Dimmed the lights over the horse racing season, last week end Saratoga Springs was the backdrop of the most important event of the end of the summer: the ever-popular “Wine and Food & Fall Ferrari Festival,” a showcase of Italy’s excellence in cuisine, fashion, and design.

Three days devoted to promote authentic Italian food and wines along with the best of the Italian lifestyle, from aperitif to fashion, from sports car to boats.
 

For the second consecutive year, Italy is represented in Saratoga Springs by the Italian Trade Commission, which is also main partner of the Wine and Food Festival. The event attracted four thousand visitors, some of them traveling all the way from other states.

In the beautiful Park of the Saratoga Performing Center [2], in the pavilion, which the Ice was in charge of, visitors and experts were able to sample wines, culinary specialties, and the best of the Made in Italy.
 

In its tenth edition this year, the Festival is an anticipated event in the rich calendar of the thermal town of Saratoga Springs, a green oasis in the Adirondack Mountains, just an hour drive from Lake George.

From commercial events, to food tasting, passing through a series of workshops held by American experts, the aim of the program of these 3 days of all-Italian flavor and taste was to demonstrate the winning and versatile nature of the Made in Italy.
 

Three names made the event exciting; they illustrated what Italians bring to their dining table the queen of Italian cooking, Lidia Bastianich [3]; the Italian cheese storyteller, Lou Di Palo [4]; and the celebrated wine expert, Kevin Zraly [5].
 

The whole week, wine stores and restaurants participated to the Festival promoting Italian food and wines.

“I am delighted that the Ice is participating for the second year in a row to the Saratoga Festival” said Aniello Musella, director of the Ice in the US. “It is an opportunity to evaluate the American consumers response to the quality and variety of authentic Italian products; elements which represent a winning advantage in a highly competitive market.”

The 2010 edition of the Festival saw the addition of the Italian fashion room, an exclusive display of high-end Italian fashion with the special presence of the fashion house Kiton.

“Kiton is a winning example of the synergy in the Italian fashion productive chain” said Antonio Paone, President of Kiton USA, who described the Fashion Room as a medium to convey to the American consumer the synthesis between creativity and sartorial tradition.

On the opening day, along with Aniello Musella, were the Upstate NY honorary vice-Consul, Stefano Acunto; the State Senator Roy McDonald; the State Deputy James Tedisco; Marcia White, President of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center; Bob Bailey of the Saratoga Automobile Club, and the designer Andrea Zagato. [6]
 

Marcia White expressed her delight for the presence of the Italian Trade Commission. “The participation of Ice as main partner confirms the high level of credit of the Saratoga Festival, as well as demonstrating the key role Italy plays in the international trade of wines and food.”

“We are grateful to the Ice,” she stressed “and to the Ministry of Economic Development for the extraordinary effort to promote the event.”

For the first time, the Festival hosted the “After Party Aperitivo: Celebrating Italian Cocktail Culture,” meant to showcase the social phenomenon of the aperitivo, so endured in the Italian culture and lifestyle.

An official toast to Italy and its products was initiated by the Mayor of Saratoga Springs, Scott Johnson, who officially declared the week “Italian wines week.”

(Translated by Alice Bonvicini)