Vinitaly Pairs the Best of Italian Wine With the Finest Russian Cuisine

A very successful Vinitaly Russia closes tonight with a special event dedicated to tasting the wines of one of Italy's iconic winemakers Angelo Gaja paired with exquisite foods from the Pushkin Cafe

News provided by

Veronafiere

Jun 23, 2010, 05:45 ET

MOSCOW, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The 7th annual Vinitaly Russia, organized by Veronafiere, Unione Italiana Vini, Buonitalia Spa and Unaprol, together with the Italian Trade Commission, closes this edition with a beautiful evening at the Italian Embassy in Moscow showcasing the best of Italian wines paired with the finest Russian cuisine.

This exclusive event, which will take place this evening, includes 70 influential Russian opinion leaders from the worlds of politics, finance, and culture as well as the top management of Banca Intesa, representatives from the Italian government and the Italian Embassy in Moscow.

The evening includes a menu of delicacies from the Pushkin Cafe in Moscow which serves the best that Russian cuisine has to offer. The combination with Angelo Gaja's wines will surely be a once in a lifetime experience.

Vinitaly Russia is the fourth location of this year's Vinitaly World Tour following events in India, Singapore, New York and the US Tour (Miami and Palm Beach). In September, Vinitaly will go to Sweden, in October to the US, while in November Vinitaly will be held in Japan, Korea and China.

Ettore Riello, President of Veronafiere stated that this seventh edition of Vinitaly Russia has included a roster of meetings, workshops, tastings and educational seminars between Moscow and St. Petersburg, markets that see an increase in Italian wine sales on a yearly basis. Appreciation in Russia for everything "Made in Italy" becomes more apparent each year from Extra Virgin Olive Oil to Pasta.

Current consumption in Russia is 7 liters of wine per person, per year, making it one of the largest wine consuming countries in the world. According to data from Wine Intelligence, the average consumer in Russia is young, between 18 and 30 years old, and female. About 95% of Russian wine consumers drink wine at home and buy it in supermarkets. This makes it an extremely interesting proposition for medium to high quality wines. It is a market of about 9 million consumers with 30 million potential consumers and, for the last 10 years, an upward trend in consumption.