News archive

  • March 10th, 2020

    Portfolio Tastings Update Regarding Coronavirus/COVID-19

    Dearest friends, clients, and colleagues,

    We want to thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm for our annual Grand Portfolio Tastings throughout the years. While we were happily looking forward to hosting our NYC and California events this May, unfortunately, we have decided that the safest course of action is to cancel the tastings this year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19. This has been a difficult decision to make, but the health and safety of our producers, employees, distributor partners, and attendees is of utmost importance.
    We look forward to seeing you in March of 2021 for our portfolio tastings in NYC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and wish you good health in the meantime.

    Warmly, Vias Imports

  • March 2nd, 2020

    Registration for 2020 Portfolio Tastings

    Registration for our New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco tastings can be found HERE, or viaswine.eventbrite.com. We look forward to seeing you at our tastings this year!

  • June 3rd, 2019

    Photos of Grand Portfolio Tasting 2019 NYC

  • April 30th, 2019

    Remembering Donald Shannon

    The VIAS family mourns the passing one of the company’s longest tenured and dedicated employees, Donald Shannon. Donald passed away on Sunday evening, April 28th from cardiac arrest. He was way too young, only 60 years of age. Donald has joined Vias in 1994 and he was always a committed, passionate member of the National Sales team. He survived many leadership changes, a fair amount of distributor changes in his market, and was always at the ready to provide his support, expertise, and dedicated service to whatever cause was needed. We grieve along with his two sisters, Mary, and Moira, his girlfriend of many years, Jane, as well as all of his close friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. We will always remember his laugh, his infectious wit, his brilliance, his kindness, and his race walking style of getting from one place to another (I could never keep up with him!). In this industry of always trying to tackle the next challenge, meet the next sales goal, handle the current emergency, it is important to take a step back and remember the people who we work with, who we spend a considerable amount of time with, and with whom we share this journey. Please take some moments to remember Donald. God bless.

  • February 1st, 2019

    Rosé Tasting 2019

    Join us at our third annual rosé tasting in NYC.

    The Leroy Room
    3 Leroy St. New York, NY
    2pm to 6pm
    trade and press only
    Please RSVP to events@viaswine.com

  • June 5th, 2018

    Summer Wine Tasting Photos, May 2018

    On May 21st 2018 we held our first annual Summer Wine Tasting, complete with crisp whites, rosés, sparkling wines, and light reds from Italy and around the world. The indoor garden setting and open roof at I Tre Merli served as the perfect backdrop for our tasting, especially since we were fortunate enough to have beautiful summer weather!

  • May 2nd, 2018

    Aldo Vacca visits NYC to present 2013 Crus

    We had the pleasure of hosting Aldo Vacca, managing director of Produttori del Barbaresco, on March 18th for a presentation of the nine 2012 Barbaresco Cru wines at Gattopardo restaurant.  

    The 2013 harvest will be remembered as a classic one, with picking operations progressing almost until the end of October (now a rare occurrence in Barbaresco). It started with a cold and wet, winter which caused a very delayed start of the growing season. Nebbiolo’s buds broke in Barbaresco around April 12th, almost two weeks behind average timing. Most of April and May were cold and quite wet with intense rainfall, over 8.0 inches in just 3 weeks, and the farmer’s skills were put to test due to mildew attacks right from the outset of the season. June and July were blessed with much better weather and both flowering and fruit set happened regularly. Needless to say July green harvest and careful canopy management were crucial in a vintage like such. Despite the good turnout of the second half of the summer, vines were not quite able to fully recover from the delay, and by early September, while the grapes were healthy, they were still quite behind schedule in the ripening process. September brought cool nights and warm, bright days, particularly in the second half of the month, and conditions remained fair also into October. Nebbiolo is a grape that benefits more from this climatic condition, properly developing to the full the phenolic profile that grants complexity and produces wines best suited for ageing. Thanks to the protracting good weather conditions, Produttori's farmers were able to wait and pick late, starting the harvest on October 10th and ending it a full two weeks later. An October harvest was the norm during the 1980s, but has become the exception as of late, when harvest usually happens around last week of September. Late-harvested grapes bring complexity into the wine, along with structure and ripe tannins combined with intense color, all qualities that will result in elegant, yet powerful wines of great balance and longevity. It will be a classic vintage for Barbaresco.

