Tre Bicchieri heads to London

By Rob Brown

Published: 31 January, 2018

As UK sales of Italian wine continue to boom, some of Italy’s top winemakers are converging in London next week for Tre Bicchieri Grand Tasting.

The event will include two masterclasses giving insight into the booming Italian wine market and the announcement of the red, white and sparkling Italian wines of the year, judged by 60 tasters to values set by Gambero Rosso, publisher of the Vini d’Italia guide books.

For the first time the event will showcase a selection of value Italian wines that can be purchased in Italy for less than €13 a bottle.

In the first eight months of 2017, the value of UK imports of Italian wine hit €494m, a year on year rise of 8.3%, said the event’s organisers. The UK is the second biggest market for Italian wine, which commands the second greatest share of the market after Australian.

A key driver of Italian wine’s growth in the UK has been exploding sales of Prosecco in recent years. According to Kantar Worldpanel figures, supermarket sales of Prosecco surged by nearly a third in 2016 and have continued to soar.

Last year, The Co-operative Group said that it had its best ever year in terms of wine sales, thanks in no small part to its four Prosecco lines, which accounted for 65% of its sparkling wine sales. Aldi said its Prosecco sales had doubled.

The Tre Bicchieri Grand Tasting is coming to the Royal Horticultural Halls on Thursday, February 8, from 12pm – 6pm.

Visit www.winetecalondon.co.uk for more information.

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