All About Italy’s Italian Aperitif Week: 2nd Edition

• Leading Italian lifestyle publication “All About Italy” hosted a wine media and industry event on June 11th at Kesté Pizza e Vino (77 Fulton Street), serving classic Neapolitan and other Italian regional pizzas and pastas, to celebrate the beginning of Italian Aperitif Week (6/12-6/22) in New York City. Italian Aperitif Week brought the time-honored Italian tradition of relaxing over an appetite-stimulating drink and appetizers with friends to restaurants in Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn. Diners enjoyed a unique Prosecco DOC and Amaro-inspired cocktail paired with Ligurian specialties including focaccia secca and Genoese pesto at 10 different locations in New York City including:

1. Don Antonio
2. Ribalta
3. Sullaluna
4. Mozzarella e Vino
5. Keste Pizza & Vino
6. Audace
7. Osteria Brooklyn
8. Tarallucci e Vino
9. Ulivo
10. Bar Sprezzatura

Participants could vote for their favorite cocktail on https://italianaperitifweek.com.

Amaro from leading Italian producers Sangallo Distillery (Distilleria Cinque Terre), established 1923 in Genoa by Umberto Briganti (who named the Amaro after his wife Camatti), and the Tuscany-based Amaro Santoni, founded in 1961 by Gabriello Santoni, and the Veneto’s top Prosecco producers including Valdo and Mionetto were used to prepare the cocktails.

Italian Aperitif Week, was a collaborative effort between the Municipality of Genoa, the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, the Tuscany Tourism Board, and the Consorzio di Tutela Prosecco DOC, and was organized with the aid of the New York City-based Sally Fischer Public Relations (SFPR) team.

Chef Roberto Caporuscio gave wine industry attendees a preview of some Genoese specialties that would be offered during Italian Aperitif Week including a flatbread-style focaccia Genovese, fresh and flavorful pesto Genovese, finely textured soft polenta, and a perfectly baked Ligurian-style pizza topped with anchovies, among other Italian regional fare.

The Prosecco and Amaro cocktails flowed freely, while a delicate oil and citrus cake and a creamy gelato added a touch of sweetness to the festive, Italian-centered celebration.