Vinitaly to Ring Closing Bell at NASDAQ on January 24 with Top Italian Wine Producers Allegrini & Banfi and The American Cancer Society

NEW YORK, NY, January 26, 2011 (Press-News.org) Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere, organizers of Vinitaly and the Vinitaly World Tour, will ring the closing bell at The NASDAQ Stock Market on January 24, 2011 together with executives from the American Cancer Society and two of the leading Italian women in wine: Marilisa Allegrini from Allegrini Wines and Cristina Mariani-May, CEO of Banfi Vintners.

Mantovani and his general coordinator of Vinitaly International, Stevie Kim, view the ringing of the bell at NASDAQ as a symbol of Vinitaly's commitment to the American market and its impact on Italy's wine economy, and to the ever-expanding relationship between Italian wine producers and American consumers.

"We're thrilled at this exciting opportunity to be part of the closing ceremony. The United States is the most important market for Italian wine and we want to underscore our commitment to the American wine drinking public," said Giovanni Mantovani. "I'm also very proud to stand here with two women who symbolize the best in Italian quality wines, Cristiana Mariani-May and Marilisa Allegrini, who are part of a new generation of winemakers."

Ranked as the number one imported wine in America last year, Italian wine has thrived even during the recent economic crisis. Controlling 32.5% of the imported wine market in the first half of 2010, Italian wines have a price/quality ratio that hits American consumers' sweet spot at a time when wines from other countries often struggle with price point and supply issues. Having such a stronghold in the largest wine market in the world distinguishes Italy from many winegrowing regions of the world.

A decidedly national product, the importance of wine production to Italy's export sector cannot be overstated. In the first six months of 2010 alone, Italy exported over a million hectoliters of wine worth $521 million to the United States. Unlike many industries in Italy that are concentrated in a specific region, wine plays a role in the economies of all 20 Italian regions.

The ringing of the bell at the NASDAQ is part of an event held in conjunction with the American Cancer Society. Vinitaly is hosting a wine tasting with wines from Allegrini and Banfi at the American Cancer Society to benefit the organization. This is the second event that Vinitaly has held with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. Total proceeds from the two events will exceed $40,000.

"Vinitaly is proud to support the great work that the American Cancer Society does to benefit people around the world. We're proud to sponsor this second event and hope to continue this wonderful relationship into the future," Mantovani said.

These events are also part of VINO 2011, known as Italian Wine Week in New York which takes place from January 23 to January 27. Vino 2011 is the third annual event and is organized by the Italian Trade Commission.

Vinitaly is presenting its' project to celebrate 150 years of Italian unification at a breakfast on January 25 as part of Italian Wine Week. They are producing two commemorative bottles, a white wine and a red wine, using 40 indigenous varietals from the 20 Italian regions. The grape varietals will be unveiled at the breakfast while the bottles themselves will be presented at Vinitaly's annual wine fair in April of this year.

For more information please visit http://www.vinitalytour.com

About Veronafiere
Veronafiere is the leading organizer of trade shows in Italy including Vinitaly, the largest wine event in the world. In 2010, over 4,000 exhibitors showcased their wines to 150,000+ visitors (almost 1/3 from outside of Italy representing over 100 countries) from the wine trade world as well as wine lovers. Veronafiere created the Vinitaly World Tour in 1998 to develop an international platform for the promotion of companies in the Italian wine and food sectors. Today, through a partnership with Buonitalia SpA and the Italian Trade Commission, the Vinitaly World Tour travels to many of the most important wine markets in the world including China, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Russia and the United States. For more information, visit http://www.vinitalytour.com.

About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation's largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.