Verona, October 13 2026. Market, sales channels, wine and catering lists, wine tourism and training. These are the main themes on the agenda at the 13th edition of the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum, the Veronafiere format specifically for professional operators in the sector - from Italian wineries to international operators - scheduled October 26th & 27th in New York. Twenty-two work sessions will be held alongside the matching of 300 Italian exhibitors at Vinitaly.USA with buyers expected from the United States, Canada and Mexico (currently more than 1000 have already pre-registered).
Hosted at Pier 36 in collaboration with ITA-Italian Trade Agency, wine2wine gets underway on Monday October 26th with a focus meeting looking into the future of wine tourism in Italy and the figures who guide wine travel choices in the USA. With backup from Vinitaly Tourism, the panel will feature Susan Kostrzewa, former editor of Wine Enthusiast and currently columnist for Resplendent Ink, Riley Pearce, director of Trip Development for tour operator Backroads, Cristina Mariani (owner and CEO of Banfi), and Seth Snider (co-founder of Your Private Italy, an operator specializing in tailor-made luxury trips to Italy).
Two panels developed by ITA-Italian Trade Agency will focus on the relationship between Italian wine and the American market. The proceedings get going with “Prospects for Italian wine in America: Building the next chapter in Italian-US wine relationships”, followed by the session dealing with “Italian producers and American Master Sommeliers: the questions that really matter”, with Master Sommeliers Laura DePasquale, Julie M. Dalton (Post Oak Hotel, Houston), Jonathan Eichholz (GuildSomm lecturer, with experience in New York's star restaurants), and Jim Bube (National Wine Director, Hogsalt restaurant group), moderated by Stevie Kim (Vinitaly managing partner) and Jenny Hemmer DipWSET, executive director of GuildSomm International.
The day moves on in the name of "Mario Soldati: why a great wine needs a great story” with Giuseppe Pastorelli (Consul General of Italy in New York), Chiara Soldati (Mario's niece and director of La Scolca winery), Claudio Pagliara (director of the Italian Cultural Institute in New York) and Silvia Baldini (communicator and vice president of ICIF, Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners). Scientific research and consumer habits are the focus of The science of drinking well. The wine way: wine, health and the Mediterranean lifestyle” with speakers Giovanni Scapagnini (full professor of Clinical Nutrition and Clinical Biochemistry, University of Molise, founder and vice-president of the Italian Society of Nutraceutics), Federico Veronesi (CEO of Signorvino), Aedin Cassidy (Chair of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine and director of interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast) and Immaculata De Vivo (professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and professor of Epidemiology at Harvard TH. Chan School of Public Health), moderated by journalist Felicity Carter, founder of Drinks Insider.
The schedule in New York also includes four master classes on October 26th. From Sardinia's native grape varieties discussed by Stephanie Johnson (DipWSET and IWE) to the Classic Method outlined by Wine Enthusiast with Jeff Porter (IWA), from Friuli Venezia Giulia to “Sauvignon, Ramato and wines that defy expectations”, both curated by Filippo Bartolotta.
The first day closes with Alison Napjus and Bruce Sanderson, who will announce the wineries selected by Wine Spectator for Vinitaly OperaWine 2027 (on Saturday April 10th in the Gallerie Mercatali, Verona).
Wine tourism comes to the fore again on the second day of the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum (Tuesday 27 October) with two events. Work gets underway with the session organized by ITA-Italian Trade Agency: “From the wine cellar to the itinerary: how the international tourism industry sells Italian wine tourism”, hosted by Sara Magro, director of The Travel News. Then comes the Ministry of Tourism backed up by ENIT (Italian National Tourism Agency) organizing a Vinitaly-style meeting in New York for the first time. “The Future of Wine Tourism in Italy: destinations, experiences and opportunities for the global market” is the topic discussed by Ivana Jelinic, CEO and acting president of ENIT, and Gianluca Caramanna, advisor to the Minister of Tourism.
From itineraries to consumption, distribution, and even restaurant wine lists. Wine2wine enters the crux of the matter by investigating “Where wine can grow: how winemakers can win over Millennials and Gen Z of legal drinking age” hosted by Erica Duecy, a journalist specializing in the wine market and founder of Business of Drinks, talking with Max Rohn. The program then focuses closely on Texas to interpret a diversified market across three cities: Dallas, Houston and Austin. The topic will be discussed by Steven McDonald MS, Tian Lewis DipWSET, Austin Farina (head of the wine program and operations of MML Hospitality, a group active in five American states with restaurants, hotels and business activities), and June Rodil MS. Later, Francis Creighton, president and CEO of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), Sean O'Leary, an attorney specializing in alcohol regulation and direct wine sales in the US, and Bartholomew Broadbent, importer and founder of Broadbent Selections (representing more than over 30 international producers in the US), will analyse “How the three-tier wine distribution system in the United States really works”.
The two-day wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum event closes with five master classes, starting with those dedicated to the many faces of Friuli Venezia Giulia wines, from high altitudes to sweet versions, curated by Filippo Bartolotta. The “Beyond Nebbiolo and Sangiovese” tasting is dedicated to Italian varieties: Italian grape varieties that young sommeliers should highlight today” guided by Stephanie Johnson (DipWSET and IWE) and Jack Liggett (DipWSET, IWE), accompanied by the Decanter event “The regional character of Italy: award-winning quality and territorial identity” hosted by Michaela Morris. The training program will conclude with a tasting organized by the Vinitaly International Academy: “Beyond the basics: tasting Italy” with Sarah Heller MW.