SLOW WINE GUIDE 2018 RELEASED IN US TOUR DEBUTS CALIF WINE GUIDE

SLOW WINE 2018 MAKES DRAMATIC STATEMENT IN TASTING AT 4 WORLD TRADE CENTER

By Dwight Casimere

NEW YORK--Eataly Downtown in 4 World Trade Center was the scene of the dramatic release of SLOW WINE GUIDE 2018. Besides presenting more than 2000 wines that are produced with consideration to wine quality, terroir, value for money and recognition of the importance of the estate's production methods. For the first time, the Slow Wine Guide is also includes a guide to California wine. The wineries are reflective of the incredible biodiversity of grape varieties and for their work with respect for the environment and traditional techniques.

TRE BICCHIERI 2018 GAMBERO ROSSO US TOUR CELEBRATES THE ACADEMY AWARDS OF ITALIAN WINES

200 0F  ITALY'S FINEST WINERIES DESCEND ON FOUR US CITIES

Gambero Rosso Senior Editor Marco Sabellico at the Tre Bicchieri event at the Metropolitan Pavilion New York City


BY DWIGHT CASIMERE

The 200 best Italian winemakers from Italy made their way to four American cities, New York's Metropolitan Pavilion , Chicago's Bridgeport Arts Center, Los Angeles's Magic Bar at the Reef and San Francisco's Fort Mason Center, for the Italian Academy Awards of Wines, Tre Bicchieri (three glasses) 2018. The wines were a robust selection from both legendary and new wineries in all of the major Italian wine growing regions; Tuscany, Sicily, the Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont and some lesser known, such as Marche, Basilicata, Lazio and Molise. Each of the wines had its individualistic stamp, yet proved its worthiness to receive the designation of either two (due) or three (tre) bicchieri.

Presiding over it all was Gambrel Rosso Senior Editor Marco Sabellico. Masi of the Veneto was named Winery of the Year, presenting its Amazon della Valpolicella Cl. Campolongo di Torbe 2011, Amazon Valpolicella Cl. Val Armaron Serego Aligheri 2011, both awarded Tre  Bicchieri, and its Trento Brut Conte Federico Riserva 2012 from Bossi Fedrigotti, which was also awarded Tre Bicchieri.

Among the favorites was Casa Di Mirafiore Barolo Palagalla Casa E. di Mirafiore 2013 (Tre Bicchieri), Nino Negri Valtelina Sfursat Carlo Negri 2015 (Tre Bicchieri) from Lombardy and Nortolomiol Valdobbiadene Brut Rive San Pietro di Barbozza Motus Vitae 2015 (Tre Bicchieri) from the Veneto.

 Dwight Cashmere with Gambero Rosso Sr. Editor Marco Sabellico

 Robert Shay-Market Manager Allegrini Azienda Agricola Verona. Italy

 Robert V. Allegrini-Vice President Corporate Communications The Americas- Hilton

 

Angela Fronti-Istine

Maria Elisabetta Fagiuoli of Montenidoli (below)

VINEXPO NEW YORK 2018-PREMIERE EVENT OPENS U.S. GATEWAY TO THE WORLD'S GREATEST WINES

VINEXPO NEW YORK FEATURES MORE THAN 100 EXHIBITORS FROM 16 COUNTRIES

                                                               

Dwight the Wine Doctor at Vinexpo New York

by Dwight CasImere

VINEXPO NEW YORK overnight became the leading U.S. showcase for the international wine trade. With more than a hundred exhibitors from 16 countries, including France, the U.S., Spain,. Australia, Germany, Italy and Greece, among the usual lineup of international wine producers, newer additions from China, Moldova, Russia, Croatia and Uruguay, were also front and center with their unique offerings. 

Guest speakers included Thomas Matthews, Executive Editor Wine Spectator, Chris Adams, CEO Sherry-Lehmann Wine and Spirits NYC, Martin Sinkoff VP Director of Marketing Frederick Widman and Sons and Molly Clemens, PhD candidate UC Davis, San Diego State Univ.

Master Classes included sessions on Barossa, Rare and Distinguished with Mark Davidson of Wine Australia, The Best Pinot Noirs in the World with Elin McCoy of Decanter Magazine, and Old and New World Reds; Myth vs. Fact with Master of Wine Bree Bsokov among others. 

The two-day event gave members of the wine trade and the media a unique opportunity to taste and become educated on the great wines of the world, soon to be made available at restaurants and wine shops around the country. This was the Super Bowl of wine!

