A tasting of wines from Italy in Montreal November 2

It was in the beautiful venue of Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal that took place the annual event A tasting of wines from Italy organized by the Italian Trade Agency. For its 27th edition, the 2022 A tasting of wines from Italy event welcomed 100 Italian producers from 15 regions and featured 500 products.

According to the press release, "Italian wine on the Canadian market is doing wonderfully well. The numbers speak for themselves: the value of imports in the last 10 years has increased very rapidly, from $301 million to $540 million, with a growth of 71%.

Italy is the leading exporter of wine to Canada in terms of quantity, with 55 million liters shipped in the first eight months of 2022 and an increase of 12% over the same period of the previous year (source: Statistics Canada). In terms of value, during the first eight months of 2022, Italian wine exceeded 422 million Canadian dollars, becoming the fourth largest destination market in the world for Italian wine; it was fifth in 2021.

Italian wine accounts for one-fifth of provincial monopoly sales, with 467 million litres sold for a value of 8.5 billion Canadian dollars. The provinces of Quebec and Ontario represent respectively 45% and 33% of Italian wine sales, which in the first eight months of 2022, reached 69 million liters for a value of 1.4 billion Canadian dollars. Italian winemakers are increasingly becoming leaders in Canada." This year's event included two masterclasses: one on Italian organic wines in the morning and a second masterclass in the afternoon dedicated to Pinot Grigio from Delle Venezie.

The masterclass on Italian organic wines was hosted by Master of Wine Jacky Blisson and featured these 6 wines:

(1) "Otto" Soave Classico DOC 2021 from Veneto, a lovely monovarietal 100% Garganega with aromas and flavours of pear and white peach. Available at the SAQ at $20.

(2) Falerio DOC 2021 from Marche, a blend of Chardonnay, Passerina, Pecorino and Trebbiano. Nice herbal and buttery on the palate.

(3) Rosato Toscana IGT 2020 from Tuscany, a fun rosé with 80% Carignan and 20% Alicante Nero.

(4) Terre in Fiore Bardolino DOC 2020 from Veneto, a blend of 30% Corvina, 30% Molinara, 30% Rondinella and 10% Merlot. Available at the SAQ at $17.75.

(5) Nero d'Avola Sicilia IGT 2019 from Sicily, a good monovarietal.

(6) Vincaia Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano DOCG 2018, a good monovarietal 100% Sangiovese.

Interesting fact I learned in this Masterclass: Sicily is the first Italian region dedicated to organic viticulture.

The masterclass in the afternoon dedicated to Pinot Grigio delle Venezie also featured 6 wines:

(1) from Gruppo Mezzacorona in Trentino. Available at the SAQ at $15.55.

(2) from Cantine Riondo in Verona.

(3) from Dal Cero - Tenuta Corte Giacobbe. Available at the SAQ at $19.15.

(4) from Enoitalia Spa.

(5) from Perlage. Available at the SAQ at $15.70.

(6) from Cantina Lavis e Valle di Cembra.

In addition to the wines featured in the two masterclasses, there were also many other Italian wines to discover in the tasting room. The variety available was incredible!