The event was not only excellently successful, but also took care of the smallest details to make it an elegant and at the same time convivial showcase, but above all commercially useful for promoting Italian wine in Kenya and, through its culture, Made in Italy in general.
Gambero Rosso's 'Top Italian wine roadshow 2024', of which Nairobi is for the first time one of the international stages, held yesterday at Shamba Events in the capital, attracted many wine enthusiasts, wine experts and experts not only from Kenya, but also from many neighbouring countries and even from West Africa.

The Ambassador of Italy to Kenya, Roberto Natali, opened with Gambero Rosso CEO Luigi Salerno and Kenya Tourist Board Communications Manager Wausi Walya a kermesse that showcased 35 Italian wineries of excellence that have received the famous 'bicchieri' from Italy's and Italy's most famous food and wine guide over the past 17 years.
Natali recalled how the promotion of wine and food products abroad is a priority of the Italian government. "Events like this one by Gambero Rosso present one of Italy's excellences, represented by wine," the Ambassador added, "and it will not be the only one this year, next July the Embassy, with the support of the Italian Trade Agency will organise another similar event to promote our food and wine. Kenyans increasingly appreciate Italian wine, thanks also to the industriousness of our restaurateurs in the country, and imports in the last year have grown by 17%, putting Italian wine in third place, after South Africa and France'.

Also very satisfied with the choice of Nairobi and the response of the Kenyans was the International Director of Gambero Rosso, Tiina Eriksson.
"We have focused on one of the markets in which Italian wine has so much space to make itself known," Eriksson explained to the portal of Italians in Kenya, "and many of the wineries that are with us on our world tours have enthusiastically signed up. We are overjoyed, because coming together helps us promote ourselves better. Every year we compile a shortlist of new markets, and we have been following Nairobi for some time, both for the signs of growth in the spread and passion for wine, and as a hub for sub-Saharan Africa'.
Gambero Rosso, Italy's leading food and wine media company, promotes the culture of wine and its trade in a way that captivates the Kenyan public, which showed great interest not only during the tastings, but in learning about the territories, techniques and methods used to achieve excellence such as those proposed by the wineries present in Nairobi.
"We also tell about the lifestyle that accompanies drinking well,' Tiina Eriksson confirms. 'It is a calling card for the whole of Made in Italy, and this mood made up of the pleasure of being together and positivity has been grasped in the right way by the media and institutions. We have sown well with this first roadshow and hope to return soon'.

The wineries' stands were packed, with great interest in Prosecco, king of tastings, and rosé wines. But the more experienced and insiders were able to taste structured whites, reserve reds, and other 'goodies' representing not only the best known and most exported regions, such as Tuscany, Veneto, and Piedmont, but also Puglia, Sicily, Abruzzo, Lazio, and Friuli, for example.

"We consider Kenya to be one of the most interesting markets both for its attractiveness to tourism and for the growth of interest in wine on the part of the local population," Consuelo Donetto, export manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa of the Treviso-based company Villa Sandi, explained to Malindikenya. "We are focusing on the Kenyan market because it can act as a driving force for the whole of Africa, a continent where wine culture can bring a new approach to Made in Italy.

Along the same lines are the representatives of Zorzettig, another renowned winery seeking its space in Kenya.
"It is an interesting and young market, we have met people who want to combine wine with the history and culture of our country, so we think it is the right time to promote even lesser-known wines that have behind them a world that recalls the peculiarities of our country".
A growing export market is that of Sicilian wine. Patricia Romero, export sales manager of Firriato, a winery that presents excellent products from the Etna and Trapani areas, including a zibibbo that enchanted those present, is convinced of the great interest of the Kenyans for new quality Italian wines.
'We have done a lot of research and we can say that the Kenyan market is a market ready to broaden its horizons towards the vast panorama of Italian wine, exploring its regions and different grape varieties'.

In the same vein are those on the rise such as Salento (to mention a splendid reserve from the Apollonio cellars) and Abruzzo, with variations on the theme of Montepulciano, depending on whether it is blended with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Sangiovese. Without disturbing the already consecrated Tuscan Chianti, of which, however, bottles are proposed that are the result of refinements and studies that can not only conquer new markets and palates that are almost 'virgins' of oenological culture, but also overturn the classic narrative about the most famous trademarks in Kenya in those who propose and sell them. Villapicciola, with its pure Tuscan Sangiovese, is the perfect example.

Also landing in Nairobi is Lazio, a region that is perhaps among the least known for its wine internationally, and even at home is too tied to its origins of sincere peasant wines or 'ready-to-drink', as they say. On the other hand, the Poggio Le Volpi and Casale del Giglio wineries brought wines that, while exalting their ancient territory and its indigenous vines, such as the bellone bianco and cesanese rosso, produce bottles of quality and very suitable for export, such as the 'Roma', which has not only its name to attract attention, but also the quality of the best of the crops of the eternal city and its territory.

Lastly, in the splendid setting of the Gambero Rosso event, there was time to get to know family businesses that with courage but also great professionalism have launched themselves towards Africa, such as the Sorelle Bronca winery, which produces a superior prosecco, or La Tordera, which while agreeing to propose its bubbles in Nairobi, immediately found an importer, among other things not Italian.

Thirty-five wineries, each with their own why and some even in tune with the emerging Kenyan professionalism, so much so that they hired local sommeliers who were able to create a bridge between Italian expertise and the enthusiasm of being able to pass on their young Kenyans' knowledge.
This is another reason why the Gambero Rosso event in Nairobi was more than successful: it was not just a promotion, but a showcase of the culture and approach to life and Africa of the Italian people and their companies.