 Views of the Hudson River and nearby World Trade Towers
                                      

 New Rhone Millesimes-Domain Duvernay CEO Jean Marc Pottiez

 Luis The Marinero Wines

 Three Monkeys Wines

 Wines of Greece

 Anne Leroy with Premium Bulle Sprakling wine of Limoux France

 Elise Camus with Champage Verve Lanauo France

 Champagne Henriot-Reims France

 Riesling from Meinhof Waldschutz-Austria and the Limestone and granite soil of the region

 Emjoing H. Olin Champagne with exporters Francois and Camille Lefevre

 Anita Joseph of Cargo-Partner Network the company responsible for transporting Vinexpo wines

Dwight Cashmere with Victoria and Lisa Miranda of Miranda Estates-Australia 

LATINEGRAS: LOVE THE SKIN YOU'RE IN PREMIERES AT 35TH MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL

Film Explores Identity Crisis Faced by Black Women of Latin Culture

The cast of LATINEGRAS: Love The Skin You're In with Director/Producer Omilani Alarcon (center-left)


by Dwight Casimere

Latinegras:Love The Skin You're In, a documentary film produced and
directed by poet, singer and filmmaker Omilani Alarcon, is a
heartfelt, poetic journey of self-discovery concerning the identity
crisis suffered by black women who are of Latin heritage. In lyrical
words, and stunningly in-your-face cinematography, Omilani acts as
both on-camera presenter and behind-the-scenes narrator, interweaving
the personal, revealing testimonies of about a dozen women from
various locations within the Latin and Afro-Latin diaspora: Puerto
Rico, Guatamala, the Dominican Republic, Peru,  Panama, and New York,
all expressing their continuing pain of identity. Broken down into
segments; Ghosts of Our Past, which charts the history of slavery from
the Middle Passage to the New World, The Politics of Blackness, which
recounts the establishment of the legal structuring of modern slavery
through the Louisiana Purchase and the Missouri Compromise, the One
Drop Rule, in which blackness is defined by the presence of one eighth
to one thirty-second of black blood in any person's genealogy,
Questions of Complexion and Skin Tone and the filmmakers own final
descent into self-confrontation in a final healing, almost Baptismal
journey to her own roots in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The film is brought
to its conclusion amidst the catastrophe of Hurricane Maria, yet, the
filmmaker finds that even in this calamity, there is reason for hope
and the promise of a new beginning. Latinegras: Love The Skin You're In
is targeted at a very specific audience, yet its message of universal
acceptance and hope is a lesson that applies to us all.

35th MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL TACKLES RACIAL IDENTITY, IMMIGRATION WOES AND RELIGIOUS PHOBIAS

MIAMI FEST FEATURES TRIBUTE TO A FRENCH ACTING ICON AND HOSTS OSCAR-WINNING GREATS

by Dwight Casimere

The cast of Latinegras: Love The Skin You're In at its premiere with director/producer
Alimony Alarcon (center-left)

by Dwight Casimere

The 35th Miami Film Festival March 9-18 plays host to a dazzling array of international stars and directors and features films that tackle such issues as racial identity among women who are both black and Latina, the struggles of suburban mothers on the brink of mental breakdown and the tribulations of a young Mexican American couple coping with the changing landscape of US immigration laws while trying to preserve their fledgling marriage. Four-time Oscar nominated writer, director and producer Jason Reitman premiered his newest film Tully on Opening Night, with Oscar winners actress Charlize Theron and screenwriter Diablo Cody.  France's Oscar-winning national treasure  Isabelle Huppert,  is the subject of a Tribute Screening of her latest film Souvenir, at which she will receive the festival's Precious Gem-Icon Award and Spain's greatest living filmmaker Carlos Saura will receive the Precious Gem-Master Award at a screening of the new documentary on his career and family life, Saura(s).

Also featured was the directorial debut from two-time Academy Award-nominated Beninese-American actor Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) which takes us on a personal journey of spiritual reclamation. Demonized by Christianity, scarred by colonialism and crudely misrepresented in Hollywood movies, we in the West know nothing about voodoo. It is time to tell the story from an African perspective.

With In Search of Voodoo, Hounsou returns to his West African birthplace to visit sacred sites, witness rituals and interview scholars, adepts and politicians, who provide an accessible survey of voodoo’s rich history and reliance on nature as a guiding force in the lives of its practitioners.

The festival features 148 films of all genres from 50 countries including three for the first time in the festival's Official Selection category from Benin, Georgia and Swaziland. The festival wraps up with the Award's Night screening of Curro Velázquez’s smash hit Spanish comedy Holy Goalie (Que baje Dios y lo vea), with star Alain Hernández in attendance. The Miami Dade College 35th Miami Film Festival continues through March 18.