      Produttori del Barbaresco has grown to a 52 member co-operative with 250 acres of Nebbiolo vineyards in the Barbaresco appellation and an annual production of over 500,000 bottles. Its vineyards amount to almost 1/6 of the vineyards of the area. Each member is in full control of their land, growing Nebbiolo grapes with the skill and dedication they have honed over generations.

      Playing a key role in elevating the quality level of Barbaresco over the years, Produttori del Barbaresco produces a simpler Nebbiolo Langhe, a Barbaresco blend and nine single vineyard wines produced in premier vineyards: Asili, Rabajà, Pora, Montestefano, Ovello, Pajè, Montefico, Muncagota and Rio Sordo.

      Scroll to see photos of the seminar, 3/18/18  

  • February 27th, 2018

    Great success for the seminar “Vias Treasures” in Miami, with standing ovation to our CEO Fabrizio Pedrolli.

    Our seminar "Vias Treasures, a Journey through the Rarest Italian Grape Varieties" guided by Fabrizio Pedrolli in Miami during the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival was a great success with a sold- out attendance and a final standing ovation to Mr Pedrolli! The seminar, organized in collaboration with Wine Spectator magazine, explored the rarest grapes and wines found throughout Italy and it was a perfect opportunity to honor the philosophy and vision of our founder. As education has always been the cornerstone of Vias Imports, this seminar was be the ultimate way to give thanks to Fabrizio for his many teachings over the years. The wines we chose for this amazing journey were Cantine Colosi Salina Bianco Salina IGP 2016, Castello Di Spessa Golf & Wine Resort Pinot Bianco Collio DOC 2016, Montonale Orestilla Lugana DOC 2015, Hotel Weingut Pacherhof Sylvaner Alte Reben Alto Adige Valle Isarco DOC 2015; Azienda Agricola Tenuta Pederzana Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC 2015, Terre del Principe Vigna Piancastelli Terre del Volturno IGT 2011, Tenuta San Leonardo Carmenère Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2010 and Giancarlo Ceci Agrinatura Felice Ceci Nero di Troia Riserva Castel del Monte DOCG 2008. The seminar was moderated by Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator Senior Editor.

  • November 22nd, 2017

    Top 100 Wines of 2017

    We are proud and honored to have two wines in the Best 100 wines of the year 2017: Feudi del Pisciotto Versace Nero d'Avola 2015 is #96 in the Top 100 by Wine Spectator and Produttori del Barbaresco Rabaja' Barbaresco Riserva 2011 is #2 in the Top 100 by Wine Enthusiast! Congratulations to Feudi del Pisciotto and Produttori del Barbaresco for these amazing achievements, which inspire all us at Vias Imports to go higher and higher! Bravissimi!

  • November 10th, 2017

    Unforgettable San Leonardo Vertical Tasting at Wine Spectator

    It was a wonderful experience for us at Vias Imports to taste 12 vintages of Tenuta San Leonardo San Leonardo Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT in an unforgettable vertical tasting held at Wine Spectator offices with senior editor Alison Napjus. The wine, whose first vintage was 1982, is considered one of the greatest Italian red wine and one of the first Bordeaux blend of Italy. It was owner Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga to tell the story of this amazing Italian estate and to guide the tasting of some of the best vintages ever produced: 1986 - 1988 - 1990- 1995- 1996- 1997- 1999- 2000 - 2004 - 2006 - 2007 - 2011. It was a real voyage in the history not only of San Leonardo and Trentino, but also of Italy itself, and an attestation of the greatness of this Italian wine treasure and its incredible aging potential.