L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano PAGE  16 THURS DAY,   FEBRUARY  7,   2013 Tre Bicchieri World Tour 2013 - Gambero Rosso presents the best Italian wines ROBERTO NATALINI The Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri World Tour returns to the United States for its muchawaited Tre Bicchieri Week. The American wine tasting will kick off in San Francisco on February 7th, followed by two other events in Chicago and New York, on February 12th and 15th. Gambero Rosso, renowned Italian food and wine magazine and publishing group founded in 1986, is nowadays reference model in Italy's culinary scene. Its name, literally translates as "red prawn", comes from a tavern in Pinocchio's tales where the Fox and the Cat dines. To be mentioned is the 1990 guide "Restaurants of Italy" by Gambero Rosso, this will soon become one of the first three leaders of the industry along with the Guide Michelin and L'Espresso. Tre Bicchieri World Tour, together with Top Italian wines Roadshow 2012/2013, is the main event dedicated to present the very best of Italian wines, awarded with highest marks in wine rating "Vini d'Italia". Over 200 wineries will be present. The tastings will also be the occasion for the presentation of the English-language edition of Vini d'Italia 2013. Launched in 1988, along with the first Gambero Rosso guide to Italian wine, it has been expanding in recent years, becoming the most influential both within Italy and internationally. It is also published in English translation under the title Italian Wines. From the 2010 edition, the guide is published without the participation of the Slow Food movement, following controversy over the removal of founder Stefano Bonilli from his position. Gambero Rosso, in the same year, also has made a digital version of the guides: Wines of Italy and Restaurants in Italy are now available on Apple iPhone. Wine ratings are built up on the number of glasses (bicchieri) awarded to a wine, which is indicated in the wine guide with a number of stylized glasses next to the wine's name. The highest rating is three glasses (Tre Bicchieri), and the wine guide only includes wines which are seen by the editors as "above average". The ratings are based upon blind tasting by independent experts. Three glasses indicate "extraordinary wines", two red glasses indicates a wine which was selected as a candidate for three glasses but did not make it all the way, two glasses indicate "very good wines", one glass indicates "good wines". In 2009, the Tre Bicchieri Tour visited the United States and Germany and added a stop in Montreal, Canada. The event, organized in collaboration with the Société des alcools du Québec (Québec Alcohol Corporation), was very successful. In 2010 the calendar was enhanced to include the Tour's first stop in Asia: Hong Kong. The city represents an important venue for the export of Italian wine. The high turn-out, especially among producers in the sector, confirm the success of the Gambero Rosso brand and recognition of its wine guides around the world. The 2012 international World Tour started its coast to coast swing in the United States, after presenting its premium group of award winners to the world. Only producers of a label that achieved Vini d'Italia's highest category, took part in this tour. Following the success of the tastings in Hong Kong and Shanghai, three events are now constantly scheduled in the United States: San Francisco, New York and Chicago. Only Tre Bicchieri recognized wines will be on the tasting tables. This year, from over 20,000 wines tasted by Gambero Rosso panels, only 375 labels attained that status. The opportunity to taste these top bottles Wines, newly-designed for 2012 in its trimmer format, the English-language version of Vini d'Italia, the definitive annual guide to the Italian wine marketplace. Each presentation aims to attract an audience of 1,0002,000 professionals involved in the food and wine sector: importers, wholesalers, retailers, caterers, restaurateurs, and the media, as well as a selected audience of consumers and enthusiasts. The Italo-Americano newspaper will be there, reporting the high appreciation of San Francisco Bay Area's fans. As a matter of fact, Tre Bicchieri is now considered the most important North American presentation of premium Italian wines. After this stage, the World Tour will move to Europe, to Düsseldorf, on March 23 for the ProWein show. Canada's turn will come in June, in Vancouver on June 3 and Toronto on June 5. Then the Tre Bicchieri Tour will visit Asia once again: Tokyo, November 1, Shanghai November 4 and Hong Kong, November 6. The final stop in the fall will be in Moscow on November 19. Only wineries that have had at least one wine awarded Tre Bicchieri in the Gambero Rosso guide can participate in this World Tour. This ranking indicates a wine of have made the three tasting events key February classics. Gambero Rosso will also present the 24th Edition of Italian absolute top quality, and is bestowed by the Gambero Rosso tasting panels only after a series of completely blind tastings.

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