Slow Wines on Tour

The first-ever English print edition of Slow Wine, Slow Food’s innovative new guide to Italian wines now in its second edition, is being unveiled next week in events in New York, Chicago and San Francisco on January 30, February 2 and February 4 consecutively.

Slow Wine 2012 provides a fresh look at the Italian wine scene, going beyond an evaluation of each wine’s sensory qualities to also consider wide ranging issues relating to the winery’s practices in the vineyard and cellar: terroir and tradition, environmental sensitivity, fair conditions and prices.

Produced and published by Slow Food Italy’s publishing house Slow Food Editore, this first English edition is published by Chelsea Green in the U.S. It features reviews of 400 different wineries – from some of Italy’s most renowned winemakers to small producers – each visited by Slow Food experts.

The three Slow Wine events next week – open to trade during the day and the public each evening – will offer the opportunity to taste many of these wines. In New York, wines from 70 Slow Wine producers will be on offer at the Metropolitan Pavilion on January 30; in Chicago 100 wines from 45 producers will be on offer at Spiagga on February 2; and in San Francisco, 120 wines will be presented as part of the Golden Glass event organized by Slow Food San Francisco on February 4. A complimentary copy of the book is included in evening ticket prices, which are discounted for Slow Food members.

“With Slow Wine we have changed the way of reviewing wine,” commented Marco Bolasco, CEO of Slow Food Editore. This new approach is apparent through the three symbols used in the guide to highlight the outstanding achievements of wineries in particular areas:

The Snail, the Slow Food symbol, signals a cellar that has distinguished itself through its interpretation of sensorial, territorial, environmental and personal values in harmony with the Slow Food philosophy.
The Bottle, allocated to cellars that show a consistently high quality throughout their range of wines.
The Coin, an indicator of great value

A German edition of Slow Wine has also been launched in 2012, and was presented by collaborating publisher Hallwag, Slow Food International and Slow Food Germany on January 16 in Munich.

To register for the Slow Wine events in the U.S., please click here.

For more information and to download the complete wine lists, please visit www.slowfood.it/slowine