality-price ratio,' he said.

Europe is the largest importer of Italian sparkling wines, taking almost three quarters of total exports.