Vinitaly producers toast to Taste of Hope's fund raising record

Taste of Hope, the American Cancer Society's annual exclusive food and wine tasting soirée, celebrated its tenth edition last Thursday by surpassing its fundraising goal of 200.000 dollars that will be used to support ACS's mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. The event was hosted at the newly opened Metropolitan West in New York where more than 800 guests mingled with the city's top-end chefs and tasted delicious fine Italian wines, which again were provided by Vinitaly International, the strategic arm abroad of Vinitaly.

"Taste of Hope is a great occasion to showcase our wines of Italy, but most importantly, it represents an opportunity to be involved in such a profound charity event supporting a worthy cause" commented Barbara Darra, Marketing Manager of Mezzacorona Group which with its 2600 hectare vineyard in Trentino Alto Adige and 900 hectares in Sicily, represents one of Italy's most dynamic and innovative wine producing firms. "This year the event welcomed fine Italian wines and excellent cocktails, paired with gourmet dishes from top NYC restaurants and chefs, all in support of the fight against cancer. As Mezzacorona we were delighted to participate again with our fellow producers and look forward to continuing our partnership together".

Zenato winery also confirmed once again its presence and support to the event with three of its red wines, Ripassa 2011, Alamera 2012 and Creasso 2008.

"This is the third consecutive year that we have accepted with great enthusiasm the invitation of Vinitaly International to support the event "Taste of Hope" said Nadia Zenato, "research is essential to fight against cancer, that nowadays is so widespread, and to improve life expectancy. It is important that everybody contribute to this cause even only with a small donation and we were glad to offer our support with our wines."

"Many companies now famous worldwide, can achieve major results which represent growth, employment and promotion" added Marilisa Allegrini of Allegrini Estates who thinks that it is therefore a moral duty of the business community to support important causes such as the fight against cancer. "It is a crucial contribution that, if carried out communally, can really be decisive and give added meaning to our role, our hard work and our impassioned enthusiasm".

During the course of the evening, Vinitaly International also showcased the labels of many other fine Italian wineries from the country's top wine producing regions, including Valpolicella based Tedeschi Winery that debuted at the event with its 2012 red wine Capitel San Rocco made using an ancient winemaking technique called "ripasso".
"My family and I were thrilled to be part of Taste of Hope, an excellent opportunity to contribute and help an important battle against cancer and at the same time an important showcase for our winery. First of all, thanks to all those who do research and to all guests who attended the event and financially supported the research itself. All of us can benefit from it! It is great to have event like this!"

The fine Italian Wineries that donated wines for this edition were: Mezzacorona, Zenato, Allegrini - Corte Giara, Tedeschi and members of the Consortium Italia del Vino (Banfi, Santa Margherita, Cantina Lunae, Cantine Ferrari, Casa Vinicola Sartori, Casa Vinicola Zonin, Gruppo Italiano Vini, Librandi, Marchesi di Barolo, Medici Ermete & Figli and Terredora)

During the event a silent auction featuring items fit for foodies, sports fans, Broadway enthusiasts and more, reigned in more than $21,000 in bids with items still available at the online auction: http://tastenyc15.auction-bid.org/micro2.php through May 11th.
For more information about the event, visit http://www.tasteofhopenyc.org, follow us on Twitter @VinitalyTour and the American Cancer Society on @ACSTasteofHope.

About:
Veronafiere is the leading organizer of trade shows in Italy including Vinitaly (http://www.vinitaly.com), the largest wine event in the world. The 48th edition of Vinitaly counted some 155,000 visitors (+6%) in four days of event, of which 56.000 were international attendees representing 36% of the total. On 100.000 square meters, 4.000 exhibitors welcomed trade professionals, media and producers alike. The next instalment of the fair will take place on 22 - 25 March 2015. The premier event to Vinitaly, OperaWine (http://www.vinitalyinternational.com) "Finest Italian Wines: 100 Great Producers," will unite international wine professionals on March 21st 2015 in the heart of Verona, offering them the unique opportunity to discover and taste the 100 best Italian wines, as selected by Wine Spectator. In 1998 Veronafiere also created Vinitaly International to develop a global platform for the promotion of Italian wine producers in foreign markets such as Russia, China, USA and Hong Kong.

Taste of Hope was founded in 2005 by the American Cancer Society. They created this fundraiser as a way to celebrate New York dining while raising funds to help underwrite the ACS's mission to fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. Between the early 1990s and 2013 the Society has seen a 20 percent decrease in the overall cancer death rate, which means they have helped to avoid about 1.2million cancer deaths and created the potential for more birthday celebrations.

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