A wine seminar I attended in New York recently, focused on Barolo and Barbaresco. The Master Class instructor was Ian D’Agata, the director of the Rome-based International Wine Academy that he started in 2002. For over 25 years D’Agata has written about wine and is the 2007 recipient of the prestigious award for “Best Young Italian Wine Journalist.”

Forget about Fashion Week, it is Italian Wine Week and Vinitaly International that should take center stage and receive the media coverage that skirts and dresses attract. Italian Wine Week brings wine growers, wine makers, wine buyers, wine sellers, wine drinkers, wine educators, and journalists to a variety of venues to experience the breadth and depth of Italian wines.