Great Italian wines have risen to the international forefront on the occasion of the Italian presidency of the UN Security Council, which began on November 1st after ten years of intermission.

The wines – all of special vintages with great prestige and image – were presented by the Italian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi, to members of the Security Council, including the major powers in the world, such as China, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States, to celebrate the historic event.

An initiative that is of considerable importance to quality Italian wine and places it at the attention of the most important international body. The finest wines, representing Italian wine ambassadors, given to ambassadors from member countries of the United Nations Security Council.

The selection of wines, which is the most exported Italian product in the U.S., was curated by the president of the Italian Wine & Food Institute, Lucio Caputo. Caputo chose select producers and wines to try to give the best possible image of Italian wine and to represent the most prominent winemaking regions of the country, together with the most important denominations and types of wines.

In order to express the overall excellence of Italian wine production as well as the diversity of Italian wines, red wines of particular vintages had been selected. All of these wines can age for longer periods, are already present in the American market, have vastly different organoleptic characteristics and originate from the most famous winemaking areas. Participation was completely free.

In presenting the initiative to the press, Caputo expressed his sincerest appreciation, together with that of Italian producers, to Ambassador Cardi for wanting to choose the wine as a significant business card from Italy to the UN Security Council. Caputo also warmly thanked the Italian producers who participated with great enthusiasm in the initiative, providing, despite the limited time available, what each of them judged to be its most precious gem.

All the wines were presented in wooden boxes and in elegant gift boxes, and were accompanied by a Bormioli decanter, a map by Civiltà del Bere showing the many Italian wines and wine regions of Italy, and an illustrative description specially prepared by IWFI on each producer and its wine.