Made in Italy. Put like that, it sounds like an advertising exercise and nothing else, an all-out effort aimed at trade, trusting in our great peculiarities.
On the other hand, it is always gratifying to see that in Kenya, our institutions, and not only the cultural office of the embassy, which is naturally inclined to these things, always showcase Italy and its excellence (an overused word, but it gives the idea), making it a discourse of culture, of unique and ancient traditions, of craftsmanship, of ecodiversity, of connections with arts and crafts.
Once again, in Nairobi, Made in Italy was showcased in this way and the Italian Trade Agency took care of it, setting up the first edition of the expo 'Italy meets Kenya, food wine & more', an event that ended yesterday and combined the wine sector, food products and services related to catering and hospitality.
The event saw the participation of 24 Italian companies, particularly wine cellars, as well as importers and local producers, but above all it attracted potential customers from all over East Africa, experts, media and insiders.
Inaugurated on Tuesday by the Italian Ambassador to Kenya, Roberto Natali, the event was a great success (sold out) for the three masterclasses on Italian wine, with tastings and in-depth discussions by winemaker Patricia Toth, who came especially from Italy, and the well-known Kenyan sommelier Victoria Mulu-Munywoki. As the director of ITA's Kenyan office, Giuseppe Manenti, said, 'not just a lesson with tastings, but a virtual cultural and orographic journey through the Italian regions and their wine production. That is why we wanted to title the masterclasses 'The great viticultural mosaic called Italy' and the idea met with great interest'.
The wine producers and distributors also attracted great interest, with endless tastings accompanied by gastronomic proposals of strictly imported products, thanks to Gourmet Master, or fresh and produced in Kenya according to the art of our house, as in the case of Queen Deli's mozzarella or Mimmo's ice cream from 'La casa di Nico'. Products made available by those who already supply large and small Italian brands in Kenya (from Divella pasta imported by New Italycor to Granarolo dairy products from Vinyasa, in addition to the aforementioned colleagues) then elaborated in the kitchen by the wisdom of chef Luca Mastromattei, by now a faithful follower of the events that exalt the flavours of our country in Kenya.
Telling the art of the winemakers, the vines the terroirs, the different ageing techniques, inviting people to enjoy the scents and roundness of truly special bottles, and seeing Africans become passionate and consider it not just a drink, but an experience, is an all-Italian affair.
Thanks to those who continue to promote our products and import them, making Italian wine climb the rankings of the countries that import and sell the most. If it were not for South Africa's proximity and fiscal facilities, we would only be competing with our French cousins.
This is why so many companies focus on Kenya and sometimes it is the first approach to Africa.
"It is a market in great growth," confirms Matteo Ozzano, owner of the international distribution company of the same name that represents 25 wineries from various regions of Italy, "and it is by far the African nation most interested in our wines, also because its central position makes it a hub for all the other countries and their traders. As we talk, the most important Tanzanian importer, of French origin (and that's saying something...) is tasting and taking notes. Surely by the end of the day he will have snatched up contracts and exclusives.
A similar discourse is addressed by the Abbazia winery, which in terms of exports does not limit itself to offering wines from its Piedmont region, where it was born in the 19th century as a family business (a story shared by many), but also creates its own prosecco, giving an elegant tone to the glera grape that is the basis of one of the most famous bubbles in the world, and certainly the most famous in Kenya.
"You will see that in no time Kenyans will go crazy for the spritz, which has not yet fully caught on," says Abbazia's sales manager, Roberto Bosca.
At the expo there are also realities that have been in the area for years and are now fixed points, carrying high the flag of our oenology: the Sicilian Planeta and Settesoli, which have always been marketed by Gigiri's Enoteca, with the perfumes and consistency of its Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese, and Etna Rosso, but also with very elegant novelties; there are the Astoria wineries, among the first to conquer all of Kenya, not just Nairobi; there is Marramiero, which has planted its wine like a flag of wonder, having already set its sights on Kenya for other projects, including social and sustainable building initiatives, there is the classy Giusti, by now a certainty and no longer a 'niche treasure', between the quality bets of importer Stefano Libianchi and a more recent but firmly rooted in large-scale distribution such as Bottega.
The final citation and, if I may say so, of personal pleasure, is the explosion of Puglia and its wines, which we had already positively appreciated in the African leg in Nairobi of the Gambero Rosso, to which this event in terms of the competence of the representatives and the pleasure of the tasting came very close.
Alongside cornerstones such as Primitivo and Negramaro among the reds, and Susumaniello for the rosé, we would like to point out for the whites in particular Giustini's Fiano di Puglia 'Avoglia', with its pleasant acidity and perfume quite different from the better-known Campania variety, and the originality, as well as the class and evocations in the mouth, of Viglione's Negroamaro bianco, ready in my opinion to conquer the African market, and the lively consistency of Varvaglione's Susumaniello rosé. As for the reds, a mention of merit for 'Marpione', which is not dedicated to yours truly, but is a signor primitivo riserva, Giustini's Negroamaro 'Vecchio sogno' and the Aglianico dei Monti Taurasini 'Eremo San Quirico' distributed by Ozzano.
We would start the tour again now, but we are Italians in Kenya, it doesn't count!