For the third consecutive year, Kenya has provided an exceptional showcase for our excellent wines. Thanks to Gambero Rosso, the well-known Italian brand and leader in food and wine media, synonymous with quality, in 2026 a large number of our local wineries (45 this year) brought their best products to the Shamba Events exhibition hall in Nairobi for the second African leg of the “Top Italian Wine Roadshow,” after Lagos, Nigeria.

This event not only allowed dozens of professionals and enthusiasts to deepen their knowledge of Italian fine wines, but also enabled Italian companies to better understand this emerging market and interact with local importers and distributors. For some years now, the African continent has been one of the ideal stages for introducing Italian food and wine, despite problems related to imports and taxes on alcohol. However, at a time when the US administration's tariff policy is creating problems for the most important market for Italian wine, countries such as Kenya remain windows to be opened and interesting rooms to be explored.

“We are talking about a market, the United States, which until yesterday brought us something like €2 billion a year,” explains Antonio Gaudioso, commercial director of Vecchia Cantina di Montepulciano, "and the second largest importer only brings in €600 million. There is no denying that the crisis brought about by Trump's tariffs will be felt this year. There is a need, which was already part of the overseas expansion policy, to explore new markets. In this scenario, the developing countries of Africa and India appear to be the most receptive and interesting." For Gaudioso, in Nairobi with his excellent labels that combine the tradition of Tuscan winemaking with the continuous evolution of cultivation and methods (the Vecchia cantina is the oldest wine cooperative in the region), abroad the importance of narrating our wine, of explaining the history and culture behind it and the peculiarities of the territory, goes hand in hand with quality and an exhaustive offer.

The Italian ambassador to Kenya, Vincenzo Del Monaco, also spoke on these issues at the Gambero Rosso event, recalling that our wine is an expression of our deepest traditions, complementing our varied cuisine with a complexity that ranges from simple to complex recipes, from the most refined to the most rustic. Vincenzo Del Monaco, also spoke on these issues at the Gambero Rosso event, recalling that our wine is an expression of our deepest traditions, complementing our varied cuisine with a complexity that ranges from popular recipes to unique pairings that our territory favors. He welcomed the initiative as a boost for the promotion of Made in Italy in a country like Kenya, which, year after year, appreciates it more and more. In 2023, Italian wine imports to Kenya reached $2.67 million, and exports increased by a further 12% in 2024. Italy currently accounts for 11% of the total value of wine imports to Kenya, ranking third among suppliers, behind only South Africa and France.

“If someone asks me why our bottle sales figures are lower than those of countries such as South Africa and France, I reply that even Ferraris sell much less than economy cars...” Del Monaco told us jokingly, off the record.

For Domenico Cescon, co-owner of a beautiful family business in Veneto that bears his surname, the African market is a good metaphor for the work of winemakers. “It teaches you that the best results come from waiting, from the slow ripening of things, from the long and careful process of moving from the vine to the cellar, from the bunch to the bottle. Even when looking for new markets, as in producing wine today, we must combine respect for traditions with new forms of communication, follow our path, but at the same time never stop daring.”

For many of the wineries present in Nairobi, exports represent the most significant share of their income, but this is not the case for everyone: South Tyrolean winemakers, for example, still rely heavily on the Italian market and also enjoy popularity in German-speaking Europe.

“But we are interested in Kenya,” explains Paul Tauferer, sales manager and partner of the Kurtatsch cooperative, a wine-making excellence in the autonomous region. "We know that our products are special, where attention, specificity, and territory prevail over quantity and standardization. We have products designed to be unique, such as our brut, which spends 60 months on the lees, or a Traminer with a distinctive aroma, creating an unmistakable trademark."

South Tyrol, with Kurtatsch and the other interesting winery Elena Walch, was one of the new additions to this year's edition of Gambero Rosso, along with the consolidation of an emerging region such as Abruzzo. The homeland of Montepulciano was represented by one of its historic and most popular wineries, Masciarelli. Its founder, Gianni Masciarelli, is the visionary who realized that Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was not just a “tavern” or “blending” wine, but a strength on which to build a uniqueness to be known throughout the world. Today, the company is run by Marina Cvetic, Masciarelli's wife, to whom he dedicated one of his iconic labels, among the most appreciated at the Roadshow.

For export manager Natalino Colantonio, “Trump's tariffs should serve as a stimulus to bring Abruzzo to the world, where it is not yet well known, with our history and a narrative that, while overused in Italy, becomes indispensable here to overcome price barriers, broaden awareness, and explain Italy's biodiversity.”

Another excellence of our wine scene also came from Abruzzo, the Tenuta Ulisse, which we have personally appreciated for some time.

Quality in the tradition of farming, refinement of simplicity, and continuous research for distinctive quality are the traits that stand out when tasting bottles that have amazed even Kenyans, who have been enjoying Italian wine for some years now.

With these players, in addition to the return of the Apulians (with the beloved Susumaniello), the expansion of the Friulians, and the usual great success of Veneto's Prosecco, Made in Italy in a bottle conquered Nairobi again this year. Some companies have already found importers, and others are in negotiations. But many will return next year “because it's nice to be here.”