Three hundred Italian companies, 2,500 labels and over a thousand pre-registered commercial operators. These are the numbers with which Vinitaly. USA opened its third American edition on Monday, October 26, the first organized in New York. The event, promoted by Veronafiere along with the ICE Agency, takes place at Pier 36, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and continues until Tuesday 27 October. The ICE President Matteo Zoppas, the president of Veronafiere Federico Bricolo and Alessandro Del Piero, attended the opening.
Vinitaly. USA is the American version of the exhibition held every year in Verona. The first two American editions were held in Chicago; the transfer to New York aims to reach a greater number of importers, distributors, restaurateurs and industry operators. It is not a trade show aimed primarily at consumers, but a commercial event where wineries present their wines, meet potential buyers and seek new distribution channels. For this edition, buyers from 35 countries were involved, with a particularly significant presence of US operators.
The United States is the industry’s largest non-European export market. According to the data of the UIV-Vinitaly Observatory, approximately 35 million Americans consume Italian wine, while the usual consumers of wine in the United States are almost 90 million. The difference between these two numbers indicates, according to the organizers, a potential market of over 50 million people who already drink wine but do not necessarily choose Italian products. It is not a question of new consumers to approach, but of people who already buy wine from other sources.
The market, however, passes through a complicated phase. In the United States, the consumption of wine is changing, especially among younger generations, and companies have to deal with a greater attention to price and beverages with less alcohol content. Italian producers are trying to consolidate their position by focusing on categories that maintain a significant demand, such as Prosecco, and on higher-end wines. For smaller companies, which do not have a commercial structure in the United States, meetings such as those organized in Vinitaly can be an opportunity to contact directly with importers and distributors.
During the inauguration, Matteo Zoppas, President of the ICE Agency, recalled the need to coordinate the work of institutions and enterprises to support exports. “But as today it is essential to make a system to support the Italian wine sector. New York is a strategic gateway to the entire American market and Vinitaly USA is a concrete tool for commercial development”.
Next to Zoppas was Federico Bricolo, president of Veronafiere, who indicated the United States as the main reference market for the international expansion of the event. Bricolo explained that the objective is to strengthen existing trade relations and to reach new consumers, at a stage where competition between producer countries is particularly intense. The presence in New York is part of a strategy that aims to make Vinitaly a commercial appointment active outside Italy, as well as the traditional Verona fair.
Among the guests of the inaugural day there was also Alessandro Del Piero, intervened as Serie A Ambassador within the project Serie A – Made in Italy, promoted by the ICE Agency along with the League Serie A. The former captain of Juventus participated in the opening ceremony and received from Zoppas and Bricolo a celebratory mesh of collaboration. «I prefer Italian wine», said Del Piero a Italpress, joking about the relationship between wine and sport: “We find the right combination and we can both drink wine and play football”. Its participation is part of the use of the international reputation of Italian football to promote national products abroad.
The event hosts producers and consortia from many Italian regions. Among the names represented are Brunello di Montalcino, Prosecco DOC, Asti DOCG, Lugana, Sicilia DOC and Vini delle Venezie. The program includes professional tastings, meetings with distributors and over twenty sessions of the wine2wine Vinitaly Business Forum, also dedicated to catering, training of operators and wine tourism. There is also a space dedicated to Italian extra virgin olive oil, with producers and tastings organized in the context of SOL Expo.
The inaugural ceremony also included the Italian ambassador in the United States Marco Peronaci, the Consul General in New York Giuseppe Pastorelli and Riccardo Guariglia, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida intervened with a video message, recalling that in 2025 the world exports of Italian wine reached approximately 7.8 billion euros.
The weight of the United States also explains the concerns of companies for the performance of sales. According to ISTAT data analysed by WineNews, in the first five months of 2026 Italian exports of wine to the United States reached 709 million euros, while in the entire 2025 the American market had absorbed approximately 1,75 billion euros, almost a quarter of the value of Italian exports of the sector. To affect the commercial perspectives are the duties and change of consumption habits, two factors that make it more difficult to predict the trend of sales.
The final day of today, October 27, will be dedicated to meetings between companies and operators and deepenings on international markets.
L’articolo Vinitaly debuts in New York with 300 Italian companies and Alessandro Del Piero proviene da IlNewyorkese.
