MAY 20248IN MY OPINIONAfter 15+ years in the wine industry and specifically in the business of representing Italian wines/culture in Massachusetts, I wanted to share a bit of my experience. Growing up in Italy, it is a fact that food, first and foremost, and wine, a bit later, are two of the pillars of our culture and who we are, and especially in Southern Italian, there is an amazing connection between our culinary traditions and obviously many of the great and world-renowned wines of Campania. Studying hospitality in my hometown, Salerno, and then being able to travel throughout Italy and then England for work experiences opened up my horizons to the broader and quite amazing world of the hospitality industry. After completing my studies and several years of experience in Europe, I finally landed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1999 and continued my career in hospitality and every day, becoming more fascinated with the world of wines and, more specifically, Italian wines.Going back 20 years, I embarked on a journey of wine learning that never stopped. I remember that when I first started being more interested in (Italian) wine education, not many courses were available at all here in Boston, but my hunger for learning did not stop me from sourcing every possible book I could find online, and I would order them from both Italian bookstores as well as any others I could find here in the US. Fortunately, during the many years, several great organizations for all folks about Italian wines (and beyond) have become available, such as the Wine Scholar Guild and Vinitaly International Academy (with whom I collaborated in re-writing a section for the second edition of Italian Wine Unplugged), providing a fantastic educational platform and I became certified both as an Italian Wine Scholar as well as an Italian Wine Ambassador. One certification at a time, I got more and more involved in the Italian wine scene here in Massachusetts, CULTURE AND TRADITION OF ITALIAN WINESBY CIRO PIRONE, DIRECTOR OF ITALIAN WINES, HORIZON BEVERAGECiro Pirone
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