Vinitaly Day at Eataly

Image from ChefsBlade.com

 I just walked over to Eataly on my lunch break to grab some bread and I found myself in the middle of a full-blown wine tasting event, "Vinitaly Day."

Eataly was bustling, as always, but this time the crowd was noticeably suave and stylish, congregating around the long tables with bottles upon bottles and Italian breads and crackers.  Apparently the tasting featured 200 wines from 50 Italian wine producers. Though the set-up facilitated easy movement for the most part, a couple tables were blocking the store goods, and I actually saw a patron asking one of the wine servers about the type of cheese she was blocking.

I was there for the trade tasting, which takes place today from 2PM – 6PM. The consumer tasting follows from 6PM – 9PM.  Tickets are $55 - a good price considering the selection.  And because 100% of the proceeds goes to The American Cancer Society.

After poking around on the internet I learned the event is part of a series sponsored by Vinitaly, the Ambassador organization of Italian wine and the largest wine fair in the world - host to 4,500 producers and 150,000+ visitors every April in Verona.

The Eataly event is part of Vinitaly Tour, a series of events in major cities throughout the world "to facilitate the collaboration and communication between Italian wine producers, key players of the wine sector and retail consumers," according to the website.

The best part about this? I came within a few feet of one of the proprietors, Lidia Bastianich; in fact I'm pretty sure I was captured in the background of a photo with her.  It's only a matter of time before I see Mario.